Mar
Enjoying The Here And Now: And Why It’s Really All We’ve Got
In the course of striving for something more, something better or something different, it can often be hard to enjoy the here and now.
We experienced this not only in the run up to our location independent lives but also whilst living our LIP lives in the early days. For us, it manifested itself like this:
- Before we left we were so focused on what we were trying to achieve, that we didn’t savour our last few weeks and days of having a stable base, a gorgeous home we owned and our nearest and dearest close to us.
- For the first few destinations, we felt we couldn’t settle in and enjoy it fully until we’d sorted out where we were going next and had it all booked up.
- Striving so hard for professional success on some projects that it no longer felt fun.
- Focusing far too much on an arbitrary blog subscriber number (which really didn’t matter) and losing sight of why I write on this blog.
As an over-achiever type, I’m often my harshest critic - constantly striving for that little bit better, that little bit more (ideally perfection although I know that’s a relative term!) and that next little step.
But life is too short…
A classic and corny statement I know but it really is true. And it’s something I realised when we were living in paradise on a Caribbean island last year (for the 2nd time that year) and I found myself saying, “Although I’m enjoying it here, I’m looking forward to…” for the umpteenth time that year.
Bl$%dy h*ll woman…are you never satisfied?
…is actually what popped into my head next. There I was living on a tropical island in paradise and there I was wishing the next few weeks away already.
So this is a short and sweet post to say:
Wherever you are right now, whatever stage of your LIP life you’re at…enjoy it for what it is.
You don’t know what the new day brings; it won’t be long until you’re on to the next stage, the next day, the next place and you’ll never get back what you’ve got right now.
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I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Stacey Derbinshire
It’s a good reminder Lea, wherever we are and whatever we’re doing.
Reminded me to pop over and say hi too! Another thing it’s easy to lose sight of…
Joanna
There is a lot to be said for living in the present - too often we focus on the future or the past which are not worth dwelling on (at least not excessively).
This was a good post. Thanks!
This is a great reminder Lea. You would think living in a tropical paradise would be enough to satisfy most people -but your example shows us that humans are not good at being satisfied.
I’m glad to hear that you’ve learned this great lesson.
@Joanna Young - funny, I was just thinking about emailing you the other day to see how things were…went out for a bike ride instead but the thought was there
@Matt - I agree but it is hard sometimes, don’t you think?
@Brock Noland - thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
@Maria - I’m still learning it and have to constantly remind myself! There’s such a fine line between having goals/dreams and the like but still being satisfied with what you’ve got. As ever, it once again comes down to balance!
Great post. We have just begun to realize these same principles. I get so worried about how we are going to make money, and how we are going to live on our boat that I forget to do the things that it takes to get there.
I have been really focusing on the here and now and I have been much happier and much more productive. I love creating websites, coming up with new ideas, and just living my life in general.
Isn’t that why we all want to become location independent…so we can live our own lives the way we want to? Well it is for me, I feel like I am just beginning to live.
So good post, I hope to see more like this.
Hi Lea… great post - thank you….
I too struggle to find the balance between having goals and living in the present…. on the one hand I am trying to abandon a goal orientated lifestyle, with an aim of living in the present, and allowing new opportunities to emerge (quite often if you are too fixated on your goals you don’t see some of the exciting new opportunities in front of you)… but also I’m quite aware that you need some kind of goal or plan in order to achieve….!!
We still have no idea where we are going from around July onwards… and I doubt we will know until a few weeks before (if we’re lucky!)…. but for me - that is one of the reasons I’m out here… I love the synchronicities of life that seem to pop up more frequently when you are not homed in on a particular goal….. It adds spice and excitement to life….
By the way - when and where do you arrive over here in soaring hot Thailand????
Bye bye for now
Hey Tina - good to hear from you…I heard Thailand was baking hot!! We arrive in BKK on 15th and fly to Phuket on 17th…looking forward to it and will certainly be a change from here altho we’re loving it.
Personally, I work well with goals so am not aiming to abandon having them altogether but just trying to remember to slow down, look around and appreciate what we’ve already got and already done.
With the goals, I’ve moved from having very specific ones to much more generalised goals that give me a sense of direction and purpose but which also keep me open to opportunities…which, as you say, seem to pop up all over the place. Being someone who can see an opportunity in everything, I tend to have to rein myself in on that front though!!
Look forward to the revelation on where you’re going next…I love the fact that loads more people are now LIPs and we can all guess where each one of us is going to next…you never know, one day we might all end up in the same place at the same time!!!
You know Greg’s coming to Thailand too??? (same place, same time as us!).
HI Lea, I came across your article by pure chance as I looked for LIL blogs. I have by chance just written an article about living for today and balancing it with the future for those in a rut at midlife. I wont put the link here cause that might look like blog spamming.
Anyhow, Ive subscribed to your feed and will enjoy your inspiration so that one day, I may be a little less dependent on a single address and be more nomadic…. can’t wait!! :O)