Stop Waiting, Start Living

Somehow, we have this idea that we got all the time left on this planet. You can see it in the way how some people live their lives, moving along with the flow and never taking on control over their own time. You wouldn’t think living would be such a difficult thing to do when you were once a carefree kid, roaming down the streets and exploring the corners of your neighborhood. We were all once pure and lively spirits that were living in the moment. Then, we became adults and living in the moment became so much harder than before. Over time, we got conditioned to think that we are only allowed to live once we have all our goals sorted out with perfect execution. Meaning that in between, we are not really living, but checking off to-do-list after to-do list.

The problem with this way of thinking is that it’s easy to get spiraled down into a rabbit hole of even more to-do lists. This is because once we have achieved a task, we would feel accomplished for a moment. So, what do we do to make ourselves feel that way again? We keep doing it. Eventually, this way of thinking will get ingrained in our system, by thinking that having more things done will lead to a better future and life. By thinking that doing anything that has an aspect of ROI (Return On Investment) will give us more allowance to finally start living.

The only person that is stopping you from living your life is yourself. Since the day you were born, you were allowed to live. Not the day after you have graduated. Not the day you get your long-awaited promotion. Not the day after you have achieved all your childhood dreams. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in anything. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any goals.

The keyword is balance.

There is no deadline that you need to hand in before you can finally get through the gate of life. No, you are already in it. This is it. Stop waiting and start living. Don’t put off living just because certain things haven’t aligned with each other yet. What does it mean when things will never really aligned just the way you have imagined it would be? Would you wait forever to finally take the first step to let go and start living?

Remind yourself how it was to live when you were still little. Do things without thinking about what you could get in return. Do things out of sheer joy. Do not only focus on things that can advance your career. Life shouldn’t be a constant hustle where you need to weigh in the pros and cons before you do something. Life is not a kneadable project and that in itself is something beautiful. Because the unknown and the unexpected can teach us to truly live. It can teach us to live without fixed patterns and restrictions.

Through this way, we will become more grateful for the days granted to us instead of taking life for granted.

Stop waiting, start living.