Why is it so hard to live in the present?

"Live in the present", is probably the most overused phrase on the internet. There are many self-help books and motivational speakers telling us about the importance of living in this moment and all the benefits you get by doing so. I too agree that living in the moment will help you to live a happy and fulfilling life. We all know that to live in the moment is to fully enjoy the present without worrying about tomorrow or mull over the past. But, do we actually know how to apply that principle in life?

I was a constant worrier. I always used to feel bad about all the decisions I took in the past and worry about the future. When I first learnt about the concept of living in the moment, I thought I had discovered the greatest technique to live life. But, it wasn't really easy to approach life with that attitude. Also, it was not possible to apply that principle in everyday life. We will definitely create more problems if we live life in the present moment without really understanding how it works. For instance, an angry person who believes in the concept of living in the moment could go around hurting others who caused him pain. Because, he believes that we should live life in the moment like there is no tomorrow. A middle-class person might spend all their life long savings in a single day believing in the same concept. Fortunately or unfortunately most of us wake up to see tomorrow and we have to face all the consequences of the actions we did yesterday.

Living in the moment perfectly makes sense if we are dying tomorrow. We can do anything we wish whether it's killing people you don't like or spending time with your loved ones. (I'm sure if you were to die tomorrow you wouldn't be wasting time hurting people). It's true that life is unpredictable and there are million chances we could die this very moment. But, life is fairer than we would like to believe. The average life expectancy is around 70 years which means most of us aren't dying tomorrow. What if we don't die tomorrow? Shouldn't we face the consequences of all the actions we did yesterday believing in the concept of living in the moment?

I think we don't properly understand what it means to live in the moment. After researching my bit on this concept, I think I discovered something which has helped me to really live in the moment.

Firstly, we all have 2 worlds Psychological world and the practical world. Psychological world is something our mind has created. Here our minds keep reminding us about the past and tricks us to believe that everything we imagine about the future will come true. Like what will happen if I fail in my exams, what will happen if I meet with an accident, what will happen if get divorced.

It's very important to live in the moment in our psychological world. This will stop us from worrying about tomorrow and dwelling in the past. All you need to do is realize that we can't change what's happened and everything you imagine about the future may or may not happen. More than 90% of the situations we imagine won't really happen. If at all they happen they might not be as bad as you imagined them to be. Even if they are really bad, worrying about them definitely would've not changed the situation.

Secondly, there is the practical world. This is the real world. You will have to face the consequences of all your actions in the real world. Before you apply the concept of living in the moment, remember that you will have to face the consequences of today's actions tomorrow. This will help you to stop doing the things that you shouldn't do in the name of "Living in the moment".