It is interesting to see how my feelings about the future and what it holds for me are shared by a lot of people in exactly the same way. All of them (us) have used the exact same phrasing, "living in the future". My first reaction was "hey, that describes precisely how I feel", but then it started to sink inside me. Living in the future.
First of all, I shall briefly describe what it is that I mean by that, for those of you that are curious and/or are lucky enough not to share similar feelings of anxiety. "Living in the future" refers to a state (of mind, primarily) where one feels that they have to bear through all the problems that appear in present time for the sake of future prosperity. Now, you might think this sounds perfectly reasonable, which it does, therefore I feel I need to differentiate between planning/dreaming about the future and actually living in it.
It is perfectly normal to plan ahead, and indeed some people that don't so that (that's right, point that finger towards me) often find themselves watching opportunities go past them, or panic trying to make things work at the very last moment. It is also a normal thing to dream about the future, or hope/dream/wish for certain things to happen. It is also fine to acknowledge that the pursuit of finer things in the future might mean that you have to go through rough and troublesome periods in the present. That is all good.
What's not good is when you choose to disassociate yourself from the present time, not paying any attention to whether or not you are enjoying yourself, not trying to improve things for yourself in the present, not enjoying, experiencing and, in practice, not living your life in present time. Instead, time goes by and you're just left thinking about what the future will bring, the possibility of a good life in the future, where you'll end up when you're 30/40/50/60 and have children/grandchildren/no children. It is sad because, in reality, all we have for sure is the present, and even if it not present perfect, that's what we have to go by. It is our wishes, hopes and ambitions that drive us through life, but we do have to live it in order to fulfil them.
Ironically, when I was asked back when I was 17 (in school, during essay writing) what is my definition of happiness, I answered "to be able to be 80 years old and look back on my life and say: that was a good life". Doomed to live in the future until I'm too old for that and have to live in the past. Yep, that's me!
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