Today is important, too.

I feel as though my perspective on life has changed over the past six months.  Maybe it's the fact that I turned 26, which I hate to admit, is my "late 20's."  Maybe I have come to the realization that I am confident enough not to care about other people's opinions, not in a snobby, "I'm better than everyone else" way, but just in the way where I'm happy with where I am today because it makes sense to me and I'm learning more about myself every day.

To say that I know what I'm doing with my life and where it is headed would be an absolute lie.  However, it drives me absolutely crazy when people do not value TODAY!  Life is hard.  It really never gets easier, we only get stronger and learn to handle struggles better, and hopefully smarter.  Why do we wait for the "perfect circumstances" to embark on something we have wanted to do or to take a chance?  There will never be a perfect timing for change or difficulty.  Change is uncomfortable, and we are never going to want to leave the familiar for the unfamiliar.      

Those sayings with the context along the lines of "The best is yet to come" make me almost sad.  I will be happier when...... (fill in the blank)

• I'm married
• I am out of debt
• I have lost 20 pounds
• I buy a house
• I have a boyfriend/girlfriend
• I graduate
• I get a promotion

You get the idea.  What is the point of living a life in longing for the future?  If I were "today," I would be a little offended and under appreciated.  What if you don't get married anytime soon, or have a financial setback and won't have a house for years?  Are you going to be miserable, longing for that, until then?  That sounds like a terrible way to live.  I agree that we all have our trials, some easier than others, and we all have our discouraging times.  If life was always sunshine and rainbows, wouldn't that be boring?  Where are the challenges or learning opportunities in that?  

Although all of the above endeavors are great things that could potentially (eventually) bring us happiness, they should not be something you constantly long after.  Goals are healthy.  We have to set achievable goals in order to progress, and feel like we are working towards something with purpose.  The best thing we can do to make life easiest on us is work on being the best person for ourselves, and our families.  These endeavors and goals are not going to fall out of thin air.  Will life work out how it's supposed to?  Yes.  However, I do not believe that things will just fall into our lap unless we are working towards goals, and live a balanced life not overly focused on any one thing.

I suppose the point of this post is to put into perspective that we need to appreciate today.  The best is not yet to come, the best is TODAY.  The best is YOU trying to be the best that you can.  The best is YOU being in competition with no one but yourself.