Philosophy November 19, 2022

Living in the Moment

Living in the Moment

To live in the present—an advice we have heard of many times to reach long lasting happiness.

Past memory is banished because it invites stress from dwelling over our life tragedies. Future thought is forbidden because it leads to worrying about undesirable outcome.

But we need past memory to establish our identity, to reconcile our experience, to learn from our mistakes. We need thoughts about future to ensure we still have food to eat, to plan for accomplishing our goals, to set hopes on our children.

If living in the present moment grants lasting happiness, amnesia patients would be experiencing long-lived felicity.

You may also like...

When Positive Thinking Fails

A “can do” attitude can go too far that you are optimistic about achieving something that...

Possession and Happiness

Acquiring new possessions makes you happy—albeit temporarily—before your happiness level goes back to baseline. This means,...

Better Than Yourself

Comparing yourself with others yields different outcomes based on the sample size.  If you are are...

Behavioral Adaptations

Where you live matters as much as whom you spend your time with. You do what...