Right Now

   Good Morning Friends!  Today I am thinking about "If and When" mentality.  You may not have heard that exact term before, but I am sure you know what I'm talking about.  "If I get that job I'll be happy."  "When I retire I'll have time for my family."  "If my spouse would help more I wouldn't be so grumpy."  You know what I'm talking about.  "If and when" mentality is the mindset that something is missing from our lives, and until we get that something we can never be happy, satisfied, content, etc.  But the problem with this thought process is, it is like a black hole.  It just keeps sucking us in, and it is never filled.  When we get the promotion we spend more money, and then we need more.  We get the bigger house, but have more work to do so we miss out on the people that are important to us, and we still aren't happy.  It's a never ending cycle of want.  So how do we break free of this mindset and start to just live our lives here and now?  

  I believe breaking out of the "If and When" mindset requires us to ask ourselves one simple question.  "What can I do now to enjoy my life as if I already had the result I want?"  You see, the "If and when" mindset teaches us we need something or someone else in order to be happy or at peace. And our consumer culture is constantly reinforcing this with ads for more and bigger and better all the time. But when we begin to find happiness right where we are, we retrain our brains to stop basing happiness on some future payout and start looking for it in the present moment.  

  Here's an example from my own life to help you understand this concept.  I love going to the beach.  And I would like to live there someday.  But right now, I live in Pennsylvania where it is cold.  But someone once asked me the question, "What parts of beach life could you incorporate into your life right now?"  As I began to think about that question, I realized part of what I love about the beach is the ocean and warm weather.  I cannot change that.  But the other things I love about the beach are slower days, taking time for family, walks outside, reading a book, etc.  All of these are things I can incorporate here and now. I don't have to wait until I move to the beach for those.  

  We don't have to keep relegating our happiness and well-being to some far off land of "If and When." Ecclesiastes 8:10b says, "Nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.  Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."  We were created to enjoy the life we've been given right here and now.  Stop basing your happiness on some future event or acquisition, and instead begin to ask yourself how you can incorporate what you care about into your day right here and now.  You just might find out you need a whole lot less than you thought to be happy. Live for today, and stop waiting for "If and When." I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.L.W.