If Not Now, When?
Here's a friendly reminder to do the thing you want to do.
If not now, when?
The only time you can do something is now.
I just finished reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle which empowers the idea of the present moment.
The book inspired me a lot and allowed me to look at myself critically and identify how ego was taking over my life to be accepted, to be right, to be liked, to be praised, to be offended, to be suffering and victimised. Time doesn’t really exist, humans came up with a concept to make our ego grow bigger and navigate easier throughout the life.
Inner and Outer Goals
Tolle talks about the inner and outer goals. The inner goal for everyone on earth is the same, to awaken and live in peace with the present moment. The outer goal depends on every person but has to be aligned with the inner goal. My outer goal is to serve and inspire one million people to change their lifestyle for good.
I’m trying to awaken myself by meditating and being more aware of my emotions, my reactions and behaviour in certain situations. For example, when someone offends my work, I’d catch myself being defensive and come up with arguments to protect myself. The more I’m aware of that the happier I become, just because I accept it and don’t try to change it.
I’ve met an old friend recently who asked me, "don’t you get lonely or miss something when you travel?" I do, but that’s the thing if I allow myself to suffer and miss something I feel low and become sad, but if I just accept it, and know that at the present moment there is nothing that makes me sad, it eventually disappears. You can not have it all. Once you give up on something negative you open the door for something positive. The only way to truly enjoy life, I believe is to accept it fully.
When you accept whatever is happening to you or around you, you stop suffering and just become aware of life. You and life are the same, I used to say "my life is good", but Eckhart Tolle reminded me that is it’s inseparable, therefore, "life is good”. Try to catch yourself getting angry or sad for no reason, there must be a thought, a memory behind it, or an external trigger like rain, favourite team loss etc. Train your awareness and accept things the way they are. You will become way happier and more grateful for the things happening in your life.
A Story About an Old Farmer
I’d like to share a short story that inspired me a lot when I heard it from a monk in Northern Thailand mountains during a silence meditation retreat.
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "May be," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "May be," replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "May be," answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "May be," said the farmer.
Accept Responsibility for Your Life
If you don’t like something why do you keep waiting for someone to come to your life and change it? I know you’re scared of the change as it’s uncertain, you may lose everything you have, but is it better to live with that guilt of not trying to pursue your dream?
Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else. – Les Brown
You may want to get to the point which is very far and seems impossible. Take small steps. Do things necessary to train yourself for success. Want to become a writer? Start writing daily. Want to lose weight? Visualize your goal, sign up for the gym, find a partner, commit, tell it to everyone to keep you accountable and most important put in work every day.
Don’t Wait for the Right Time
We always wait for the right time. The only time that exists is now. You feel grateful for someone? Tell them. You feel like learning a language? Start today with basic words. You wait for that amazing lifetime adventure to start? Book a ticket anywhere and feel that excitement and aliveness flowing into you.
The worst that can happen is you that will lose everything you have now. Your friends, money, car, job title, but is it all irreversible? As Paulo Coelho said, “You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love…”
People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of. – Paulo Coelho
You will not lose your family or friends, you will find out who is truly supporting you because people who care about you will support you in any venture. A job title? With your knowledge and experience, you will most likely get back to a similar or even better position in less than a year. Money? You will definitely have a hard time earning money after you invested everything in your dream but it’s also not a big issue, you will find a job, you will find a way to make money again and get back on track.
If not now, when? Give it a shot.