I said something at the end of last week’s pep talk about life always being a special occasion, and I nearly went off on a whole new tangent right then and there. I like the idea of taking each moment of life as something worth making the most of, because I feel it’s something we so easily forget and yet has the capacity to make our lives exponentially better if we remember it more often.
I suppose it comes down to the whole “life is a gift” and “make the most of now” cliches, but I’d rather relate it to “why wait?”
I used to be the kid that always “saved” things – my favourite notebooks, my favourite food, my favourite TV show – because I didn’t want to waste them or use them up until everything was “perfect”. I wanted to wait for the best time to make sure I made the most out of them (and guess what, that time very rarely came – how do you know or define when “best” or “perfect” is anyway?).
However, the issue with that way of thinking is how much time you waste waiting, and what other opportunities you’re missing while you’re waiting. Sure, you might get slightly more value out of something if you wait for an opportune time, but is it worth all the times you could have been getting enjoyment out of it – and then whatever came to take its place – while you were waiting?
Because that’s the other thing: something usually replaces all these things (another cupcake, another TV show…). But the more time you spend waiting on one thing, the more opportunities you’re missing in the meantime.
And why wouldn’t we want to make the most of every single moment? The way I see it, waiting for a “perfect” time means you have a limit on what makes something perfect. You have to reduce your enjoyment right now so a future moment can be “better”. Whereas, if you sieze the moment as it happens, you get to fully enjoy right now, and then you also have the chance to make whatever future “perfect” moment you were waiting for just as good or even better.
If our time on life is finite (and, currently, evidence suggests it will be), then we should be trying to make every single moment the best it can be. We should try and make every single moment a special occasion. You don’t have a crystal ball – you don’t know what’s going to happen in the next ten minutes. So don’t save things. Don’t wait for things. Enjoy what you have right now the very best way you can, and keep on doing that! Imagine a life where every day is treated like some kind of special occasion – no waiting around, just experiencing the joy when you see the chance.
It comes down to life is short – might as well make the most of every single moment.
Leave a Reply