Few things are universal among human beings, and one of the few things that seem to be a common thread is either living in the past or the future rather than in the present. If you can relate to many others, you are currently contemplating moments spent or experiences that happened a long time ago, regretting things you never got around to doing, or thinking about what could or should have been.
Others concentrate more on the future. If you can relate, you drive yourself to make plans and dreams a reality, not paying too much attention to what is happening around you. When you reach a goal, do you find that your focus shifts to the next goal? Maybe you’re hyper-focused on the outcome and trying to play out scenarios.
No judgment if you fall into either or both positions; however, ask yourself, “What about either position holds me back from pursuing the life I want?” “How does living in the past or the future serve me?” There is nothing wrong with remembering things that have happened to you or dreaming about the future. Although, challenges may arise when you spend too much time doing so, including:
- Anxiousness
- Frustration
- Fear
- Anger
- Sadness
- Shame
- Guilt
- Overwhelm
You’re free from the negative emotions I listed above. Yet, I urge you to live life in the present. SAVOR every moment you experience. Doing otherwise, you may miss out on crucial moments in life. Those things become your new memories and are essential to your journey, your story, and the person you become. The goals you’re struggling to reach and the memories from the past are all critical components of your life now. So be mindful, breathe, and enjoy the present experience and everything that comes with it.
Mindfulness teaches us to be present at the moment. So when you’re being mindful, you’re focusing only on what’s happening now and not what’s happening later today or tomorrow or what happened yesterday.
If you want to learn to live more in the present, starting a mindfulness practice is one of the best ways to do so. Start by learning how to do mindfulness meditation “pauses” and incorporate them into your daily life. Once you’re doing that regularly, you can extend your practice to mindfulness activities.
As you get more comfortable being mindful and practicing your mindfulness, you’ll be able to expand your practice into more aspects of your life and practice mindfulness more frequently. Sure, you’ll still have times when you get preoccupied or distracted. That’s okay! This is where extending grace to yourself will come in handy. Keep going and try again.
If you want to learn to live your life at the moment, start a mindfulness practice today. You’ll see benefits in no time. Read my mindfulness tips in my blog – 7 Places where I can incorporate mindfulness pauses in everyday life.
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With love and light…
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