The Present - By Spencer Johnson: Book Summary

This is a small but great read. Written some years back, it consists of hardly 100 pages but the wisdom and knowledge it shares are truly timeless. Rather, I would say it is a necessity of this fast-moving era.

Get the book from Amazon: The Present

So let's begin a summary of the book The Present by Spencer Johnson

The Present is a gift that we give to ourselves by being present in every moment and becoming fully focused on it. Appreciate and enjoy what is happening or what you are seeing or feeling.

When we are fully focused on the current moment and appreciating its detail we are not regretting our past nor become anxious for the future. When we are fully focused on something then our mind doesn't wander, we are totally in what we are doing. Things are done with full focus leading to success.

But, many times, you find it difficult to be in the present moment. It is easy to be in the present moment when things are going well. But when things are not going in your favor, you will find it difficult to be in the present moment.

As per the author, almost all situations have something good and bad in them. But if we focus on the bad we feel worried and will not be able to focus on the present moment. Instead, if we focus on what is good about the present situation(in spite of situations being bad, we have to find what is good in it for us), then we can become calm and appreciate what we have, and build upon it. This will create a positive impact in our minds and help us move forward in a positive way in bad situations as well.

To have The Present:

1. Be in the current moment (what is right now), and enjoy it.

2. Appreciate what is right about it and build upon it.

3. Do the things, that it priorities at the moment.

As per the author you need 2 more things to enjoy The Present.

1. Learn from the past.
2. Imagine, making a realistic plan for the future.

1. Learn from the Past

In order to enjoy the present more, we must keep learning from past mistakes. This will help us more in being present moment. Whenever we find ourselves lost in the past or regretting mistakes of the past then it is the right time that we learn from the past and move on.

If the past is good then look at what is that makes it good and build upon it.

If the past is not good then find what mistakes you did and learn from them, so next time the same situations arise you can deal with it a better way. If you don’t learn from your past and then you will not able to move on, and it will keep on giving you painful memories.

2. Create future

We can not predict the future but the best way is to create it.

By just being present, we cannot make our future better than the present. To make the future better than the present we have to imagine what exactly we want, then make a realistic and flexible plan for it, and do things every day to achieve that plan. The flexibility of the plan will take care of any uncertain event that comes the way. Progressing towards your plan every single day will make it certain that you are going to achieve your target.

With a plan in your hands, you will be certain of future activities. This way you will be prevented from being anxious about the future. You will be calm because you know what actually you have to do for the next moment and you also know that the steps you are following are part of the plan that will lead you toward the achievement of your target.

Hope you enjoy reading the summary of the book ‘The Present’. I wish that wisdom shared here in this story becomes helpful in your life.