Staying Present, Living Now

Do you feel like life is speeding by? Are you stuck in the past obsessing about what you should have done? How much do you discount today waiting for tomorrow?

Timothy Ferriss wrote the book “The 4-Hour Work Week” on how to experience the benefits of retirement while you are working vs waiting until the end of your life to start living.

Mel Robbins urges you to just GO and act on your instincts with the 5-Second Rule of 5,4,3,2,1.

In the Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle tells us that the future is only in our heads and the past is simply a collection of memories. The only thing that truly exists is the now. By always thinking about the past or the future, we are denying or ignoring the now. Even if the memory is a positive one it could end in negative thinking as you compare your life now to then.

As with everything good - it has to be intentional. You have to want to stay present and experience every moment.

So stay with me, it’s unfolding as we’re talking. When you woke up this morning you had a choice. Maybe not whether you had to get up or how you were going to spend your day, but you had control over your immediate reaction. Only YOU can make or break it.

It starts with staying present. When you wake up and your mind starts to spin, take a pause and remember what is important about that moment. Not what you have ahead or what you have left over from yesterday...but just that moment. How do you feel, what do you hear around you? Don’t pick up your phone or turn on the TV, allow your brain a conscious break as you start your day.

As you go about your day, be mindful of when your mind starts picking up speed. Eliminate unnecessary distractions so that you can concentrate on 1-2 things at a time. Multi-tasking has been linked to a reduction in productivity by 40% as well as lasting effects on your cognition. So where you think you are a superstar getting everything done you are actually training your brain to work at a lower capacity. Channel your energy into one project at a time stopping along the way to admire what you are doing and how you feel so that you can stay present.

As you wind down the day a short reflection is good. Take inventory of what you did or didn’t do and how you feel but limit it to just that day.

CHALLENGE: Celebrate your year NOW while you’re in the present. You may have had a rocky past full of regrets or you may be working towards a big pay off but it’s important to live and appreciate the present to fully enjoy your life.

I know YOU can do it!

Musical Feature: Cheley Tackett www.cheleytackett.com