What Are You Waiting For?

I’ve been thinking a lot about life lately. I’ve also realized that a lot of us, me included, waste our lives. We spend so much time not being present, worrying about our future, or ruminating in the past, that we forget to live our lives. The present is now. Life is happening now. We all should be relishing in it and being present in the present. Instead, a lot of sadly aren’t.

I probably spent about one quarter of my 39 years “waiting for my life to start”.

I was always working towards my next goal, my next stage in life. Suddenly, I was in my mid-twenties wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next.

You see I always thought I had my life planned out. I even drafted a contract with my beloved Giagia (grandma) when I was 14 years old. It had everything spelled out. I’d become a doctor. I’d be married at 23. I’d have kids. I’d buy her an island, etc.

Then life happened.

I was single and lost. I didn’t want to be a doctor. I hated all the science classes. I had a quarter life crisis when I was around the age of 21 or 22. Life was nothing like I imagined it to be, and I kept waiting for it “to start”. What did I want to be now that I was “grown up”? What is being “grown up” supposed to be like and feel like?

Is this it?!?! This is not what I dreamt of when I was little.

The problem is that while I was waiting for my life “to start,” I missed my life. I was always thinking towards the future, that I neglected my present. I had this preconceived notion of what life is “supposed to be” and it kept me from living my life to the fullest.

That’s a huge problem.

We only get one life. We’re living it right now. While I know that sometimes it’s so hard to be present and stay present, we really should try. There’s no point in worrying about tomorrow.

Worrying won’t change the outcome.

Learn lessons from your past, but then move forward. Let it go, it’s behind you for a reason. Everything happens to get you where you’re supposed to be right now. So, enjoy it! Don’t be 45 and wonder what the hell happened to your life! We should never regret what we haven’t done, we should enjoy every second.

Life is a beautiful gift; we all should stop taking it for granted.