Be In the Present Moment

Many of us spend our days mentally re-living our past mistakes. We then compound that mental energy by worrying about our future. The reality is that focusing your daily energy on past mistakes, conversations, presentations, or events, only causes stress. What’s done is done. You can’t change the past. The idea of spending time worrying about your worst-case future scenario does little to alter it. Abraham Maslow understood that “the ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.”

So why is it so hard to stay focused and present? Even small children, after encountering a mean child, will walk away wishing they had said something different, or something at all, to that bully. A businessman will walk out of a sales meeting regretfully remembering he forgot to ask that critical question to close the deal. A heart broken partner will spend years re-playing that last encounter in his head, over and over, devastated that he didn’t say what he needed to before walking away. The possibility exists that making amends, or picking the phone back up to finish a conversation after the initial encounter, can change the direction, and the ultimate outcome of that encounter. Playing the old “movie” in our heads over and over solves nothing.

When we are not re-living negative events, we are looking ahead, considering every dreadful outcome. Worrying about our future isn’t productive, and rarely softens the blow when something really does go wrong. Instead, you are beginning the disappointment before it even actually starts.

How often have you watched a quarterback hit his receiver right in the numbers, only to have him drop the ball? During replay, you see that instead of his eyes being on that ball, he was looking down field. His inability to focus on that moment caused the drop. The key is to keep your eyes on the ball and follow it into your hands. When you can bring yourself to be in present moment, you can’t be anywhere else.

Past regrets and future worries are only thoughts filled with judgment. By replaying them again and again, you are attracting negative energy directly to you. So, how can you avoid this? Live in the moment. If you find yourself focusing on the future, playing out your worst-case scenario, see it the way you want it to be. The reality is the vast majority of that which we worry about doesn’t actually happen anyway. Why create unnecessary stress?

This week, pay attention to your thoughts and what your mind does after encounters. Every time you start to re-play a negative event, bring your focus back to the present. When you find your mind stretching into the future, re-direct your thoughts to the present moment. You might just be amazed at how many more productive hours in day you get back. As always, if you know someone that can benefit from this advice, please like it and pass it along.