Many philosophers of the past and the present have advocated for living in the moment instead of focusing on the future; in this essay, I hope to show how this is a flawed view, since one should ideally focus on both.
Proponents of living in the present argue that stressing about what is ahead of us robs us of the joy of living in the moment. This is a line of reasoning that is, for example, intrinsic to Buddhist philosophy, which states that given society’s current focus on future productivity and output, it is important to find joy in day to day activities. By worrying too much about the future, one could argue that one can never truly achieve happiness, since as soon as a person gets what he or she wants, they immediately jump to what they would need next. Overall, it could be said that given our limited time on Earth, it is indeed a waste to spend it purely living in the future.
On the other hand, it is important to plan out what an individual should do in the future in order to ensure a certain level of financial stability. Although it is important to enjoy the moment, not having a clear future plan could result in one becoming poor, ending up in situations they might not necessarily want to be in. give one peace of mind, since not knowing what could potentially happen can lead to anxiety, ruining present enjoyment. Therefore, in order to have both, we should ensure that our future plans are in place.
Overall, I believe that while living in the moment is important, there are practical reasons why one should always plan for the future.