How to Live in the Moment

Whether you rang in the New Year cracking open a bottle of champagne, watching fireworks with friends or snuggling on a cozy couch counting down the seconds with the New Year’s Eve ball drop, I hope 2017 ended on a high note while your 2018 is even bigger and better than past years. It sounds great – but how can you do this? Let’s chat about one key strategy to help you have your best year yet!

Start Fresh

The beginning of the year represents the perfect time to set new goals and to start the year with a clean slate. The sky’s the limit! No matter the challenges you faced in 2017, the anticipation of a new year almost always brings expectation, optimism, and a promise of something new (or different) and better. One thing that I am personally focusing on this year is living in the moment! What does “living in the moment” means, exactly, and how can it be the key to ensuring a rich and fulfilling life?

The Power is Yours

To live in the moment simply means you’re doing just that – living in the moment. Instead of obsessing over past wrongs or staying up late stressing about what the future may hold, focus on matters that are important to you now. Doing so will allow you to experience a full and exciting life. Think about it this way: How many times have you gone out with a friend only to spend the evening distracted over an issue at work or in your private life?

Instead of enjoying your experience with someone you care for, you’re replacing what should be positive and rewarding feelings with negative and stressful ones. Besides, events that have occurred in the past and those that will occur in the future are beyond your control. However; being mindful and aware of where and with whom you are now will contribute to the meaning and purpose in your life.

After all, being fully aware and present in everyday life can be extremely beneficial to you personally and professionally. For example, putting your focus entirely on the person standing in front of you will certainly lead to clearer communication which in turn, again, will lead to a stronger connection between you two. In a professional environment, a stronger connection could result in another sale. In a personal environment, a stronger connection could result in a better relationship. Overall, you have a higher probability of achieving success!

Try this! View life as if it’s your own personal catalog from which you get to choose what you want – a successful career (yes, please!), a beautiful home (why not), a loving family (absolutely!). Think about the goal you want to accomplish. Then, focus all your energy on creating the conditions necessary to realize that goal. Isn’t that a super exciting thought? Living every day with purpose.

Life is a Gift

Life doesn’t always go according to plan! Relax! Instead, change your perspective to see and value all the good that’s around you now. Think about it this way:

• Only you have control over this moment – the present. There’s nothing you can do about the past nor the future. Let it go!
• Focusing on the present is one sure way to reduce stress. Every time you start worrying about something you must do, stop, and force your mind back to your task at hand.
• Ultimately, you’ll be able to enjoy living a happier and healthier life.

The most helpful advice I can give you is to start small. It’s not realistic to expect your life to change all at once. You’re setting yourself up for unnecessary struggles. Rather, think about where you want to end up and fine-tune the process that’s going to get you there. Let me give you one final example: if you think your life and mental health can benefit from meditating for 30 minutes a day, start by meditating for five minutes per day and gradually increase your time until you reach your goal of 30 minutes. This reduces a possibility of giving up. Also, by only focusing on the five minutes you must accomplish today reduces the risk of feeling overwhelmed and stressed about adding more to your daily schedule.

Start here

Here’s your challenge: focus on living 30 minutes at a time for the rest of January. This simply means every time your mind starts to wonder, bring it back to the present by telling yourself to focus only on the next 30 minutes. Once the time is up, tell yourself to focus on the next 30 minutes, and so on! The goal is to disengage your mind from unnecessary daily clutter and work on being the best you can be in the moment!

I’ll leave you with the words of Albert Einstein: “Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” All you have to do is be aware of it!

On January 9 at 4:30 p.m. CT, click on the LIVE event displayed at the top of my Facebook page. You can share this link http://bit.ly/2xDzRx9 with your friends and family. Remind them that to watch this video, they’ll need to LIKE my page first!

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