10 Ways to Live in the Present

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Do you ever think about what you just thought about? I don’t mean in continuation to the previous thought. I mean do you really think about the thoughts you’re thinking?!

Take note of your thoughts. I bet a lot of them have to do with the past or future, but what about the present? It can be a challenge to live fully in the moment, the majority of your moments, but it can be done.

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In my world, I think about what I want the majority of the time. How I want to live, what dreams I have, where I can go. By mid-day, I often feel in the dumps because I haven’t made any progress but thinking of what I want! I get stuck in this loop of trying to create ideas over and over. When I start to create a goal, I then give up. Yup, you read that right. I decide it’s not worth my time or it was the wrong dream or nobody will follow. I basically predict my ending without even beginning. Negativity and excuses stand in my way and YUCK, what a cycle to live in.

Add on my worries and anxiety and I’m exhausted throughout the day just thinking about the future I could possibly have one day.

I repeat the same behavior over and over and expect a different outcome. Guess what? It doesn’t work that way.

It’s really good to have dreams and goals in life but when anxiety, worry and the unknown get in the way, it doesn’t help. It also makes me forget a lot of important things in the now. Things that affect other people.

This is why I realized I had to break this nasty cycle. My head spins like a mouse running a wheel, over and over…. Every day is another day with the same story and I wanted it to be different. I wanted my day to be meaningful and feel alive.

I sat down and thought about ways to get my head out of the clouds. My action plan follows as below. My goal is to live more fully in the present and not to keep going through the motion of the day.

It’s always important to know that you (and I) create our own destiny and everything we want in our lives. We can truly have whatever our heart desires.

*I share with you my life experiences for you to know that I’m human too. We are all changing (hopefully to the best version we can be!) and even as a coach, I am forever changing as well.

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• The first step to change a behavior is to bring awareness to it. We can live so blindly by our actions that we overlook what we are actually doing! We go through with the emotions and miss out on the cycle of our actions. Really open your eyes and let’s get out of our own heads! If writing down your actions and/or thoughts to figure out the process of them, then do so.

• Love Your Job. Where do you spend the majority of your day? Probably at work. If you don’t love what you do then how can you be present with your actions in completing the tasks? You would waste the hours that tick by.

• Single-task. Whenever we multi-task our attention gets diverted in many ways. How can we live in the present doing two or even four different things? Slow down and complete one task at a time

• Breathe. Of course we do this on our own (thankfully!) but notice how you breathe. Is it shallow or full? When my anxiety kicks it, I instantly put my hands on my heart because I know it’s racing. I have to literally remind myself to slow down, evaluate the situation and teach my body it’s not a flight or fight attack. Deep breathing is very calming to the body.

• Embrace your senses. It’s easy to move about our day but take note of the simple things. How your hair feels when you brush it, how solid the ground feels when you walk on it, your posture, your state-of-being.

• De-clutter. There is something really rewarding about choosing to have nothing at all. It makes life simple and AMEN to a simple life! When there are many things that surround you, the body can feel overwhelmed by them. It’s too much. Go though and tackle the clutter.

• Laugh. Doesn’t it feel good to laugh and smile? When did everything get so serious? Life is fun and joyous and we should remember to make it that way. Even if you don’t feel like laughing, laugh anyways. There’s something contagious about it. You may make someone else laugh or you may continue laughing because you’re thinking about how ridiculous it is to laugh for no reason. Go ahead and try it. You may just bring a smile to your beautiful face.

• Meditate. I’m pretty sure I say this in all my posts but it should really be done! Learning to quiet and be mindful is not only relaxing but a great way to live in the moment.

• Gratitude. When you are grateful for this moment and then the next, it opens your eyes to what else you may be grateful for. Next thing you know, you may be grateful for everything in your day! Write down a list as you go. Right now, I’m grateful for a warm cup of coffee on this brisk cold day.

• Give love. It’s very rewarding to see someone smile. To know that you impacted a person in a positive way. You can give love by saying hello to a stranger, smiling or even writing a note to someone you care about. If you don’t expect anything back but embrace the warmness you projected, you may be surprised at the love you created for yourself inside.

Go ahead and live in the moment. Embrace what it feels like to you. Make it a goal, be attentive to it and really live it. See the difference that it changed in your life.

Love and light,

Amber

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