“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.”
–  Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I paused today and was thinking about how many people live their life looking at the rear view mirror and replaying memories and images of the past. Alternatively, they flip forward to the future and start imagining how life can be. Depending on which lens they use, they can either play a happy movie or a scary one.

Over the years I’ve noticed that due to the busyness of modern life very few people take the time to just be and appreciate the present moment. Sometimes it’s good to calm your mind, detach from the past and stop yourself predicting the future.

When we engage in this switching between the past and the future, it can act as a distraction and affect our concentration levels. Frequent interruptions, over committing our time, e mail and social media notifications can all impact our ability to concentrate. They all make it challenging for us to have a sharp focus and can mean that we aren’t fully present with the task or person right in front of us.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of replaying the past and wishing things have worked out differently or that you had spoken up when you had concerns about something. All too easily, we can criticise ourselves for mistakes and feel anxious about disappointments and setbacks. All these things make it difficult to be present and in the moment. The harsh reality is that it is what it is, it can’t be changed. We can learn to draw the lessons from our experiences and then choose to let the incident go mentally.

In the event we catch ourselves over thinking and seeking to predict the future, wondering what may happen, we can decide to bring our thoughts back to the present moment. We can clear and calm our mind.

We can do this by focusing on our breathing by taking a deep breath in and counting to seven, then exhaling to the count of seven. Repeating this process three times can help calm our mind and return to what’s in front of us and enable us to get into the now.

When we engage more fully with the present moment, we increase productivity and complete tasks more easily. We listen more effectively and as a result have a better connection and relationships with others.

Quietening our mind helps us to feel centred, relaxed and have a greater sense of assurance. This enables our mind to be clearer, gives us more clarity and increases our focus. When we’re in this state, life appears smoother, easy and effortless and things seem to flow more naturally.

The more time we spend in our heads can lead us to feel less satisfied with life. By reducing the noise and activity in our head and focusing on the now, we can feel happier and in control.

I saw a banner outside the British library once which can inspire us all to be present more often. It said “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift that’s why they call it the present.”

Making the decision to be present more often takes practice as we have years of programming and conditioning to overcome. It requires a change of habits and is best achieved by small consistent actions.

You can start your new approach with activities that you do and love such as running, walking, gardening, swimming, cycling etc.

You can also choose to adopt a more mindful approach to one of your regular routines such as washing up, vacuuming, eating etc. Essentially what we are doing with this approach is bringing more focus to the present moment, quieting the mind and away from the constant planning and reviewing process.

This week why not take some time out to reflect and consider what actions you need to take to become more focused and engaged with the present moment more often.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk