Contents
Step 39: “Never live the present at the expense of the future”
The 88 rungs of happy people
In this step of “The 88 steps of happy people” I tell you why the long term has to do with happiness and the short term with fleeting pleasure
The peace of the future … is bought in the present. When I was a child I really liked to philosophize about life. Do not think that he was the typical person who was isolated from the world studying or reading (in fact, if I regret something, it is not having read more). I signed up for everything and was very active, but I also liked question my life and reflect. And of all my philosophies, there is one that became the most representative of my way of thinking during my childhood. It’s the one I’m about to expose you.
I argued that one of the greatest tensions in life was between the short term and the long term. Play soccer – short term impact – or study for Monday’s test – long term impact. Saving to one day invest more in my training – long term – or buy the bike of my dreams – short term. And that of the two, the most important was always the long term. Why? Why the long term gives happiness, and the short term only gives pleasure. The reason why I defended investing in the first and not in the second is because only happiness is lasting, while pleasure is ephemeral. My conclusion was: the best lives are those in which the discipline has been had to always prioritize the long term to the detriment of the short. Point.
I held that position for most of my life. And if you are the type of person who has a hard time having the discipline of the birdtocontrol, given to indulge in the pleasures of life (whether healthy or not) and with a tendency to enjoy present at almost any price, you shouldn’t read the rest of the Step. My childhood theory is perfect for you, and always keeping it in mind can help you reach the middle ground (don’t worry, it won’t take you to the other extreme). If this is not your case, keep reading.
The theory might be apparently beautiful, but it has a problem. Hidden in my first book, “The 88 Steps of Success,” was a phrase of high value: «Living in the past is living in nostalgia. Living in the future is living in a hypothesis ». What does this mean? That of all the days in history, only one day is real: today. And if you do not enjoy today, you could be missing exactly what represents the only thing you have, since everything else does not exist. Therefore, my theory was lacking a complement. Is this:
And that requires enjoyment. Eye. I’m not saying, “Make the present a feast.” What I’m saying is how bad it would be to live in the short term without having the long in mind, like living so focused on the long that you come to hate the short. There are pleasures that last five minutes and will not add anything to your future, but their value is immense because they add color to your life in the present.
How to know then where is the limit? The rule is this. You can (and should) enjoy the present to the fullest as long as you don’t break this condition:
If a better present does not constitute a worse future, you will have the green light. Otherwise, you will have a red light. Eat that delicious cake and enjoy it with the greatest concentration. But be disciplined not to eat the next ten. And by the way:
And that’s the peace more important. First, you seek the perfect balance in the present, in which you try to produce the greatest number of pleasures, but without any being at the cost of your future.
Then, you reach the future and from there you take pride in your past, that is, what is now your present. And the result of all this is to enjoy the most important peace: the one that comes from looking back and knowing that you have lived life better with the greatest wisdom.
THE PEACE OF THE FUTURE … is bought in the present.