Day 24: 30 Days — 30 Ways — Keep Going!
The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare teaches us that rushing through things is a sure way to lose. The slow and steady pace wins the race. If you wear yourself thin, you often fall apart. If you figure out a way to pace yourself, reduce stress, and go at a reasonable pace, you are more likely to stay composed and win at life.
This is no easy feat in this rushed world that we inhabit. Being a Jersey girl myself, I feel the constant pressure to run, run, run, to not miss anything, and to have everything. It is impossible to live a happy life while constantly being on the run and chasing after more. If you are habitually focused on what the future could be like, or what the next awesome event or thing will be, you will miss the beauty right in front of you. This happens to me on a daily basis. I am thinking of future events that may or may not even happen. These imaginary future events sometimes worry, excite, scare, or stop me in my tracks. The only way to prevent yourself from overtaxing your mind by the burdens of the past and the unknowns of the future is to stay precisely where you are, in this moment that you have right now. It is easier to write about and talk about than to actually carry out in actuality.
Despite attempts to meditate, write, breathe, and listen to guided meditations I often wander to the depths of past regrets or the future’s vast uncharted territory. One way that I have found to keep myself grounded in the present is to pause myself for one entire minute, close my eyes and breathe. Even this one minute pause can be challenging. It does help though, for me. There are a plethora of techniques that one can try to help stay focused on the present. Like almost everything else, there is no one right way. To find the best way for you, you need to try lots of things until one thing sticks for you. Here are some possibilities that may work for you: journal all your regrets and worries until you are able to quiet your mind, aerobic exercise, gardening, deep breathing, a book of gratitude, inspirational readings, or a creative passion project. The last thing on this list — the passion project — is a commonly used term today describe things people do to chase their dreams and also create abundance for themselves.
The passion project that you choose can serve the purpose of helping you achieve your goals and keeping you planted in the present. In my opinion, productive projects that you enjoy are the best way to stay focused on the present. My opinion may not be what works best for you so keep trying until you find the thing that helps you be one with the moment. Staying focused on the “now” will also stop prevent yourself from wearing yourself out by attempting to do too much at once. It will also help you to keep going despite your regrets and fears. Regrets and fears cannot occupy your mind if you are able to learn to control your thoughts. This task is not simple and may or may not come easily to you. It is a work in progress to me. If I can master my perception, I believe that will bring me much closer to happiness, success, and a fulfilling life.
Keep going at a steady pace. Keep going and growing, but don’t do too much at once! Stay here and really see what is right in front of you. Determine a course that will engage your mind in a productive, healthy way. Be and do your best and allow yourself to make mistakes without drowning in the regret of them. Accept that you are not a fortune teller and give up fretting about the future. I realize all of this is much easier to say than to do. I don’t stay focused on the present even half of the time. It is a work in progress, like each one of us. If we are able to see ourselves, not as perfect beings, but as a work of art, we will (I think) be happier. Believing that we are allowed to continually improve and build no matter our age gives us energy and hope. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must accept finite disappointment,but never lose infinite hope.” His words inspire us to understand that there will always be things that let us down, but those things have an end point. They are finite and once they are over, we must let them be over. Hope is something that always lives in our hearts if we are willing to let it.
Work Cited
King Jr., Martin Luther. “290 Hope Quotes That Will Empower You.” Wisdom Quotes, 27 May 2020, wisdomquotes.com/hope-quotes/.
