Don’t Look Forward, You May Miss Today

Happy Friday y’all. I have long observed the obsession in people to continue to discount what is right in front of them, looking forward to that future thing that does not yet exist. I put myself in this category up until the last few years. This is especially true of weekends.

I have worked a number of roles, and have worked a number of shifts where the traditional weekend, week day, and week night, are completely blurred. However, I have observed that they all have one thing in common, the weekend, or some form of it.

People all over look forward to that glorious two days, every week. Here is how this typically goes.

When Monday comes, we spend the day talking about how short the weekend was and how awful it is to back at work. If only we had a four day work week. (spoiler alert, the weekend is the same number of days every week). Tuesday, we recognize that the next day is hump day.

I can not believe it is only Tuesday.

Wednesday it is the midway point, and yet, the weekend is so far away. Thursday may be the better of the five days and we have just one more day to wake up. But even then we say that with a tone of dread, followed by, I have so much work to do before the weekend. On Friday, there are just a few more hours before the proverbial bell rings that sets us free for the glorious two days off. Finally, 5pm on Friday and it is the weekend. Saturday morning, our day is filled with all the things that we had planned. And, amidst all of the fun we say to ourselves, or out loud;

I can not believe I have to go back to work on Monday!

On Sunday, many people are dreading the entire day as the walk of death to the dreaded work week. And the cycle repeats.

This pattern holds true for holidays, events, and vacations. Always looking forward and missing the moments that we have right now. Instead of spending your time upset that the weather is not “perfect”. Look out at that cloudy sky and be amazed by the cloud formations vs. you finally have a few days off and it is going to rain;

Just my luck.

Here is my challenge to all of you. If we know this happens to us and millions of others, what can you do, today, to help someone enjoy the moment? How can you help someone stop looking right past the very moment in time they are in, in favor of some unknown future, that they are going to dread being in anyway. The weekend, vacation, etc., always ends. The positive outlook does not. You have the power.

To tell a different story.

At work, how can you provide an opportunity to show someone the positive of the day? At home, in the coffee shop, at the bar having a few pops with friends. What can you say to help others enjoy the moment, right now, without qualification? This is a very different world that we live in today. People from all over are in need of positivity, a new way of viewing the accepted norms of our society. It is Friday, and Monday is just two days away and many of us will be back at the grind. What lens will you switch out in your internal camera to remove the negative and reveal the beauty of the moment.