There is the best place that all of us dream of visiting. It is nice year-round, yet hardly anyone seems to visit. That place is called “someday” and though we plan to arrive there one day, if we aren’t careful we will drive right on pass or miss it all together. We think, I’ll be an adult someday. Someday I will graduate college. I will someday have what I really want in life. “Someday” can elude you despite your best intentions and you turn a year older. It’s not a bad thing to dream of your “someday” and think of what your future holds. That is actually a brilliant thing to do when life feels all-encompassing and crushing. But how do we make sure that life doesn’t pass us by on the way to our “someday”? There are three easy ways to do this.
1. Live in the Moment
The first step is to live in the moment, and NO I don’t mean that you decide to do crazy things or spend all of your money (YOLO). What “living in the moment” really means is taking a step back to enjoy the stage of life you are at right now. High school, raising young kids, no money, just starting out in a career, college—those are all wonderful times that can be pegged as torturous. Some of the best times of our lives are the times when we most often want to visit Someday Island and dream of what the future will be.
I’m not saying all stages of life don’t come with their difficulties, because they do, but take the time to appreciate how good things are for you now. That you have the time to focus on yourself as a teenager, discover more about the world, become more selfless through motherhood, and numberless opportunities that come with every stage of life.
2. Be Grateful
Living in the moment becomes easier when we can learn to be grateful. No, you don’t have to be grateful for your trials and hardships, but be grateful for the mercies of God, the people around you, the moments that were perfect (or close), and the times when you did get it right. Be grateful in your hardships. You find what you are looking for and seeking for things to be grateful for is a sure way to brighten any day and help you discover happiness.
When we wish for “someday” to happen, when everything is better and we have what it is that will magically make us happy or take away a burden, then we will never find it. That’s because there is no point in our life that is ever going to be easy (I am so sorry if that is news to you). Our list of “someday” can go on forever if we are never happy with today. So stop looking at the glorious rays of “someday” and see the beauty all around you in today.
3. Never Stop Growing
Now, this last step to not wishing your life way is hard but oh, so important. It is that we have to be getting better if life is going to get better for us. I always was waiting for something to happen to me. If I could just graduate college…If I could just get a really good job….Make more money…Get married…THEN I’ll be really happy. What is so dangerous about that school of thought is that there is this unstated idea that there is no action required on our part.
The idea is this: When the world changes around me and make me happy, then I’ll be happy.
Action is required if we really want to turn those “somedays” into reality. I love day dreaming about my future, my grand plans and what possible adventures await me. The difference between visualizing your future vs getting stuck on Someday Island, is that you recognize that you and you alone are the only person who is going to get you there. And isn’t that awesome?! You are in control of your life, and where you end up. Knowing that is key to understanding how to make “someday” an accomplishment.
Here is the best secret of life: that it just gets better! If we truly are living to our fullest and trying our best to grow, be grateful, and savor every moment of time, then we are setting ourselves up to live an extraordinary life. If you are feeling stuck wishing for “someday” to come, try out these steps and see how they work in your life. It might take time, practice, and faith, but happiness, hope, and beautiful change will come.
Xoxo, Abbi J