There’s that song that goes, “now that we found love, what are we gonna do with it?”

And it always got me thinking, yeah, then what?

I feel we spend so much of our lives waiting, chasing something.

Be it love, money, health, a dream body, tropical vacations, freedom… but rarely we seem truly ready for what we ask for – to experience it, enjoy it, live it fully because truthfully, how do we even do that?

In the chase we find meaning. In the lack we find solidarity. In the absence we find comfort. And the chase become the journey, and the journey a goal in itself.

We get so used to longing that we’re unprepared for receiving. Sometimes, keeping what we want just slightly out of reach feels safer than actually having it.

We’ve conditioned ourselves to look for flaws and imperfections (everything can always be better). We keep chasing not because we don’t have, but because we don’t know how to be with what we have. Can you still want something once you already have it? Even after getting what we want, quickly enough we fall into another search.

*Chase to me isn’t equal to setting goals. There is something about chasing that imply a feeling of lack, while having goals – flexible goals – doesn’t necessarily gives off that sense of putting your life on hold, waiting for something to happen so you can be happy.*

How do we truly learn to appreciate life now, without necessarily chasing for more?

How do we stay grateful as life unfolds, potentially getting more – but not needing it at all costs?

Here’s some tips that have helped me getting out of the chase mentality and have granted me a deeper appreciation of the present – while having goals:

A practice for silent presence.

Whenever my thoughts start to race, jumping from one thing to the next, I feel like a stormy ocean. Water is choppy, winds and currents clashing, no chance to see the calm, deep floor. That’s my cue to pause. I’ll sit, ideally somewhere with trees, and let my inner world quiet down. 10 intentional minutes of silence and stillness is often enough to settle the waters: I then can see the ocean floor again, and from that quiet depth fewer, wiser thoughts float up, bringing a different perspective. (If you rather be moving, walking is just as effective).

Write it down.

Writing is cathartic. It’s also a great way to check in with yourself. I love sometimes to write down all that makes me happy – it’s a great practice, especially in the morning. It sets the tone for how you want to spend the day. It trains your awareness – what do you want to bring more attention to. While it’s great to have goals, it’s important to appreciate every little thing, because they make up the big things. If you can’t appreciate the little things, how can you appreciate the bigger ones?

Break your phone addiction.

I’m definitely addicted to my phone. As useful as it is, it keeps us distracted, and when we’re distracted we’re unaware. So to break autopilot chasing mode, take a break from your phone, maybe for the first or last hour of your day. The more awareness you can practice, the more present you can be when you want to be.

Dropping the guilt.

Sometimes I know I have it better than other people. I was in the Bahamas last Monday, then working online from Miami Beach the following week… Even writing that I can work from the beach, a tiny bit of guilt comes up. Why? Because not everyone can. But I’ve worked hard to create this life – and if you had too, you deserve to enjoy it. We don’t need to apologize for our joy. We can own it, with humility and gratitude, but without guilt.

Sharing.

Once you’ve grounded yourself in presence, acknowledged your blessings, hid your phone (lol) and released the guilt, there’s only one thing left: share it. I feel what is shared is amplified, so if we can share our joy, love, wealth, success, health, even just our lightness, it grows – and you might touch or inspire others in really powerful ways.

If you can break from the chase and stop waiting for things to be absolutely perfect, but make the most of what is here now, enjoy and relax a bit more in this moment, you’ll tap into a deeper level of understanding of life and you’ll take the direction of it in your hands.

I’m going to leave you with a picture I took today: would you be pissed the light just turned red (actually what happened lol) or would you take those two minutes to look at those marvelous fluffy flowery trees?

The little things.