Do you find it hard to stay in the present moment? Is it difficult for you to not think about the Past/Future and just be there wherever you are? Then stick with me for a while, Because I am gonna show you how can you crush this habit…
The overwhelming thoughts
What ifs…
When tomorrow is your exam and you are like, What if I failed at the exam? Or when you are expecting bad news from your boss, What if my boss fired me? what if this, what if that, and so on…
When you are holding a cup of coffee in your hand, and it’s late-night, You answer all the questions in your mind, but suddenly when you look at the cup it’s empty( who drank the coffee? with a dry mouth!!).
That’s because you are too deep into what-ifs, and can’t enjoy the current moment.
Shoulds
I should have been confident at the meeting, I should have got better grades.
When you tried your best, But still there was something you missed, Now you panic why did this happen.
This leads to procrastination.
The cure
A lot of what if’s and shoulds hit your head all the time, and you can’t do anything about it.
That’s because your mind is trained this way, You have made it your habit and it’s time to break this habit and stay in the present moment.
To break this habit you need to pay attention to the present, what’s going on around you, feel your breath, stop the thoughts going on in your mind.
Here I am going to show you exactly what are the strategies that you can use to break this pattern of thinking.
1) Turn off Autopilot
It should not surprise you If I say your mind is running you, Without any permission from you.
I mean you are not conscious about what’s happening, You don’t even know how tasty the breakfast was. That’s because you are on Autopilot mode of the brain.
Whats autopilot?
You wake up in the morning, take Breakfast, read emails scroll on social media, and then go to work or school.
In simple words, When you don’t question yourself, That what am I doing and what am I supposed to do? That’s autopilot, Things are happing, you are not actually doing anything.
That’s why I said your brain is running you, You are not conscious of your thoughts and your actions. There is a routine you have created for doing all these activities, and thoughts which you’re thinking.
You are doing all these things on daily basis, That’s why it has gone so deep into your mind, That you don’t need to be aware to actually do anything.
Break autopilot
It’s time to be present at the moment and do something different rather than being the same all the time.
1) Practice mindfulness
it means to stay in the present moment, Just remove everything from your mind and focus on what’s going on right now, right at the moment.
You can do meditation, There are different types of meditations and but here we are going over something very easy as focusing on the breath.
Take a deep breath and just focus on it, sounds easy! but guess what it’s hard to do when you are just starting out. But when you do it for some time you will be comfortable with it.
This is causing an interrupt
When you are focusing on your breath, you are just telling your mind to stop whatever it is doing and do what you say.
This way you are breaking the old pattern, Which was to let it be whatever is happening. You had given your mind a complete authority to do and think whatever it wanted.
But no more, This time you are blocking your mind from thinking random thoughts, and allowing it to focus on one specific thing.
Now you are the master of your mind Because you are controlling it.
Read also: Remove unwanted thoughts from your mind
2) Focus is energy
There is something probably you are doing wrong, and that is draining your energy.
When you wake up in the morning and you think about your problems, You are starting your day with the problem in mind. That’s the worst thing to do.
Remember focus goes what you think about, what you concentrate on. When you start your day with a problem in mind, you are giving it more attention.
The more you give attention to something, The more you will fuel it with energy.
So here the memory for that particular problem is strong, It disturbs you Because it is sitting in The back of your mind, and you are able to call it very easily.
This is why it becomes hard for you to stay in the present moment, Instead, you just live in the world of problems. You need to break this habit and think of possibilities and solutions only.
Solution
I know it’s very hard to escape from such kind of thoughts, But you are not going to give up.
These thoughts are of your past/Future, Past is gone, So let the bygones be bygones Or if it’s about future, Sometimes they won’t happen but if they still do, Tell yourself that it’s ok.
Admit it, Life is full of problems and challenges, But it all comes down to what you make of it, So worry not. Remind yourself that my life will never be fully free of challenges, Therefore I don’t need to worry.
Treat the problems as a part of your life, They will come and go, But it’s up to you, Don’t just give your full attention to this headache?
Just thinking about a problem won’t’ solve it, Either try to solve this issue or get your head out of it.
3) Do single-tasking
Many times we do multi-tasking, Which provokes so many thoughts in our mind, That can not be stoped.
The problem with multi-tasking is our mind is not clear, It’s always confused between the two, And as a result, we procrastinate.
Procrastination sends us to the world of thoughts, We are engaged with our thoughts so much that we forget about what’s happening now.
We spend time just thinking
Harvard research shows that 47% of the time, people think about things other than what they are doing right now.
It’s because we are doing more than one task at a time, And our mind is not designed that way, We can only focus on one specific task.
When I am writing on my laptop and at the same time I have to reply to messages, I feel lost, I don’t even know what to do. That’s why I keep my phone silent most of the time.
