You’ve heard about living in the moment.
You’ve seen the T-shirts and motivational quotes, you know the ones that say “Be here now,” and “Live like there’s no tomorrow.”
That’s all well and good but it can be harder to actually put into practice than it seems. Just because there’s a quote that tells you to live in the moment, doesn’t mean you can suddenly do it!
Living in the present takes practice, even though it should come naturally to us. We have spent so long worrying about the future, feeling pressured into behaving a certain way or needing to obtain the next bigger and better thing, that we focus all our attention on the future instead of the present.
The result?
Anxiety, higher levels of stress, and a constant feeling of never having or being enough. 😰
In contrast, when you truly live in the present moment you feel content, grounded, secure and happy. 😌
When you learn to live in the present moment, you simply stay connected to what is happening in the here and now. You learn to slow down your thoughts and be conscious of what is within your control, therefore you don’t spiral down to negative thoughts or needless anxiety.
For example, you can still plan your summer vacation in advance, you just don’t need to worry about whether your flight may be delayed or if it’s going to rain that week. ☔️
You can make goals for your career, but you don’t need to fret about what the interview will be like yet, or how your boss may react to you asking for a pay rise.🤑
Take those kinds of future projections and bring them into the now. You don’t know how any of those things will go.
You can only control how you approach them, and that relies on a calm presence of mind — something you obtain when you live in the moment!
Here are my top six hacks for present moment living:
1. Pay Attention to the Little Things
Notice your surroundings and be thankful for the small things. I find that there are always new things I have yet to notice on my daily walks.
Perhaps it’s the way a flower 🌸 is opening to bloom or the shape of a puddle on the ground ahead of you. When you decide to pay attention and notice things, you bring yourself into the present and calm your entire system.
2. Don’t Worry, Find Solutions
Instead of worrying about whatever is troubling you, find a way to discover solutions so that you can tackle the challenge with confidence.
Worrying doesn’t change anything, it really, truly doesn’t!
Worry also only creates more worry, which takes you further away from the present moment.
Instead, try coming up with a list of things you can do to counter those worrisome thoughts, and focus on improving your current moment instead. After all, there really is no such thing as the next moment, because it is always now.
3. Smile More
Why not try looking in the mirror and smiling at your reflection? 😀
Smiling can change your emotional state and bring you into the now. The same goes for laughter.
I find nothing more grounding and boosting than a good belly aching giggle session! Find something that makes you laugh and watch/read it again. Feel that boost of positive energy and ground yourself into your being here at this moment. Alive. Happy. Laughing. 😂
4. Be Grateful
I know I am always talking about gratitude! It’s not just me, many people are acknowledging the importance of giving thanks. It’s such a high vibrating frequency and brings so much positivity to our lives.
It’s also a wonderful way to live in the moment. When you feel grateful for things in your life, you realize how great your life truly is. You can easily pull yourself back to the present by quickly listing 3–5 things you are grateful for each day.
It also reminds you that each day is a special gift, one we don’t get to experience again in exactly the same way. Savor it!
5. Be Mindful
A great habit to get into every day is to stop and experience mindfulness at the moment. That means every day, stop and focus your entire attention on what you are doing. So if it’s washing your hands, really focus your attention on the feeling of water over your skin, the movements you make as you rub your hands together.
If it’s walking, place your awareness on how your hips move, your feet as they touch the ground.
Try to lose any other thoughts and just focus on the activity. It can be for a minute and you will notice the calm feeling mindfulness can bring.
There is nothing quite like it for immediately returning to the present.
6. Practice Surrender
What this really means is that you give up trying to fix everything. If there is something that keeps coming up that hinders you from true, present moment living, make the decision to surrender it to the Universe.
I find that sometimes doing this physically really helps.
I write down a list of all the things that are really bothering me and I let them go by burning the paper or putting it in a closed drawer.
I make the decision that I am going to surrender those things just for today because they are stopping me from my present moment happiness. You might need to make a list every single day, that’s ok!
Just surrender every single day those things, not within your current control. What this act does is it tells the Universe that you are more willing to be happy now than you are to worry about unnecessary things.
The Universe loves happiness and will always respond to it positively. You may even find those things resolving on their own, in magnificent and serendipitous ways. I know that I have.
My BONUS hack for present-moment living is to take time out to watch a bird or a bug in nature. If you live in a city, head to a park or look up at the trees.
Just focusing your attention on one little creature, watching how it moves at the moment is an awesome way to bring you into your own moment.
This works for me when I am feeling sad or overwhelmed. It takes my attention and forces me to contemplate the beauty of another living thing. That time of focused awareness and appreciation really helps me to feel better.
I get perspective on the vastness of life, the infinite nature of the Universe and I feel calmer, relaxed and suddenly more empowered.
I hope that it works for you too.
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