Many of us care about our future, becoming someone, or investing in something that places our dreams into perspective and helps us fulfill a future that we aspire to have. And while this is not wrong, what we fail to realize is that while we are looking forward – or even backwards at what could have been – we tend to forget that present situations do, in fact, matter.
The act of living in the moment is quite therapeutic. Living in the now will have you embracing your current circumstances by accepting and understanding them. Although having great memories and future plans sounds great, excessive thoughts on those two would not be extremely in our favor because we would lose the awareness of what is happening around us currently. This lack of awareness would prevent us from enjoying the small things we encounter. The present does not last forever and that is why it is important to embrace it.
While we may think that living in the present is something easy to do, it really is not. This is because, on a regular basis, we have consecutive thoughts about our past or future, even though we may not realize it. So, it takes actual effort to step away from these thoughts and pay attention to our surroundings.
Living in the present helps us let go of extra emotions that we do not need to hold on to. Why should we stay mad at a particular thing that happened in the past – all that does is just hurt us. Keep in mind that this does not mean you should disregard it. You can face the problem, deal with it, and then place it on the side. Although this is easier said than done, it may prove to be quite beneficial.
Techniques to Incorporate in Order to Live in the Moment
There are various techniques you could incorporate in order to live in the moment –
- Become minimalistic. Let go of past items that you are not in need of. This proves to be a form of freedom because these past items are not restraining you.
- Stay optimistic, be grateful, and smile! Embrace all that is around you and be grateful for it. This action in itself makes you feel immensely whole and better.
- Forgive past pains. Although you may have been hurt in the past, it is always better to accept that it happened and let go of what is holding you back from improving upon your state. Forgiveness is key, although it may be impossible to achieve right away.
- Love and appreciate your job. If you are finding hard to actually enjoy it, find something you truly enjoy.
- You can most definitely dream about your future, but you need to work hard right now to get there!
- Do not dwell on what you achieved in the past, just like you should not dwell on what negatively impacted you in the past. You could learn from these experiences but grow presently and move forward.
- You should not be worried all the time – this really wears you out. Do not worry about your upcoming things to do, because if you do, you will forget to appreciate the now.
- Enhance your thoughts to broach on things that are beyond old solutions to problems. In other words, you cannot use a solution that worked in the past for a problem that arose right now, or will arise in the future, because, chances are, circumstances changed. This mentality of keeping the one-size-fits-all solution would be quite rigid and would prevent you from exploring other options.
- Do not let the restrictions you place on yourself limit you from reaching far and high and risking it all. These inhibit your potential to live in the moment and would restrict your ability to pursue a happy life.