Wellness Wednesday; Be Present. Live in the Moment

How do you Live in the Moment?

1. Remove unneeded possessions

Minimalism forces you to live in the present. Removing items associated with past memories frees you and allows you to stop living in the past. Once the past no longer has power, you can begin to live in the moment.

2. Smile

Each day is full of endless possibilities! Start it with a smile. You are in control of your attitude every morning, keep it optimistic and expectant. Be intentional about it and you’ll find yourself doing it every day without even realizing it.

3. Fully appreciate the moments of today

Soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the triumph, and the sorrow. These are in our daily lives but we often forget to take them in and truly appreciate them.

4. Forgive past hurts

If you are harboring resentment towards another human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. The harm was their fault, but allowing it to impact your mood today is yours. Let go and choose to be present in the moment instead.

5. Love Your Job

If you just “survive” the workweek constantly waiting for the next weekend “to get here,” you are wasting 71% of your life (5/7 days.) There are two solutions: find a new job that you actually enjoy, or find something that you appreciate about your current career.

6. Dream about the future, but work hard today

Dream big. Set goals and plans for the future. But working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. Don’t allow dreaming about tomorrow to replace living in the moment. Dreaming about the future is only productive when combined with action taken today.

7. Don’t dwell on past accomplishments

If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. There is still plenty of time to build upon past successes and create more memories and achievements for future-you. In the future, you’ll be cherishing the memories of today.

8. Stop worrying

You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow. Realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. And since worry has never accomplished anything for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere.

9. Think beyond old solutions to problems

Our world is changing so fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are no longer the right answers today. Don’t get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. Yesterday’s solutions are not today’s solutions and they are certainly not tomorrow’s solutions.

10. Conquer addictions

Addictions in your life hold you hostage. They keep you from living a completely free life and removes your focus from the moment. Find some help. Take the steps. And remove their influence over your life. Allow yourself to live in the moment addiction-free.

Learning how to live in the present moment is an essential ingredient in a happy life.

If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present.