The Present Tense: Overcoming Regret with Mindfulness

Mindfulness has become the new trend. It’s been marketed as the solution to almost everything. Headspace, 10% Happier, Waking Up, Calm, and other mediation apps are soaring in popularity. Thinkers like John Kabat-Zinn, Sam Harris, Dan Harris, and Andy Puddicombe have built an audience around the topic. Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, and other “gurus” advocate for it.

My intital thoughts on mindfulness were iffy. I realized quickly that it wasn’t the solution to everything. I tried to make mediation a habit, however back then I saw it as a task. Something I needed to complete.

“I meditated for 10 mins today. Perfect, that’s off my to-do list.”

The Solution I Wasn’t Looking For

Lately, I’ve been dwelling on the past. The mistakes I’ve made. The what ifs I have. “If only I knew back then what I know now.”

That kind of thinking is the root of the problem. Not being present.

“We are listening to our own thoughts, reacting to things that happened in the past, applying theories and ideas that we digested long ago but that have nothing to do with our predicament in the present.” - The 33 Strategies of War, Robert Greene

No amount of thinking in advance can prepare me for the chaos of life. The only thing that I can do is work with what I have, become a supreme opportunist, and live in the present tense.