I love sunshine and nature. Being outside makes my heart sing. It means I can really be in the present moment. It does not matter that I have had an argument with my husband or that my children treat the house like a hotel. When I am in nature it also does not matter that I need to have a difficult conversation with my co-worker. I can ignore that shouty email from my boss- simple. I am living in the moment!
Walking in sunshine or rain at 6am or 6pm- it does not matter. I am happy and I am calm. Finding the shoots of Spring coming up such a privilege. I am smiling all the way home.
The website Live In the Moment: 10 Ways to Live In the Present – Declutter The Mind shows what we can do to live in the moment.
Why is living in the moment the “thing” to do?
“To live in the moment means to be attentive to the present moment. When living in the moment, you’re experiencing the world around you. People who live in the moment aren’t distracted by thoughts, televisions, or phones.
For example, if you were walking in nature, you might notice leaves falling, spiders walking around your feet, the coolness of the breeze, or the difficulty of climbing uphill. It’s all about the lived experience.” says the website.
The lived experience means we are there at that moment and truly in the moment. There are those that think that living in the moment is all about spontaneity and living life to the fullest. That’s part of it. Living in the moment is about experiencing the world around you as it happens without having any effect on it. The benefit of living in the moment is that there’s no stress. Stress comes from thinking- mostly thinking judgement thoughts. However, when we live in the present, we are free of the judgment of thoughts, allowing us to experience a sense of calm. We are living in the moment making life exciting, beautiful, and free.
Our judgement thinking is usually around future or past issues. This thinking has helped us survive over millennia. We’ve been programmed to fear danger, threats, and things that prevent us from living long enough to procreate. That rustling in the bushes could be a tiger so better run away. Since it’s genetically wired into our brains to fear danger, it’s normal to worry about the future. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t harm us, though. Anxiety triggers our fight and flight response.
Thankfully today there are no real tigers. Just tigers in our minds.
From our past our thoughts replay words, images, or emotions. Living in the past prevents us from living in the moment. We get stuck in the past because we’re trying to solve an unsolvable problem over and over again.
Living In The Moment is Not……
Living in the moment does not mean you can give up and ignore things in your life. You still need to plan and have difficult conversations sadly. I still have to clear up after my children – unless I choose to live in squalor!
But how can you do both? Have inner calm and yet meet life’s challenges head on and move through them?
Websites would suggest breathing techniques, listen to music, eat mindfully (not moutains of chocolate – though I would like to try and see if that helps!) , sleeping and exercising – yes the dreaded yoga in my opinion! But we all do most of these things anyway but are no nearer to inner calm.
What is the answer?
Having space and time to work out where your thoughts are going and what you can actually DO with your thoughts help you find the answers and gain that inner calm. Coaching can unlock those thoughts that are holding you back. You may just need an hour to open up a whole new view on something that has been worrying you for so long.
If you want to re-establish your inner calm why not book a disovery call with me The Professionals Coach and I can help you with a Power hour or longer set of sessions. What have you got to lose but some mental weight?