Single task lowers stress
It is obvious that doing multi-tasks will fill your head with anxious thoughts, Which leads to stress.
According to cnn.com Doing a single task helps in reducing stress, That’s because focusing on one thing at a time gives clarity, and the more you are clear, the better you focus.
A clear mind without worries is the only to stay in the present moment, Because if you deal with excessive thoughts, chances are you will find it hard to be fully in the moment.
So next time when you are reading a book, Just read that book! Don’t scroll on social media for no reason.
4) Stop thoughts
When I am writing a post, sometimes I just go very deep into my thoughts without realizing how much time it is taking. This happens with me, and I am sure it is happening with you too.
This needs to be stoped, and here is what you can do about it.
Think about the ending scene
When you are thinking about something, You have the authority to think whatever you want to. So why not think about the end?
When you are in the middle of the story, Your mind compels you to complete it, Because there are so much excitement and joy left in the story.
Our mind does not like a half story, Think about movies, When you want to watch a movie, At first you are not sure which movie to select.
But Once you are in the middle of the story, You don’t wanna go anywhere until you have finished watching the movie.
The same goes for our mind, If the story of thought has not ended, It will be difficult to stay in the present moment. But if you just think about the ending scene, You are done, there is nothing left to think about.
How I do it?
I had issues with staying in the present moment Because I was too much futuristic. Future was everything for me( Even I would think about the future when I was partying)
I wanted to be rich, So I would make fairy tales about me being rich.
These stories I told were fancy, I got addicted to them So that’s why I couldn’t enjoy the current moment.
But then I started thinking about the end, Ok I am rich, I have everything, Now what? Seriously, When you think about the End You will see the reality.
You will find that, Whatever you want to get, Even if you achieve it, Your life will be normal. This will help you to stay in the current moment and enjoy it.
5) Don’t keep a waiting mindset
We are always waiting for something to happen in the future, Which will change our lives. We will be happy forever, Nothing bad will happen after that.
You might be waiting for a life partner, Who will make you happy, Or you might be like me, Who thinks when I will be rich, Then everything will be fine.
Let’s just face the reality, Nothing like that is going to happen ever. Even if you get that partner you wished, You will have some bad days with him/her.
Thus don’t overcomplicate the present and enlighten the future. Of course, thinking about the future is important, But so is the present, Don’t forget it.
Appreciate what you have done
Most of the time we are so much busy creating future goals Forgetting what we have achieved. This ruins the concept of living in the current moment.
Think for a moment, The end result of everything is happiness, I mean we do things just because we want to be happy.
We want money, family, a life partner, and freedom in life, Just to be happy. But when we reach one of our goals instead of celebrating happiness, We just set new goals and push ourselves hard to achieve them.
Living in the present moment gives you a purpose in life, You know why you are here in this world? What’s your purpose? That’s why you need to mark the present moment crucial.
6) Remind yourself
When you catch yourself overthinking, Remind yourself and be aware of your thoughts.
The best way to stop the thoughts and stay in the present moment is to create a reminder.
Here are the 3 things you can try,
- Write sticky notes
- Set alarm
- Write on cover photo ( laptop, mobile..)
When it becomes so difficult to stay in the moment, Then you need to remind yourself time and again that you are out of track.
This way you will train your brain to avoid thoughts related to the past and future, and just be right here.
Key points
Here are the key points of the article.
- Don’t let your mind run you, Take control of it ( Turn off autopilot).
- Remove the problematic mind, Focus on solutions more.
- Do one task at one time ( If you are reading a book, Just read the book).
- Think about the end of the story, Imagine you achieved everything, Now what?
- Take a moment and appreciate what you have achieved.
- Thoughts are excessive, worry not, Set a reminder ( sticky notes, write on the wallpaper, set alarm).
Conclusion
past is an experience, the Future is a myth But the present is Gift. Don’t forget to enjoy this gift of God.
One simply can’t do anything of the past, Whatever happened in past was just experience, let it go of your mind.
We don’t control the future too. We never know what happens in the future, So why worry about things that you really can’t control.
But the only thing that we can control, That we can utilize is the present moment, The moment we live in, the moment we are breathing in.
If you are depressed, You are living in the past.
If you are anxious, You are living in the future.
But if you are at peace, You are living in the present. – Lao Tzu
Don’t live in the past or future, Take experiences from the past and learn from it, Prepare for the future, But don’t live there.
Live in present, Stay in the present moment, That’s where you can find the happiness and true meaning of your life.
With that said, I am concluding this article, But what about you, Are you gonna change yourself to live in the moment, Or you are gonna be like just another person who reads an article and then repeat the old cycle.
Tell us in the comment section, What are your commitments to stay in the present moment?