Live for the moment--the next moment

You felt so good, so relieved, so carefree, and so caught up in the present that you decided to overindulge on food and alcohol  to make it even better.  Life's just too damn short to deny ourselves such simple and sublime pleasures, right?  Go ahead and have one more margarita, and throw down some tortillas and guacamole while you're at it.  What the heck!  You only live once, and right now is all that counts, right?

Wrong.  Living for the moment may sound good if you're an old hippie, but this mindset has consequences.  EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO in any single moment has consequences--sometimes good, sometimes not.  Spend one moment eating too much, and you'll spend the next moment regretting it.

There's nothing wrong with fully enjoying life in the present.  Just think at least one moment ahead.  You do, after all, have an obligation to live as healthy and productive a life as possible, and that requires some advance planning.  So keep your sight focused in front of you to the future, rather than blindly turning it inward to the present.  All of your actions have consequences.   Is eating half a pineapple upside-down cake really worth the far-reaching price you will pay?

Next time you're tempted to throw caution to the wind and "eat for the moment," remember the moments that will inevitably follow close behind. If you truly want to celebrate something special, celebrate staying the course during times of temptation.  You will always be so glad that you did!