Everyone says that life is too short so live in the moment, yet they all seem to worry about the future. This happens all over the world and there have been actual studies to see why everyone’s so worried about the future. Could this actually affect people’s health? Psychologists have done studies that prove people are much happier when they live in the moment. One of these studies showed people spend 46.7 percent of their time thinking about other things than what they are doing in that exact moment.
No matter what people are doing, they think about what will be happening the next day or later that day. For example, people go to concerts and instead of actually listening to their favorite bands or singers perform live, they record the concert to watch later. This makes people miss what is going on right in front of them.
Students do this everyday. Most kids think about what they will do later when they get home from school, or what they are going to do over the weekend. Meanwhile, they are not really listening to the people around them. Even when people are conversing with each other, they may think they are listening, but they really aren’t. They are thinking about what to say next, which distracts them from listening and living in the moment. It is simple things like this that can change a person’s life from thinking about the future to thinking about the present.
Studies have shown that when people care more about the future than the present, they are choosing to give up joy and a care-free attitude. Society has made this an impulse thing. Do people think more about the present or the future?
“I guess I think more about the future than the present,” Senior Aaron Scheider said.
Could this be because he is a senior and his whole life is ahead of him? Or did he just succumb to the spirit of society that has the future on their mind?
“I’m too busy thinking about what I have to do [later on],” Mrs. Beth Majors said.
For example, Majors thinks about what she has to do everyday to support her family and to get ready for the following school days.
Most people think about the future because it seems like the logical thing to do. Sometimes, there is no reason to think about the present because you are already doing it. Maybe it isn’t the best to always think about the future. Sometimes the happiness of a person depends on if they live in the moment or if they continue to think about the future. “Stop and smell the roses once in awhile,”is a common saying and yet no one seems to live by it.
“I would say that I think about the present more than the future. I might not have always felt that way but once I became a mom, my focus shifted to take in every single minute of the here and now. The future can be great, but the moments of the present are what make memories that last forever,” Mrs. Maria Porter said.
The future is something to think about, it is where everyone is heading, but the present is happening now and should have more focus. After all, it allows people to live a happier and healthier life.