Focusing on the present moment is the most powerful mindset shift you can make. Try to focus on today in order to get more things done, grow, and be happier. It works my friend.
Don’t get lost thinking about the future
Sure, we have to know what we want out of life. Having a long-term vision is good. Vision helps to know what is important (and what to dismiss). Better than an exact 10-year plan, your values will guide you. Values explicit why you want to realize your vision.
With your long-term vision and your values as a compass, you now have to focus on today.
Your boat is not gonna sail by itself to the good port.
And I love drawing itineraries on the map! I like making strategies. I’m good at making the perfect plan. But I tend to overthink…
What I mean is if I start a new project, I will think of every detail. But most annoyingly, I will try to anticipate every obstacle I could have in the future. Imagination runs wild when you start solving problems before they even exist. Sometimes it helps to improve my plan. But usually, it is just a distraction: I lose time, energy, and even hope.
Focus too much on the future can distract or even paralyze us.
So maybe Nims Purja is right.
Focus on your next 24 hours
Have you seen the “14 peaks” documentary on Netflix? This crazy guy from Nepal decided to break one world record. A huge one. He would climb all the 14 8000-meter “Death-Zone” peaks. The fastest before was around 7 years. He did it in 7 months. His name is Nims Purja.
Everest may be the highest peak of the world, but not the hardest to climb. It still looks impressive and impossible for me. So imagine climbing 14 times peaks like Everest, some of them way more dangerous. That’s a deadly challenge.
Nims gives more details in his book “Beyond Possible”. This was also a huge financial risk for him and his family. If he failed (like… by dying… we don’t have the same kind of failures), his wife and his parents would be in serious trouble. That adds up.
How did Nims manage to get through his pressure?
He focused on the day, trying to survive the next 24 hours. On a mountain, Nims knew he would have other peaks to climb and funds to raise. But he had to make sure his crew and himself survive. So he put aside his future problems and opened his eyes for deadly crevasses.
“I won’t die today. Maybe tomorrow… but not today.”
And Nims made what everyone thought was impossible. By focusing on the day. By being present in the moment.
One day at a time my friend.
You got this.
