Escaping The Present Moment

Sometimes life becomes too tough and you just want to escape the present moment.  You’d rather be anywhere than where you currently are.  You don’t want to feel and experience what you’re currently going through.  But, escaping the present moment isn’t going to fix what’s happening around you.  It’s only dulling the pain or pushing off your problems until another day.  You have to get focused and be present to what’s going on right now if you have any hoping of getting yourself out from where you currently are.

Past

You might be living in the past.  It could be that the past was a happier time than what you’re currently going through right now so it’s easier to get lost in the memories.  Using escapism to take you to a moment when you were happy helps you to ignore what you’re currently facing.  Or, it could be that you’re too focused on the past by dwelling on previous mistakes, shortcomings, or failures.  Perhaps it’s dreaming about what your life could have been if you had only done things differently back then.  Living in the what ifs won’t help you realize your dream life.  Escaping into the past will only keep you living in the past and prevent you from moving forward.

Future

On the other hand, you could be too focused on the future and what you want to achieve.  You spend all your time daydreaming about the amazing life you want to be living.  You’re playing out these unbelievable future scenarios rather than being present to where you currently are.  Allow yourself to visualize your dreams but don’t let that take you away from experiencing the present moment.  You can’t compromise what’s happening right now for the possibility of what might happen in the future.

Present

You might be trying to escape the present moment because you’re ashamed of where you are, your lack of progress, or you just aren’t completely happy with how life has turned out.  But, there lies the decision to either keep going as life is or decide to make a change.  Resorting to escapism and living in the past or future isn’t going to help you get out of where you currently are.  You have to get present and start choosing to make decisions that will positively impact your life for the better.

Take Responsibility

Your current life is a result of your past decisions, thoughts, feelings, and actions.  If you’re unhappy with where you are, then know that you have the power to change your current reality.  That starts with what you decide to do today.  It’s what decisions you make, the thoughts you think, the feelings you choose to feel, and the actions you take.  Escaping into the past or future doesn’t allow you to take responsibility today for the actions necessary to create the future life you desire.

Be Present

In order to be present to living in the here and now, you must start to be aware of the thoughts you’re thinking.  Pay attention to the repetitive thoughts you’re having.  Realize if these thoughts are helping or hurting you mentally, emotionally, physically, and impacting your ability to take action towards your dream life.  Then, be observant to what’s going on around you.  See who you’ve surrounded yourself with and if these are the people to help you or hinder you from achieving your goals.  Next, decide to take action towards your goals and the life you want to live.  Get yourself into action and start being proactive about taking small steps towards the life you want today.  Lastly, let go of any expectations that are holding you back.  These can be expectations you’ve placed on yourself or from other people of what you should be doing or where you should be at this point in your life.  When you begin to live in the present moment, you’ll finally be able to start making progress towards the life you want.  You’re no longer living with your head in the clouds of past memories or future visualizations of hopes and dreams.  You’re actually changing your life for the better and turning your dreams into reality!

Dwelling on the past or playing out make believe fantasies about the future is just an escape from your current reality.  You have to get real with yourself and face what you’re going through head on.  There are times in your life where the present moment feels uncomfortable, so far from your ideal life, and incredibly lonely that you resort to the excitement that escapism provides.  You dream about what could be and think about something else that gives you the thrill you so desperately desire.  Or maybe you reflect on the past and feel nostalgic for your past life and how things could have gone differently.  Your past and future may feel miles from where you are right now.  However, by escaping into the past or future you’re only putting off the present moment until tomorrow.  You have to stop escaping and be in the present moment if you ever want to make progress towards your goals and the life you want.