You have to avoid thinking of the goal as something down the line. It’s something to be found right here.

"So this is how completion is attained. It’s by focusing on each moment, giving importance to each moment, realizing, “I now have this one in-and-out breath. I’ve got an opportunity to practice. Let’s make the most of it.”

Approach each moment as skillfully as you can. And as the moments pass and you’re still alive, you’ve got the opportunity to get more and more skilled.

There will come a point where the skill does reach a point of completion. You can’t map it out ahead of time that it’s going to take x number of days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes. But you can be confident that this is where it’s found, this is how it’s done. It’s right here.

The more importance you give to the present moment, the closer you get to the goal. That’s why you have to avoid thinking of the goal as something down the line, in terms of stepping back from the present moment and looking out across the calendar. It’s something to be found right here.

So look right here. If you give complete attention to the present moment, that’s how completion is found."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "How Completion is Found"

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