It is easy to spend so much time thinking about what comes next that we forget to enjoy where we are right now.
We make plans, set goals and think about all the things we want to achieve. We look forward to the next holiday, the next big milestone, the next job opportunity or the next chapter of our lives. Having something to look forward to can be a wonderful thing, but sometimes, without even realising it, we start treating the present as something we just need to get through.
We tell ourselves that we will relax when things are less busy, enjoy ourselves when we have more money or feel happier when we have finally achieved the thing we have been working towards.
But what happens when we spend so much time waiting for the future that we forget to live in the present?
There will always be something else to plan for. Another goal to work towards, another responsibility to take care of or another reason to tell ourselves that now is not quite the right time. Before we know it, we can spend months or even years looking ahead, without really appreciating the life we are living along the way.
Planning for the future is important. It gives us direction, helps us prepare for change and allows us to work towards the things that matter to us. Having ambitions and dreams is something to be encouraged.
The problem begins when our plans become so important that we stop enjoying everything happening around them.
Sometimes, we become so focused on reaching the next milestone that we forget that the ordinary days are part of our lives, too. We look forward to the weekend while wishing away the working week. We count down to a holiday without appreciating the little moments happening at home. We become so caught up in preparing for a big event that we forget to enjoy the excitement of getting there.
And sometimes, we convince ourselves that happiness is waiting for us somewhere further down the road.
Once we have finished this project. Once we have saved enough money. Once we have moved house, changed jobs or finally got everything organised.
But life rarely reaches a point where everything is perfectly sorted. There will always be something that needs doing, something that could be improved or something new to think about.
If we wait for everything to be perfect before allowing ourselves to enjoy life, we risk missing out on a lot of happiness along the way.
I think it is also important to recognise that planning can sometimes become a way of dealing with uncertainty. Thinking about the future can make us feel as though we have some control over what happens next. We can make lists, prepare for different possibilities and try to work out how everything will turn out.
But no matter how carefully we plan, life will always contain things we cannot predict.
Sometimes, plans change. Sometimes, opportunities appear when we least expect them. Sometimes, the future we imagined for ourselves turns out differently, and we have to find our way through something we never anticipated.
That does not mean planning is pointless. It simply means that we cannot plan our way through every uncertainty, and we should not have to spend every present moment worrying about what might happen next.
For young people especially, there can be so much pressure to have everything figured out. There are expectations around education, careers, relationships and what it means to be successful. It can feel as though everyone else is moving forward while you are still trying to work out what you want.
Social media can make that feeling even stronger. We see people announcing new jobs, buying houses, travelling the world and reaching exciting milestones. It can be easy to compare our everyday lives with someone else's biggest moments and feel that we should be doing more.
But there is no universal timeline for life. We do not all need to achieve the same things at the same age, and somebody else's progress does not mean that we are falling behind.
At the SupaJam Foundation, supporting young people is about helping them recognise their potential and find their own paths forward. Having goals and ambitions matters, but so does looking after ourselves along the way. Young people should have the opportunity to explore their interests, learn from experiences and work out what matters to them, without feeling that every decision must determine the rest of their lives.
It is okay not to know exactly what you want your future to look like. It is okay to change direction, take your time and discover new things about yourself as you grow.
And it is okay to enjoy where you are, even when you know there are things you still want to achieve.
Sometimes, being present does not mean doing something extraordinary. It can mean enjoying a conversation with someone you love, spending an evening doing something you enjoy or appreciating a quiet moment when nothing particularly exciting is happening.
It might mean celebrating a small achievement rather than immediately moving on to the next thing. It might mean taking a day off without feeling guilty about everything you could be doing instead.
These moments might not look particularly important when we are busy planning our futures, but they are part of the lives we are working so hard to build.
We do not have to abandon our ambitions to appreciate the present. We can do both. We can save for the future while still finding affordable ways to enjoy today. We can work towards our goals while giving ourselves time to rest. We can look forward to what is coming without wishing away what we already have.
Perhaps the answer is not to stop planning, but to remember why we are planning in the first place. Usually, it is because we want to build a life that makes us happy, gives us security or allows us to spend time doing the things we love.
And if we spend the entire journey feeling as though our real lives have not started yet, we might miss the very things we were hoping to make room for.
The future will come, whether we spend every day worrying about it or not. We can prepare for it, work towards it and look forward to it, but we cannot experience it until we get there.
All we really have is the life we are living today.
So, the next time you find yourself counting down to the next big thing, take a moment to look around. Think about what is happening right now, the people you have beside you and the little things that make your everyday life what it is.
You do not need to have everything figured out to enjoy today. You do not need to reach your next milestone to give yourself permission to be happy.
Dream about the future. Make your plans. Work towards the things that matter to you.
Just remember to leave a little room to enjoy the life you have while you are building the one you want.
Because one day, today will be the past you look back on. And it would be a shame to realise that you spent so much time looking forward to tomorrow that you forgot to enjoy it when it was here.