Don't live for the future

It's easy to get caught up in your goals to make more money, get a promotion, buy a nicer house, get in shape, or...go 1099. Things never seem to move fast enough and you feel like you're falling behind.

That feeling sucks. But we can learn something from Alan Watts, a hippie popularizer of Eastern philosophy.

In his book, The Book: On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, Watts points out that living for the future will never leave you happy.

"For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans for a future which you will never be able to enjoy. When your plans mature, you will still be living for some other future beyond. You will never, never be able to sit back with full contentment and say, “Now, I’ve arrived!” Your entire education has deprived you of this capacity because it was preparing you for the future, instead of showing you how to be alive now."

​-Alan Watts, The Book: On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are​

Do the work to achieve your goals but don't fall for the hoax that you will magically be permanently happy once you achieve them.

The only way to win the game is to enjoy your life as it is now.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk ;).