How to Live In the Moment
- Griff
Table of Contents
As a former firefighter, Griff understands that we live in a stressful world, and now as a qualified meditation expert who holds popular seminars teaching us how to love ourselves and others, he wants to help you nourish your soul. Beyond that, he’s also a nutritional and emotional guide and strongly urges everyone to seek their optimal best.
We frequently get MindEasy users asking us, well almost everything…and we love it! So we’ll do our best to answer your questions. Feel free to contact us if you want to ask Griff… anything!
Dear Griff,
I’m finding it really hard to focus on the ‘here and now’ and it feels like my mind is constantly wondering off. How can I live more in the moment?
Max, Toronto, Canada
Hi Max,
Being present takes a lot of special attention, it’s so easy to start thinking about everything and anything from, “What’s for dinner?”, “What am I doing next?” to “Did I feed the dog?”
It’s not a bad thing to allow yourself time to think, but if we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by thoughts and lists of things to do etc… we can miss out on beautiful moments that are happening right now, right in front of you.
From personal experiences, I’ve found myself missing out on time with my family because I was thinking about work too much. I may have been physically present, but my mind was elsewhere, and do I regret that? Yes, of course. Ultimately we are what our memories dictate.
How to Be Present in the Moment
So the obvious answer I’m going to give for this question is; Meditation.
Really, the whole act of meditation is to practice and train your mind to live in the moment.
We spend a lot of our lives waiting for a moment in the distant future when our lives will become exciting enough or interesting enough to captivate us into the present moment.
This might be a holiday, a restaurant or a big night out with friends we have planned. We get the idea that these moments are landmarks where we will be present, and nothing else will matter. Some time’s this is true. Sometimes even when we are in these moments, they get spoiled by our worries of the past and future.
But if we practise meditation, we don’t need these moments of heightened experience to anchor us to the present. We can do it whenever and wherever we choose.
However, this practice will take time, but you’ll be able to find plenty of free courses on MindEasy to help you on your way and in the meanwhile here are a few more tips.
Take any MindEasy courses for free
Take any MindEasy courses for free
Take a Calm Moment & Make a List
One way of making yourself live in the moment is to start the day off with a ‘calm moment,’ a short period of time when you purposefully tell yourself that you will stay focused on the here and now. Try some deep breathing exercises – the motion of feeling an inhale through the nose and then a long exhale via the mouth, can really snap you back to the present.
Also, take this time to write down your ‘to do list’. It’s often very helpful to physically write down things-to-do so that your mind isn’t racing around. Also, set a time for each different activity, this way, you won’t constantly be thinking when you’ll be doing XYZ because you’ve got an allotted time slot.
Worry or stress is also a major trigger for a racing mind, leaving us unfocused and distracted. Try meditation to help control these negative feelings. Often meditating will help you recognise unwanted feelings and give you techniques to help manage them.
Put Down the Screen & Say Yes
Living in the moment can often mean that you need to put down your phone, iPad, or electrical device to limit distraction. I was recently at my nephew’s performance, and it seemed like so many parents were filming and watching the play through their phone’s screen rather than with their eyes. When you’re mentally and physically present, you’ll feel and experience more.
Why not try saying ‘yes’ more? So often our first response, when asked to do something unscheduled, is met with hesitation. Seeing the opportunity to enjoy yourself and ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day), and being spontaneous is certainly one way to feel like you’re living in the moment. Sometimes it’s worth throwing caution to the wind to experience new things.
Finally, one major way to live more in the more moment is to feel gratitude – to the world around you, your friends or relatives and most importantly, to yourself. When you’re appreciative of everything – from small things like the feeling of sun on your face, or the sound of the sea to larger things like your career, your loved ones – you’ll immediately start enjoying the present.
I hope this helps!
Griff
