Be Happy! Living in the Past, Future, and Present

Do you want to know an easy way to be happier?
Think about where you live in your thoughts.

Do you dwell in your past thinking about what you should have, could have, or would have done differently?

Living in the past brings sadness. Constantly reliving sad events or things that turned out badly only makes you depressed. Take your life lessons, remember the ways you can do things differently next time, and forget the misery.

Learning to let go of my sad moments took a new way of thinking about the past. Instead of remembering my precious daughter’s pain and hospital stays, I set those terrifying memories aside and, instead of ignoring Sara, I replace the excruciating memories with happy moments. Now, when I remember Sara, I think about times like the morning she took off flying in her power wheelchair giggling, with her braids in the air, as she headed for the St Johns River. Her game meant I had to run and turn her chair before she landed in the water. Or, going even further back in time, the day she won a swimming race at her Huntington Beach school by kicking harder than the other kids, even though she couldn’t walk. I learned to remember the joy of her living. These memories make me happy. The only way I could think about her was to slowly replace all the bad memories by concentrating on the good moments.

Perhaps you can learn to concentrate on today instead of your sad past by turning every painful memory aside and thinking about happy things instead.

Do you fret and feel anxious about what is going to happen to you? 

Living in the future causes worry. Living in anxiety makes you feel terrified, scared, and leads to insomnia, which causes a viscous cycle of worry and depression.

Like many people, I would wake up terrified and worry about what could happen next in my life. After losing my daughter and husband, I would wake up in the middle of the night wondering what evil thing lurked around the corner. Living in fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) is no way to live. Dwelling on some mysterious future doesn’t do anyone any good. I learned to replace worry thoughts with prayers, meditations, music, uplifting spiritual books like Raymond Charles Barker’s The Power of Decision, and happy thoughts of visions I would like to see come into my experience. The old saying, “What you think is what you get” means more to me than ever. My terrifying fears did not come to pass. Thank God. Now, when I begin to be afraid of the future, I give thanks for my many blessings and think about something good I want to experience.

When you catch yourself worrying about the future, turn your focus to things that make you happy in the present moment. Replace the untrue painful visions of the unknown future with daydreams of what you want to have. Without dreams, nothing happens. Makes sure your dreams are good ones! And, make an action-step plan of what you can do today to improve your life. Don’t worry. Be happy!

Living in the present gives peaceful joy. The only time you really live is right now. What happened is over; what’s coming is future. You live your life in the middle. Become aware of the joyful, precious moments surrounding you this instant. Give thanks for your good. Feel the joy of living in every breath you take.