Make treating yourself a priority and always remember your life

When Mireille Guiliano wrote, “Make treating yourself a priority and always remember your life is happening now. Don’t put off all your dreams and pleasures to another day. In any balanced personal definition of success there has to be a powerful element of living life in the present,” she offered more than advice—she offered a philosophy of being. Her words flow like the wisdom of an elder speaking to a restless soul, urging the listener to awaken from the endless postponement of joy. For in these lines lies an eternal truth: that life is not something waiting to begin tomorrow—it is unfolding this very moment, and those who neglect the present lose the only time they truly possess.

The origin of this quote rests in Guiliano’s reflections on modern life, expressed through her works that celebrate the art of living with grace, especially French Women Don’t Get Fat. Drawing on her French upbringing, she teaches that success and pleasure are not opposing forces but two threads of the same tapestry. To her, living well is not indulgence—it is balance. Her message speaks against the sickness of delay that plagues the modern spirit: the belief that happiness will arrive once the work is done, the bills are paid, or the dream is achieved. Instead, she reminds us that the present is sacred, and that postponing life for the sake of achievement is a form of self-imprisonment.

The ancients, too, understood this. Epicurus, the philosopher of simple pleasures, taught that peace and happiness do not wait in the future—they are found in the mindful savoring of the now. Likewise, Seneca, in his letters, warned that “life is long enough, if we know how to use it.” He wrote that men are forever preparing to live, never realizing that they are already living. Guiliano’s words echo this same wisdom, clothed in the gentle voice of the modern age: do not trade your present peace for a mirage of future perfection. The one who cannot find joy in today will not find it tomorrow, for the heart that delays happiness learns to forget its language.

There is a story told of the painter Claude Monet, who, even in his later years when his eyesight began to fade, continued to paint the gardens at Giverny. Each day, he found beauty in the changing light, even as his world blurred. He could have despaired at the loss of clarity, but instead he said, “I see differently now.” His art became more radiant, more alive, more attuned to the fleeting moment. Monet’s life embodied the truth that joy and beauty are not postponed—they are perceived. The same light that gilded his lilies shines upon us, but only those who are awake to the present will see it.

To “treat yourself as a priority” is not an act of vanity—it is an act of reverence toward the life that dwells within you. It is to honor the body, the spirit, and the heart that carry you through the days. Too many spend their strength serving ambitions that offer no nourishment to the soul. Guiliano’s teaching is a gentle rebellion against this: she calls for self-care as self-respect, for the recognition that success without joy is emptiness in fine clothing. She reminds us that in every balanced life, there must be pleasure, for pleasure is not the enemy of purpose—it is its companion, giving meaning to effort and depth to achievement.

The lesson, then, is clear and timeless: live now, before later becomes never. Dream boldly, yes—but weave your dreams into today. Do not wait to travel, to rest, to love, to forgive. Take the walk. Taste the fruit. Write the letter. The future is a promise, not a guarantee, and to defer all joy to it is to gamble against time itself. The wise person does not ask when life will begin—they understand that it has already begun, and their task is to dwell within it fully.

So let the words of Mireille Guiliano echo in your heart as both reminder and command: do not postpone the sweetness of your own existence. Measure your success not only by what you build, but by what you feel. Let your work be infused with joy, your ambitions tempered with gratitude, and your days filled with the quiet courage to be present. For in the end, all the tomorrows will fade, but the present moment—lived deeply, kindly, and joyfully—will remain eternal.