One of the most precious things we have is time.

Now we have only that moment, nothing else is actually given to us, and we decide how to spend it.

The worst use we can make of it is to simply pass it, as it is something we can always get back to. Or worse – to spend it thinking about missed opportunities in the past moments.

Our time here is limited, but we get to realize that when we’ve lost it.

Every single day is a gift, and yet we pay more attention to those who are already gone. We forget to look the other way – the many more days ahead of us. And even if we start living in the present moment, we can also miss something crucially important…

Let’s get back to one of our days at school.

We were all there, sitting at our desk, looking at the teacher who was trying to explain the new grammar lesson to us, maybe even listening carefully.
He did his best to make it easier for us to understand the subject. And we did, or at least we thought so.

To this day we still use it in one of every three sentences we say/write/hear, but more often in the wrong way.

I’m talking about Future Simple Tense

It is used when a spontaneous decision is made, when we have a plan or intention and to promise something. I’m sure we all know that. We also use the right auxiliary verb and word order. What we forget though is to actually do what we’ve said. At the moment of speaking we are absolutely sure that we will do something, but half an hour later we either forget, make an excuse or just occupy ourselves with something else.

Another mistake we do is the lack of planning.

One of the most important strategies in business, personal life, politics, writing and many many other activities and spheres. It’s one of the things that separate us from animals and makes us productive and responsible beings.

It’s high time we learn that lesson, correct those mistakes and start thinking about our future.
Only then will we be able to take control of our actions and get one step closer to success.

Forget what your parents, teachers, society, friends, etc. have told you and start analyzing your own life.

Every advice you’ve ever received, no matter how good it was, is the understanding and perception of the person who gave it to you. They don’t know what your dreams and sacred desires are, so their word isn’t worth it in this situation.

Sit down, think carefully and decide what is best for you.
Then take some decisions, make a plan and stick to it.
Take responsibility for your own words and once you’ve promised something, stay true to it.

Remember that you are doing this for your happiness and for the sake of others, because they too want you to be happy.

Set some goals and accomplish them.

Become a person of your word.

If you talk too much but don’t do anything, soon people just stop listening to you.

A long time ago I realized I was going that way, so I decided to keep my word and make less promises. It was hard, like building a new habit, and a big challenge.

I started with small steps – like saying to myself that I will write every day for a week, go to the gym NOW, do this, stop saying that and so on.

I was the only one in charge of the process, so I was the only one disappointed after that as well. After too many disappointments I got too tired of that and started taking it seriously.

You can practice that all your life and with everything you do, you will feel more satisfied and in harmony.

If I made a mistake, I would take responsibility for it. Yes, it was my fault but I would do it right next time.

Once I was proud of my progress, I started including other people. For example, I would tell my mother I will do something, and then I would go and do it. At first, nobody believed me but after seeing results, they had no other option.

One evening, five years ago, at a family dinner I told everyone I wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. Of course everyone thought it was just a whim of mine which wouldn’t last long. But as time went by, they saw how I was always ordering something else or skipping the main course.

And to this day I haven’t eaten meat in any form (I’m not talking about fish and seafood).

Then I gave up other things, acquired new ones and soon people started listening to me. Even admiring me.

The fact that others took part in my self-improvement made me take it more seriously, but still the one person I wanted to impress the most was myself.

Now I can set a bigger goal and give it a deadline, and I can be sure that it will be accomplished.

How to use the future tenses correctly

I’ll try to summarize what I’ve said so far so that we can benefit from the future:

• Keep your promises to a minimum.
• Start making plans.
• Define your goals and desires.
• Take personal responsibility.
• Start with small things that you promise to yourself and do them.
• Make these things bigger and add a deadline.
• Include other people.
• Make yourself trustworthy.

How are you dealing with your future? Do you plan ahead?