The Importance of balancing the past, the present and the future

Is it the material things that matter in life or the experiences they bring? Life is said to be fickle. Different things happen, so we react, then more things happen, and we interact again. Or we may interact first, and then things happen depending on what comes first.

We wake up, head to our daily jobs, go home, and then  maybe we hit the gym, watch some TV, have dinner , and then we go to sleep. The next day, again, we wake up, go to work, go back home, hoping that we can hit the gym again, we also watch TV, have dinner, and then we go to sleep. On the weekend, we wake up and hope to do something different, without actually doing it.

The relentless feverish pursuit - the rat race - has unfortunately become a pillar of life. We stick to a comfortable routine and go after money. It seems that the chase for money has become an end rather than a means, but why?Why are you going to work? Why are you making money? Why are you saving it? And why are you buying things with it?

Maximize the value of your experiences and carefully choose who to share them with:

We are likely to forget the real reason we exist in this world. It's very common but we were totally unaware of it. Work is definitely not the reason, neither is the money. Then what is the reason? Most of us live life in a daze, walking a preset track, either because we've never thought of doing otherwise, or because we're too afraid to break the chain of common thinking, which is a shame.

I can think of one good reason why we exist, which is to maximize the value of our time. There is no point in our lives but to make the greatest possible value in every minute. So whether you reach the greatest possible value by playing video games or by working 16 hours a day at work, that is exactly what you should be doing.

This way, experiences are the most important in life. Life is about experiences that you have at the moment - those that give you the greatest value in that very moment. If you focus on the experience, and you make sure to share it with people who can sense the underlying meaning of it, I'd say that you're living a life of value. And one day, when you're on your deathbed, you won't have money, you won't have anything, you won't even have any status, but all you'll have is a bunch of experiences and the people you've shared them with.

I've learned this the hard way when a close friend of mine died, and I'm sure many of us have. When it comes to death, the normal lifestyle today doesn't seem very important. We realize that what's important is the feeling of being alive, through various experiences.

The question I'm facing right now is:

How many people will be at my funeral?

Somehow , we can say that money buys happiness following the logic mentioned above. If happiness maximizes the value of your time, and if you value driving your limo more than anything else, then yes, money will be able to buy happiness. This brings us to another point: Although  the meaning of life is to achieve the greatest value from experience at every moment, sometimes satisfaction can be delayed in the current moment for greater value in the long run, and that is an crucial point, but let's explore:

If playing video games gives you the maximum value at the moment, then go for it and give up a job where you work long hours. In that case, you should only do what helps you play video games as much as possible.

Still, you have diminished productivity for the value of playing a large number of video games - even amusement parks become boring when you go there 500 times - and ultimately, you'll be less likely to have fun as a result.

What if you decide to have a job that teaches you how to design video games instead of instant gratification and value of playing the video game experience? Sure , you'll give up the maximum possible value right now, but your future reward will be a greater experience, making a successful video game that you love.

Therefore, although life is all about experience, and the value of life stems from maximizing the value of the moment, it's sometimes important to let go of instant value and feel content for a future experience with a greater reward.

If this is true, then the meaning of life lies in balance. So, overall, you'll have a set of experiences that will continually increase in value. Again, that's an important point, you don't have to give up the present for the future, but you don't need to give up your future in order to feel temporarily satisfied as well. It's ultimately about balance.

What's most important, the past, the present or the future?

There's no doubt that experiences are all that matters, but you shouldn't seek out many instant experiences that make you give up the amazing future experiences. In return, you shouldn't give up the present for a future that you may not want anyway. When we delve into it, the experiences themselves may not be the goal of life. Let me tell you a story:

I had a great week once. It was one of the best times of my life. My friends and I went on a road trip that I couldn't afford, but I shrugged it off, held my ground, and said, "Screw it". It's all about the experience, we said.

So, we were traveling, meeting different people, connecting with old friends, and doing a lot of experiments that enriched our lives. At the time, I was convinced that life was all about the experience and the people we shared it with, and more or less, I still am.

Then, something happened on the last day of our trip. My friend was arrested on some charges related to his studies - a felony actually. His life would have changed forever for sure , although my other friends and I were not directly involved, but that event completely changed the meaning of the trip and our memory of it.

We lived four days of joy and gained a set of experiences that changed our lives positively. But then everything changed on the fifth day. We went home sad and grim, sorry for the tough luck of our friend and the issues of the judicial system that's meant to "protect us."

Instead of thinking about the amazing experiences I had, all I could think of was the arrest. It was as if the downside of the trip was the dominant, with no upside at all, and that's still all I could think of when I recall that trip.

So, is life about the experiences, or is it about the memory?  If it's all about experience, then the large number of positive experiences we've had on our trip must outweigh, or at least balance out the negativity, but it's not, because our memory of the trip has been full of negativity.

Although the overall experiences were good, our memory of that trip is not. It's the memory of the trip that matters to me. In this sense, life is about how you remember your experiences.

Winding it Up:

Life at its core is about balance. You must live in the present and enjoy the moment because it's all we have. You also need to deal with the present in a way that gives you beautiful memories of your past because although life revolves around the present moment, this present will become the past, and your memory of the past indicates how you ultimately value your life. You need to live in the present in a way that continues to increase the potential in your future.

The present is the catalyst, which is all that matters. If you died tomorrow, then how will you live today? What  do you think of your past?  For this reason, it is the present that matters.

Fortunately, some of us may live a long life. Therefore, we must live in the present in a way that maximizes the value of the present moment, as well as creating the building blocks of our rich future, remembering our past proudly, and then through the balance between the present, the future and the past, we will live an important life.