Enjoy the Moment

Looking at #12 of my Current Personal Commandments, “enjoy the moment”, it can actually be thought of as “part 2” of “Don’t Wait for Perfect”. For me, they go hand in hand.  Waiting for perfect causes me to want more, to want something that I have yet to attain, to focus on what I don’t have rather than what I do have.  “Enjoying the moment” is a way that I can, even in chaos, take a breathe and assess what is working right for me in this very moment.  I have a tendency to get caught up in what needs to be done, what I am not getting done, etc.  AND actually, in almost all circumstances, I have so much cause to enjoy my very present situation and life.  Focus on now, focus on what I am doing now, not in what I will be doing in 5 minutes, 1 week, a month or in retirement is the very essence for me to learn to live in joy, gratitude and serenity.  Taking a moment to breath in the goodness and breath out the anxiousness truly helps me to enjoy what I have right in front of me that I so often overlook.  It also helps me in striving for another personal commandment “one thing at a time”– but that is another blog for another day.

What about you?   Do you live in the here and now or are you waiting for perfect to enjoy? How do you shift to enjoying the moment?

Don’t Wait for Perfect

“Don’t wait for perfect” is one of my commandments.  At first blush you might think that I do things 1/2 way or leave a lot undone but call it done.   Actually it is just the opposite.  Many times I do not put closure on something or move onto the next thing unless it is “perfect.”.  One of my friends shared a phrase “better done than perfect” with me years ago and at first I was really put off by it; I actually found it somewhat funny.  I mean I did not want to be someone to say “well at least it’s done; sorry that it fell apart”…

BUT as I examine my life and what my comfort zones are, I find that many times, waiting for something to be perfect is an excuse, crutch, explanation and also a disillusioning way of thinking.  It actually results in me living in the future all the time rather than in the present.  I can say/think things like “when this happens, then I will do this” or “when you do this  I will do that” or “when this is done and PERFECT, then I will enjoy life and relax”…  I have said all of these things and more in my life.  Waiting for things to be done before you enjoy your life or appreciate what you have in this moment is a way of robbing yourself over and over.  Rather, appreciate the now, bring closure when you can in the now, and allow yourself to come back to something to improve it later–but don’t put life on hold waiting for its perfect completion.

Live now and enjoy–don’t wait for perfect.