EYE THE FUTURE, ENJOY THE MOMENT (III)

I am aware of people who re-married after a loss of spouse or even a divorce. I know people can go back to re-school, people can re-form, we can even re-use things as well.  So there are all sorts of “re” but I have never heard of re-time, because time can never be relieved. You cannot relief a moment, you can only relish the same moment. Mind you, you can’t truly relish a moment you haven’t truly enjoyed. The experiences of the moment, the fun, the challenges, the sweetness in the moment is what is relished but if you are that kind of person who ignores the present and focuses entirely on the future too much, of course you may likely get into that desired future but you would have missed a lot of things on the way.

People don’t remember dates, they remember moments. For instance, if a lady were to give me experiences on the first thirty (30) years of her life, she obviously can’t give me hourly or daily counts but definitely I am going to be expecting details of moments in her life. Moments like her tenth (10^th ) birthday, her twenty first (21^st ) birthday. She will probably still remember her first date, her first kiss. She will remember how the guy proposed to her. She will remember her graduation day. She will likely remember her wedding day. She will remember her first day at work. She will even remember some disaster days too. So people may not remember dates but they can’t forget moments of their lives.

Let me make you know that when you perceive success as a destination you must reach, then you are likely to have your eyes on the mark and you possibly leave out other marks and believe me, success is not a goal or destination you must reach, it is a journey! because after you reach a goal, does that mean that is all you have to do? Or even if you don’t reach the goal does that suggest that you have failed? No! Success is a journey and on a journey there are several landmarks. There are stop signs, bumps on the road, patchy areas, directional signs, curvatures, bends and many more. All these are the experiences that culminates into success. So quote me; “the process itself is the success” that is, the things you picked up on your way to the top are equally important, not just getting to the top. If you jump you will come down, but if you grow up you will stay up because the earlier person who jumped up ignored the process while the latter understands the process and the factors in the process. So the future is one step at a time. You trying to vacate the present in other to live in the future is not especially a good idea. Today must be enjoyed just as tomorrow will be enjoyed. The only danger is if the future is mortgaged by our actions today but if it is not then it makes simple sense to secure tomorrow as well as vantage in the now.

I personally believe that your best life is today, there will be nothing to talk or jest about or even grin about if all we do is worry about the future. Imagine you having to think all the time about the better life you want to create in marriage for your wife and kids, you are consumed such that you are beginning to get worried, your plans to achieving that may just be blurred because you are not likely to think straight any longer. Focusing heavily on the future while ignoring the present is like starving all week, saving all your money to eat a nice delicacy on Saturday in a 4-star restaurant. Imagine what foolishness that is. When you eye the future too much without vantaging today, it is tantamount to a boxer who is saving all his energy to fight a big opponent so he is not training hard right now. 

Those who enjoy today are those who enjoy tomorrow. If anyone teaches you otherwise, it is a false success principle. I have heard people say those who suffer today enjoy the future, which is not true because pain and misery are not the same. Pain is necessary but misery is optional. You can choose not to suffer today yet you enjoy today and you will enjoy tomorrow. If you suffer too much, you may be absent tomorrow when it finally comes. Please enjoy your today and plan for tomorrow.

Don't miss #DREAMZTIME with Paul Amusa on the following radio stations:
LAGOS: UnilagFM 103.1;Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:20am
IBADAN: Diamond FM 101.1; Mon-Fri, 7:50am
ILORIN: Betterbyfar FM 89.3; Tuesdays, Thur-Sun, 6:50am
 



Yours Sincerely
Paul Amusa

EYE THE FUTURE, ENJOY THE MOMENT (II)

Moments are missed every day because the future has taken over today. Life is becoming uninteresting because even our parents have told us to grow up too soon. We mature too often that we regret the experiences of our missed moments. A lot of us feel that a huge desire for the future but negligence of today as consequence is the secret to a successful life. Little do we know that success sometimes is what happens outside your plans, so the best time to live is in the now.

At 5, somebody says “I love you mom” at 10, he says “mom why?” at 16, “why is my mom so difficult?” At 25, “my mom is the best mom” At 50, “I wish I had my mom around”… and you wish you could relief those moments. You see a typology of the different ways in which we relate at different ages of life and at a particular point we begin to wish we could relief certain moments of our lives. I have come across three types of people in my life.

The first category are people who care less about the future, they don’t even care about the future at all, and that is a category you should not be part of.

The second category are people who care too much about the future, and that is equally not a category you want to be in. It may look like a serious minded people category; people who want to make the best out of life but it is not completely true.

The third category are people who considerably maintain a balance in the future-present equation. They understand that time doesn’t wait for anybody. It is a constant in our life that determines the moment. So because time cannot be recouped, regained or recovered, it is therefore essential to live in the moment. Life is a chance. Believe me, each day you wake up that day is the only day you have perhaps. So you’ve got to control and live with an understanding of how important now is to you. You can’t control the future but you can consequently influence it by doing something now. The future is important but a lot of people may never make it into that same future. Do not get me wrong, what I am saying is invest in the future by investing in today and you do that most importantly by enjoying today.

Life is lived in stages and levels, stop waiting till you get to the future before living. Enjoy the moment, every time of life comes with a stage. Biologically we move from childhood to adulthood, spiritually we move, financially we move too. As a matter of fact, there is a Yoruba adage that says it is where life meets you that you enjoy it. You’ve got to find a way to vantage in life at every level of life that you are in. For you to let your day to day joy be determined by your level is a tragic one. In other words, enjoying life is not until you buy a Mercedes or a private jet. Although it may mean a higher level of comfort and pleasure, but you can still try and enjoy your BRT ride. Enjoying life is not only when you can afford a lagoon restaurant but you can also make do with the sharp corner restaurant on your street. It is important for you to aspire to be on the next level but whatever level you find yourself, learn to enjoy it. Life is enjoyed in levels, enjoy every day of your life whatever level you find yourself. Even as you keep aspiring, dreaming and working towards a better tomorrow don’t let the moment of today be missed. Enjoy the moment, and eye the future equally. Make a resolution to enjoy your life to the maximum today while you do not jeopardize the future.

Don't miss #DREAMZTIME with Paul Amusa on the following radio stations:
LAGOS: UnilagFM 103.1;Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:20am
IBADAN: Diamond FM 101.1; Mon-Fri, 7:50am
ILORIN: Betterbyfar FM 89.3; Tuesdays, Thur-Sun, 6:50am
 



Yours Sincerely
Paul Amusa