The Art of Living in the Present
The Art of Living in the Present
So often, we find ourselves jumping from one goal to the next. We constantly have our eyes set on the future and what it will look like once we achieve our set goal. While planning and setting goals is crucial for long term success, we can easily over emphasize the future and underplay the present. We can quickly find ourselves trying to get through the present moment, as our lives fly by around us.
Living for the Future
“I just can’t wait for this to be over”
“I just have to get through this week”
“Once I graduate I can have some fun”
“I’ll be happier once I get that promotion”
Have you ever found yourself saying statements like these? Chances are, you have. Many of us have our eyes focused on achieving our goals. Whether it be getting through a semester, graduating, landing a job or promotion, losing weight, or raising a family, we often have a sense that things will be better once we reach a certain milestone. In the meantime, we often try to make time go by as quickly as possible and just get through it.
However, this mindset can become harmful to our overall happiness. Much of our lives are spent in the in-between moments. Placing all of our focus on the future takes away from fully enjoying the present moment. Moreover, we often shift our goal forward once we reach a milestone. The initial goal of just making it through the semester may turn to getting to graduation, and then to securing a job, and so on. Very few times do we reach our goal and actually feel content.
Why is it Important to Live in the Present?
Our day-to-day life tends to be pretty routine, maybe even monotonous at times. We often follow a similar schedule, making each day feel similar to the last. We look forward to those “big” moments, ranging from a vacation to an important milestone, to keep us motivated to get through our days. While these big moments are certainly important and hold a great deal of excitement, we often hyper-focus on these moments and underplay the significance of our typical days. Doing this over time can lead us to feel bored and have a general sense of discontent in our daily lives. Moreover, if we are constantly breezing through our days, it can feel like our life is flying by.
Living in the present can help to add enjoyment to each of our days, allowing us to see the positive moments that happen each day. This can add to our sense of well being and contentment with life, as we can find joy each day, not just on the few times a year that we have something big happen in our lives. When living in the present, we are also better able to savor each day and the experiences that come with it. Doing this can help prevent the panic that comes when we see our child who suddenly looks all grown up, or we get to the end of the year only to think, how in the world did this year already go by?? Not to say that we won’t still have these moments, but being more present in our daily lives can help us to make the most out of our time and acknowledge changes that occur within our days.
How to Be More Present
Being more present is not an intuitive process for many of us. As people, we tend to spend the majority of our days with our thoughts. We think about the past and all of the memories, regrets, and experiences that we’ve been through. Or we think about the future and all of the uncertainty, dreams, and expectations that we have.
Take a moment to reflect for yourself:
How often do you find yourself thinking about the past?
How often do you find yourself thinking about the future?
How often do you feel content just being in the present moment?
For most of us, we don’t tend to spend a lot of time in the moment. We may have little instances where we feel completely immersed in the moment, but we often jump right back into thinking about the past or the future. While it is beneficial to think about the past to reminisce on the great moments and learn from our mistakes, and to plan for the future by setting goals and considering what we can do to achieve them, it is also important to live our lives in the moment.
To do this, give yourself the time to be present. Setting aside regular time in your day for formal mindfulness meditation practice is a great way to ensure that you are practicing routinely. Incorporating mindfulness into our daily activities can also be helpful. This includes taking in all of our senses when doing things like washing the dishes, showering, or eating. Remembering to regularly check in with yourself throughout the day and bringing your awareness back to your breath is another way to be more mindful of ourselves throughout the day. For more information on these practices, please feel free to check out this blog.
Another great way to be more mindful is to try to take a mental snapshot of joyful moments. If you have a sense of bliss in a certain moment, try to pause and take in everything about the moment: how you feel, what you are doing, who you are with, and what everything looks like around you. Try to be as detailed as possible, as if you are taking a picture of the moment.
The Importance of Consistency
Being more present can feel foreign to us. Moreover, it can feel really hard to do. We can become easily distracted by our racing thoughts and frustrated with the entire process. This is completely normal, especially when beginning mindfulness practice. The key is to continue with these practices, even when we feel distracted, anxious, or frustrated. Over time, you may notice that it becomes more intuitive to be present. While you will still have days where it is more difficult than usual, with consistency, you will be better able to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life.