Just another moody monday - Excited much?

"Expectation is the root of all heartache."

William Shakespeare

Me - "Only two weeks to go before we are on the beach! I am really looking forward to it, are you excited?"

Dad -  "No"

Me - "Oh, I thought you would be looking forward to it by now!"

Dad - "I live in the moment, I do not think about the past, I do not worry about the future - I will be excited about it when the day comes"

My first thought of this response was " you grump! how can you not be excited about a holiday" wondering now why I invited my parents to come away with us. But then I remember, back up is welcomed when travelling with two little ones and all of a sudden, he is not so much of a grump anymore.

But it got me thinking about his approach on thinking, and actually it's quite guru, well done dad. Never to be one to worry, or show it (he quite possibly is more like a duck on a pond - still on the surface and paddling away underneath) it was refreshing to hear the same approach taken on excitement too. We all know worrying is pointless, has it ever brought about any good? no. It may feel like a safety net, y'know, I have thought about something so much that if it happens I have all outcomes covered. However, if it does or doesn't happen, does worrying about it beforehand actually change anything?

Instead, surely it is positive to focus on good things in the future, a wedding, birthday, Christmas or like me a holiday. Having something positive to focus on is way healthier than creating worrying possibilities in our heads. But by doing this are we missing out? missing out on the everyday things that we really should be enjoying so much more.

An example of this for me is driving, I am usually so focused on getting up and out and to my destination that I do not notice what is going on around me. I am trying to be more aware, and now I look at the beauty of the place I live in as I drive down the country lanes, living in the moment. I know, it sounds hippyish, but don't worry I have not had the desire to pull over and tree hug, yet.

The only thing is, as a thinker, I enjoy getting lost in the day dream of an upcoming event, what I am going to do, wear, see - it's all exciting to plan. The downside to that is it not living up to expectations, sometimes the dressing up and pre-chats/drinks are way more fun than the actual event. And why is that? well the pre-party was living in the moment, the party itself had been analysed for weeks.

I am not saying I'm not going to get excited about future plans, I actually don't have the ability to do that (hence why I have been talking about going on holiday for the past month) but I am going to be more mindful of living in the moment, or at least try. That's until I see a pair of tassel adorned sandals and off I float in my holiday bubble for at least half an hour.

I think this attitude actually fits in well with my new "Don't think, just do" motto, a new twist being "Don't think, just live" yeah I like that, thanks dad.

http://honestmum.com/brilliant-blog-posts-25th-may-2017/