Mindfulness: The Importance of Living in the Now

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.” —Dalai Lama

by Amy Medling, founder of PCOS Diva

Time and again, it has been proven that people who tackle each day with enthusiasm for the present are happier than those who go about their days halfheartedly, looking forward to what might lie ahead. It’s easy—almost too easy—to imagine our lives with different circumstances and let our dreams hinder our appreciation for the present. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, it’s important to recognize and cherish what you do. Living a mindful life is an critical component of the healthy PCOS lifestyle.

How can you begin to live a mindful life? It may involve a change in the way you think, but here are some tips that can help you get there.

1. Don’t Agonize About the Future

  So many of our problems and our worries originate simply from overthinking. Aside from causing ourselves unnecessary stress and grief, the fundamental problem with this is that all the time we spend overthinking only takes away from doing. We need to realize that oftentimes the rougher terrain puts us on track for the best things that will happen in our lives. But first, we need to minimize all of the trivial things that stand between us and happiness.

When women are first diagnosed with PCOS, they are often plagued with fear about the future: “will I get pregnant?” or “what will become of my health?” are the biggest question marks. Rather than worrying over questions that are, frankly, unanswerable, why not make the changes that will get you where you want to be? The lesson to be learned here is that you need to trust yourself wholly and fathom what you’re capable of being and doing. Don’t underestimate yourself; estimate yourself. Trust that you can achieve the life that’s meant for you and don’t let your negative thoughts get in your own way.

2. Don’t Beat Yourself Up About the Past

One of the most typical and yet unfortunate mistakes a person can make after hearing unfavorable news is to waste time thinking about how their life might have been better if they’d only done something differently, if the diagnosis had come earlier, if they’d only recognized the signs or had been able to anticipate what was coming. Those of us who have been diagnosed with PCOS do this more than we’d like to admit.

Instead of looking back upon past decisions that can’t be reversed, make an effort to understand the power that you do wield over your current situation and resolve to make the best of it every single day. If you always let your past determine who you are today, there would be no hope for improvement; quite honestly, the future would be bleak. Lucky for you, Diva, that’s not the case! Think about the person that you strive to be and let today’s decisions mirror the decisions that your “ideal self” would make. Learn to identify the parts of your past that you wish to let go of, and do so!

3. Be Grateful for Today

  There’s no point in waiting for life. It’s happening here and now, and every minute you spend wishing for something different is a minute lost. Your journey is and has always been in your hands, so stop thinking about life as something that happens and instead perceive it as something that you make happen. Living for today is achieved through sheer determination and the courage to take the necessary positive steps.

Resolve to be healthy. Resolve to be happy. Remember that the happiest people aren’t necessarily those who are dealt the best hands; rather, they make the best of the cards they’re dealt. At first, you’ll need to consciously remind yourself to live in the now, but eventually you’ll do so without having to think about it, and you’ll be happier and healthier every day that follows. Happiness isn’t five years from now, or on a beach somewhere. There is happiness in this moment—reach out and grab it.