We view the future as a wide open landscape riddled with opportunity, and it is exactly that ideal which disables us from being truly happy: the assumption that the future holds something greater than the present, and we just have to wait for it.

The future, despite popular belief, is dependent on the present. This is an overlooked fact of life. The present holds all the possibilities for the future. What we do today dictates what we experience in the future, whether it is distant or near.

If there is something you want to happen, something that will make you happier, your actions in the present will affect the probability of the desired alteration. Laying in wait for “what should happen” will not make you any more content with your one life. If you are anticipating something happening, obviously you have a desire for change.

We associate the future with freedom and happiness, but its really the present that holds the capacity to offer those things to us. It has been said that change does not happen over night, which is exactly the principle at work. Choices in the present decide the future in an instant, but those changes are not susceptible to discovery until later. Every choice you make has repercussions that directly effect the future.

The future will only be a better place if you make it so, on its own boasts nothing greater than the present. If there is something you want to happen, it will not happen on its own; do not put all your desires in the hand of the future. Take action in your life, and the open path will become apparent. Through trial and error, you will find the happiness you are destined for.