I travel to Mexico every year, and people usually ask me days before my trip if I am excited about the trip, and my answer is no. I also remember when I was about to get my knee surgery I got asked the day before if I was nervous. And hours before my seminar presentation, I was asked if I get nervous about being on stage. The answers are no.
I have learned to live the moment and not think about the future...
However, many times I forget. For example, many times I start to meditate, and I am thinking about reading because I have not read; or I am reading and I am thinking about how poor my meditation was; or I want to go back to meditate while I am writing my next column. Even though I have learned to live the moment, many times I need to be reminded about how important it is to be in the moment.
When I live the moment I enjoy my time, and everything is happening within the moment. Not only that, but I am more efficient by listening to people, not forgetting things, getting my ideas clear and putting all my energy into what I am doing.
This is why I don’t get excited before traveling or while traveling or nervous about my knee surgery or my speech. I start to get excited when the airplane lands or nervous when I am getting the anesthesia or when I am stepping on stage.
I have seen many people wasting their time with their loved ones when they are having dinner together and texting on their phone...
These people are not living the moment and are lost in their phone. Have you had a conversation with someone who is not present? While you are focused on the conversation the other person is thinking about something else. How beneficial do you think this conversation can be?
Where there is focus, energy flows. I heard this somewhere. The truth is that whatever we focus on we put energy into, and many people put energy into the “not real world.”
In this same way many people live in fear...
Many people worry so much about the future and things that have not happened yet. They worry about cancer, losing their jobs, losing a loved one, getting into an accident, getting injured, about many things that can happen. They aren’t living in the present. Other people are stuck in the past suffering for what happened and want to bring the past to the present to fix the mistakes. While it’s true that it’s okay to visit our past to learn not to make the same mistakes, it is painful and a waste of time trying to change the past.
Can you imagine how much time people spend in their past or future?
With this I am not saying that we should ignore reality and not be ready for any of the negative situations that can happen in the future, but instead of worrying, it is important to take action to prevent them. To take action to protect our future is very smart. However, to worry about something that may not happen does not make sense. One suffers more in the anticipation of the pain that something can bring than from the event itself.
On the other hand, many people get very excited about things that are supposed to happen:
a wedding, a new car, a new house, a new job, an event — and when these don’t come to fruition, they get upset and distressed. Once again, I am not saying not to have faith and stop working to make your dream or event come true. What I am saying is it’s important to live the moment and enjoy the present, let the future manifest and the past rest. The past is not real anymore, and the future does not exist yet.
The present is real. Many times we let the best moments pass because we continue thinking about the past and future. This specific present moment will never come back, and when you are into the next moment you will wish you would have enjoyed that specific moment.
Many people are looking forward to not being single anymore, and they want a relationship. When they are in a relationship, they want to get married. Once they are married, they’re thinking about children. Then they want their children to grow up and be free. When they are alone then they realize that they never enjoyed their life and they were so busy living in the future that their past is gone. Now trying to live the past and fix what is done and long gone does not make sense. It makes sense to live in the present, doesn’t it?
I have learned to feel the moment...
to look for the unique things of it, to listen and to watch. Living the moment is to understand the emotions that I am having within the moment. If I am happy in the moment, I think about what’s making me happy or if I am sad I think about why. We all have our moments of sadness, happiness, anger, joy, deception, pride, embarrassments, confidence, etc.
Being present has helped me live fully, make better choices, control my emotions, be a better person, help others, find my mistakes, empathize with others, express myself better, and live my life.
I still make mistakes, of course. I still visit my past and learn from it. I have goals set up and work on them no matter what. Plan and take action, but I continue doing my best to live the moment.
Custom Body Fitness is located in Glenwood Springs CO and Carbondale CO
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