One of the best personal development skills you can practice is to live fully present.
How many times have you listened to someone speak to you, be it your boss or spouse or child, and you don’t really hear what they’re saying because your mind is somewhere else? A precious moment has been lost.
How about those moments that something wonderful is happening to you, but your mind is wandering around the “what if’s” of fear? Again, you’ve lost a precious moment of your life.
The answer? Learn to live fully present. Here are five tips to do just that.
Five Tips on How to Live Fully Present
- Breathe. When we stop to notice our breathing, we slow down our physical bodies, which in turn slows down our mind. Part of living in the present is not rushing by life’s sacred and sweet moments. Teaching ourselves to stop and breathe will help us slow down enough to take in what your child might be saying to you. It might give you the chance to notice that cloud that looks like a hippo in the middle of the sky. Breathing helps you fully live.
- Turn Off Your Electronics. In our world of mobile devices, we have created 45 degrees of separation as we look down at our phones instead of up into someone else’s eyes. The world of social media and online communication can be a positive and wonderful aspect of daily life, but it can also rob us of moments. When you are having coffee with someone, turn your phone off. When you are aware of a wonderful moment, don’t see it through your phone’s camera lens; see it through your own eyes.
- Center Before a Meeting/Conversation. When you are about to enter a meeting, especially during a busy day, it is important to take a moment and “center” yourself. Stop and breathe and think through your intentions. How do you want to present yourself? What is your intention in talking to this person or having this meeting? It is amazing how much more you can be present in a meeting just by taking a few minutes prior to the meeting to get centered.
- Stop the Time Traveling. When you find your thoughts travelling back to the past, stop yourself and think about your circumstance that moment. When you sit and find your thoughts dreaming about the future, stop yourself. In doing this you will be practicing how to focus on today and right now.
- Practice Mindfulness. We have all been on the road driving somewhere and suddenly we find ourselves at our destination, not realizing how we got there. That can become a common occurrence if we don’t practice mindfulness. Be aware as you do everyday tasks like brushing your teeth or climbing the stairs. Be mindful of every step you take. Practice mindfulness in the little tasks, and you will be more mindful when it matters.
What other tips do you have to live fully present?
Sources:
https://paidtoexist.com/how-to-live-fully-in-the-present/
http://executivecoachingconcepts.com/being-fully-present/