ABSTRACT

These days we hear more and more people preach about the benefits of ‘living in the present’.1 However, this is very difficult to do because, on the one hand, regrets about the past may prove difficult to ignore, while on the other, worries about the future may distract our attention from the present. As a result, we may not be fully engaged in the task at hand. Our performance may decline, and we may fail to get as much out of an episode of our life as we can. Since the present is really the only time when we can make a difference, failing to do the best we can translates to wasting the precious life that we have.