My mother told me when I was little that I was always ‘too busy’, never had time to stop, slow down or even pause for a cuddle, my eyes and mind were always focused and fixated on the ‘next thing’.

Although the cuddle part comes as a surprise (I am a very affectionate person who is always up for a hug), I’ve really come to learn that this core sense of urgency and focusing on the future hasn’t really changed.

It seems no matter whether I am 8 or 28 there is something inside of me that continues to push and focus on what’s ahead, now whilst this is great, I do love the fact that it drives me and makes me ambitious, it also has been one of my biggest struggles.

I share this with you because I know I am not alone, and I also know the rate at which the world is moving right now is at a speed none of us really know how to keep up with… and it only seems to be getting faster.

You see the more we speed up and focus on the future, the more we miss out on the present, the more we are never truly happy or satisfied with the blessings that are right in front of us.

It is always ‘the next goal’, the next house, the next trip, the next job, and all the fears and anxieties around achieving those and where we should be by this time in our lives.

I’ll be honest with you, I know I am still ‘young’ in the grand scheme of things, but there are social pressures and biological clocks that are ticking that give a woman in particular even more stress.

When I was little I used to think by the time I was 28 I would be married with my 2 or 3 children, have my little white picket fence house, be a teacher and settled down in my life. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, and as much as this does freak me out a little, I am actually really excited for what the future holds and the fact I still have all of those dreams to still look forward to.