75 Inspiring Quotes About Living In The Present Moment

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

This took me 10 years to learn:

Regrets are useless. Overplanning brings stress. I must simply do my best NOW.

Based on this, I collected the top 75 present moment quotes I could find.

Use them as reminders for one of the most famous clichés, because it’s true.

Nobody can be happy by thinking about the past or by planning the future.

You can only be happy “now”.

You’ll find quotes from Buddha, Gandhi, Thoreau, and many more.

I hope you’ll enjoy them!

Give yourself a gift: the present moment. Marcus Aurelius

The moment is not found by seeking it, but by ceasing to escape from it. James Pierce

Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Eckhart Tolle

If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. Thich Nhat Hanh

Normalize being alone, having no plan, doing nothing. Maxime Lagacé

present moment quotes look around james pierce wisdom

Look around you. This is it. James Pierce

The Present is the point at which Time touches eternity. C.S. Lewis

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha

A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future. Albert Einstein

We are always in the present, but seldom focused on it. James Clear

present moment quotes without fear separation deepak chopra wisdom

The present moment is without fear or separation. Deepak Chopra

Calm your mind. Train your body. Master your craft. Be present in the moment. Shane Parrish

The ego needs competition. The soul needs connection. Maxime Lagacé

Anxiety, the illness of our time, comes primarily from our inability to dwell in the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh

Only the present moment is real. Thich Nhat Hanh

Related

More Quotes About The Present Moment

There is nothing you can do or attain that will get you closer to salvation than it is at this moment. Eckhart Tolle

If you make friends with the present moment, and always say ‘yes’ to whatever is, life becomes friendly towards you. Life always shows you the face that you show it. It’s always a mirror. Eckhart Tolle

Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second. Greg McKeown

Sit just to enjoy your sitting; you don’t need to attain any goal. Each moment of sitting meditation brings you back to life. Thich Nhat Hanh

The future is being made out of the present, so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. This is logical and clear. Thich Nhat Hanh (Source)

Breathing and smiling is a deep practice to bring us back to the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh

The most important reason to live in the moment is nothing lasts forever: Enjoy the moment while it’s in front of you; be present. Accept life for what it is — a finite span of time with infinite possibilities. Joshua Fields Millburn

Be forgiving with your past self. Be strict with your present self. Be flexible with your future self. James Clear

Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed. Short, therefore, is man’s life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells. Marcus Aurelius

The present moment is the only time we have dominion. Thich Nhat Hanh

The difference between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. Albert Einstein

present moment quotes never anything live anywhere alan watts wisdom

There is never anything but the present, and if one cannot live there, one cannot live anywhere. Alan Watts

The future depends on what we do in the present. Mahatma Gandhi

Break the old pattern of present moment denial and present moment resistance. Make it your practice to withdraw attention from past and future whenever they are not needed. Eckhart Tolle

When you make the present moment, instead of past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do and with it the quality of your life increases dramatically. Eckhart Tolle

If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future. Winston Churchill

If you are not happy in this moment, happy memories are a poor consolation prize. If you are happy in this moment, happy memories are irrelevant. James Pierce (Source)

In every moment of your life, there is an underlying calmness. The extent to which you feel calm is the extent to which you have recognized this. James Pierce

Believe me, wise men don’t say ‘I shall live to do that’, tomorrow’s life is too late; live today. Martial

Focus. Be here and now. A distracted mind is a recipe for unhappiness. Paulo Coelho

All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way. Marcus Aurelius

To be mindful is to be fully present with whatever we are doing. If you are drinking tea, just drink your tea. Thich Nhat Hanh

Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live in the moments of your daily life deeply. Thich Nhat Hanh

Confidence is less about what you’ve done in the past and more about how you talk to yourself in the present. Shane Parrish (Source)

Remind yourself: You can only deal with the present moment. Everything else is a memory, a hope or a fear. Anthony J James

Be aware, alert, and sensitive to the present moment always, in all actions and relations whatsoever, beginning at this instant. Alan Watts

To live in the past is to die in the present. Bill Belichick

If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present. Lao Tzu

Living in the present is the instant perception of beauty and the great delight in it without seeking pleasure from it. Jiddu Krishnamurti

You are never fully here because you are always busy trying to get elsewhere. Eckhart Tolle

Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment. Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth)

Through the present moment, you have access to the power of life itself. Eckhart Tolle

The present moment is the field on which the game of life happens. Eckhart Tolle

Make peace with your past so it won’t destroy your present. Paulo Coelho (Source)

The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Paulo Coelho

Presence is when you’re no longer waiting for the next moment, believing that the next moment will be more fulfilling than this one. Eckhart Tolle

Be aware of your breathing. Notice how this takes attention away from your thinking and creates space. Eckhart Tolle

Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Eckhart Tolle

Your entire life consists of the present moment. Eckhart Tolle (Source)

Unhappiness is created whenever you are out of alignment with the present moment. Eckhart Tolle

You cannot find yourself in the past or future. The only place where you can find yourself is in the Now. Eckhart Tolle

The moment your attention turns to the Now, you feel a presence, a stillness, a peace. Eckhart Tolle

Be present. Be in the moment. Be aware. Be here now. Rhonda Byrne (Source)

The Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. C.S. Lewis

Presence is the antidote to comparison. When you’re completely absorbed in what you’re doing, it’s almost impossible to compare. The joy of being in a deep state of flow mitigates the pain of comparison. Thibaut

Your presence is your power, which is why it’s so important to give yourself the opportunity to truly live in the moment. Gabby Berstein

Presence is what remains when everything else is removed. Naval Ravikant

Only one who is at peace with the transitory nature of things can truly live. James Pierce

Know that life can only be found in the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh

If we can be present to the moment with the person that we happen to be with at the moment, that’s what’s important. Fred Rogers

You have never been anywhere other than the present, and you never will be. James Pierce

Grounding ourselves in the present moment allows us to connect with ourselves and helps us appreciate every experience, living our lives more fully. Deepak Chopra

Don’t watch the news today. Focus on what’s in front of you. Exist solely in the present moment. Ryan Holiday

Fearlessness is what love seeks… Such fearlessness exists only in the complete calm that can no longer be shaken by events expected of the future… Hence the only valid tense is the present, the Now. Hannah Arendt

Stay in the present. Take it one day at a time. You don’t have grace for tomorrow. You have grace for this day. When you get to tomorrow, there will be grace for that day. Joel Osteen (Source)

You have to think ahead and live in the moment. Rick Sanchez

Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men’s store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee. Dale Cooper

Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity. Maria Popova

Reality is neutral. Our reactions reflect back and create our world. Judge, and feel separate and lonely. Anger, and lose peace of mind. Cling, and live in anxiety. Fantasize, and miss the present. Desire, and suffer until you have it. Heaven and hell are right here, right now. Naval Ravikant

Hope is the belief that this moment isn’t good enough. Naval Ravikant

This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays. Ralph Waldo Emerson

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. Seneca

Conclusion

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this. Henry David Thoreau