How to savor every day
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Most of us focus on destinations, goals, and achievements.
What if you savored the journey?
What if you held the vision of that desired state and lived in each present moment?
This is why it’s great to focus on now
When your attention is fixed on a destination, you miss what is happening now — including new opportunities and great sensations.
When you live in the present, you appreciate all of your experiences as you move in the direction of your desired outcome.
What’s more, you can tune in to new possibilities and can gain fresh awareness of ways to support your goals.
And maybe best of all, you will have more fun!
Ready to give this new way of approaching your days a try?
How to stay in the present
It’s tempting to focus on the future. However, doing that often leads to thinking of a million what-ifs — which is not only stressful, it hijacks your attention and fragments your focus.
It’s also easy to look back and repeatedly rehash old experiences. While there are lessons to be learned from looking at the past, the rehashing usually hurts as you tend to focus on shortcomings and feelings of regret.
If you find yourself stuck in either of those states, try these ways to return to the present:
1. Be alert to your thoughts.
It can be helpful to jot notes about the times you fast-forward or dive back into examining past events.
Can you notice types of triggers that pull your attention away from what is happening now? Are there times of day, or specific people, or patterns you can become aware of?
Awareness can help you to avoid those situations — or spot them start early on. That's a great way to consciously bring your attention back to the present.
2. Observe what is happening now and create your response.
Consider where you are and what’s going on around you. Choose the present as your focus, at least for a little while.
Think about where you have opportunities right now — like the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation, or to shift to a more positive approach, or to come up with a new idea.
Ask yourself if there might be a challenge to address that you may have been avoiding when you turned your attention to the future or the past..
Be thoughtful as you contemplate your options and make your best choices.
3. Appreciate and honor your emotions.
When you are present and feel excited and eager about what is happening, and all that is possible for you now, make the most of the energy. Let yourself fully enjoy what you are doing. Let that positive energy carry you!
If you find yourself feeling discomfort, or fear, or sadness, or stress, it may be tempting to try and ignore it.
A better approach is to let yourself feel the feelings for a little while, and then use those feelings as fuel for some type of creative expressions.
For some that's writing. For some it helps to dig in the dirt, or go for a run. Some people move their bodies to music, or hammer away in a workshop, or sing loudly in their car. (This may be a quick effort, or may need repeating until you feel the emotion has been released.)
Having expressed yourself to use your emotions, you are likely to feel lighter, ready to refocus on all the opportunities and possibilities in the present moment.
And speaking of opportunities, when you live in the present you will have many opportunities to appreciate yourself. Acknowledge yourself for each step you take, for noticing new possibilities and testing them, and for all of your progress (the small steps as well as bigger leaps).
Living in the present is a great way to Live Big.
