Earlier in the year, I embarked upon a journey to write about and share some lessons that my family has unpacked as we evolve as a modern family.  

If you missed that, check it out here.

Our evolution as a modern family has made us ever-mindful of what is important to our core family group…and what is not important. In this period of evolution and enlightenment, there are three key lessons we’ve unpacked. These lessons shape how we interact with the world around us, and how we continue to evolve, learn, and live.

Now it’s time to share lesson number two.

Lesson #2: Live in the present; don’t hoard your wealth for a future that may never come

You never know when things will change. At the risk of sounding morbid, you never know when a critical illness or terrible accident is around the corner. Cherish what you have in the here and now and live in the present more often. Even if something bad never happens to you and you happily retire at 65, are you really going to start living the fullest possible life in your golden years? Is it realistic? Are you cheating yourself of life experience and lively conversation by putting off for tomorrow what you could do today?

This doesn’t mean you should just blow through all of your money every time you take a vacation, or that you should live recklessly in your day-to-day life. Brunching until your checking account dwindles to $0 is not a happiness strategy.

You need to be smart about the future. You still need to do things like plan for your future finances, save money and all of that, but you shouldn’t do it at the expense of never enjoying life now. If you have success, share it with others. You’ll feel better. Thinking too often about sitting on a mountain of cash in the future will take away from the present, and there are no guarantees that your future holds the opportunity to enjoy it.

My husband’s grandfather was a well-off surgeon who spent his entire life scrimping and saving to build a kingdom of cash. Alzheimer’s stopped him in is tracks, and when he passed away, he couldn’t take the kingdom with him.

How do you make a leap forward, and change?

First, recognize that others are out there struggling with these things as well.  You’re not the only one. Stop feeling alone.

Then, choose to break the norm, and choose to adopt an agile mindset.  Once you change your mindset about what’s important, you can truly begin to practice the art of evolving as a modern family.

As we travel on this journey together, I hope you find inspiration to evolve as well.  Stay tuned for Lesson 3.

Taylor Shanklin is the VP of Product Marketing and Strategy at Pursuant. With over a decade spent in the nonprofit technology sector, her passion and purpose is to help charitable organizations connect the dots between marketing, technology, and fundraising. Taylor is also the mind behind Hacks for Good, a passion project where she brings the ideology of growth hacking to the nonprofit sector. A lifelong Austinite, Taylor shares life’s journey with her husband and two children, along with a grumpy old Chihuahua named Toby. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing Zumba, writing about tales of motherhood, and occasionally leaving her kids at camp grandma so that she and her husband can truly enjoy a vacation.