One of the greatest ironies of spiritual health is that some people still try to use the idea of living in the present moment as a vehicle that will bring them to something good later on. This is a bizarre and ironic side effect of the popularization of self-help books.
The truth of the matter is that being present only helps you with your career, relationships, and life in general because it makes those external influences irrelevant. If you can find presentness and peace within yourself, you don’t need anything else to affirm your existence. You can simply be for the sake of being. This is the fundamental side-effect of mindfulness.
One of the most important requisites for living mindfully and in the present is to stop planning your life in advance. You don’t know what’s going to happen in two hours, let alone two years. People like to make big plans over long periods of time— forcing yourself along a path allows a certain sense of comfort and purpose.
This is a false comfort that can be lost at any time due to unforeseen circumstances or a spontaneous involuntary change of heart. The last thing on the agenda of a mindful person is to be stuck in a life that isn’t your own. Don’t let yourself get carried away with planning. Recognize when your plans are just ways to deflect anxieties about the future and devote yourself to the present.