“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha
One of the best, unforeseen consequences of simplifying our lives is that it has allowed us to begin living our lives in the present. Eliminating nonessential possessions freed us from many of the emotions associated with past lives that were keeping us stuck there. And clearing our home has allowed us the freedom to shape our lives today around our most important values.
Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today, it robs you of truly living. The only important moment is the present moment. With that goal in mind, consider this list of ten tips below to start living your life in the present:
- Remove unneeded possessions. Minimalism forces you to live in the present. Removing items associated with past memories or lives frees us up to stop living in the past and start living in the present.
- Smile. Each day is full of endless possibilities! Start it with a smile. You are in control of your attitude every morning, keep it optimistic and expectant.
- Fully appreciate the moments of today. Soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the triumph, and the sorrow.
- Forgive past hurts. If you are harboring resentment towards another human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. The harm was their fault. But allowing it to impact your mood today is yours.
- Love your job. If you just “survive” the workweek constantly waiting for the next weekend “to get here,” you are wasting 71% of your life (5 out of 7 days). there are two solutions: 1) find a new job that you actually enjoy (it’s out there), or 2) find something that you appreciate about your current career and focus on that rather than the negatives.
- Dream about the future, but work hard today. Dream big. Set goals and plans for the future. But working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. Don’t allow dreaming about tomorrow to replace living in today.
- Don’t dwell on past accomplishments. If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.
- Stop worrying. You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow. Realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. And since worry has never accomplished anything for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere.
- Think beyond old solutions to problems. Our world is changing so fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are no longer the right answers today. Don’t get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. Yesterday’s solutions are not today’s solutions and they are certainly not tomorrow’s solutions.
- Conquer addictions. Addictions in your life hold you hostage. They keep you from living a completely free life today. Find some help. Take the steps. And remove their influence over your life.
If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present…
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
You know there’s an interesting connection between #5 and 8. Whether we’re distressing over our job or worrying about the future or the past, we’re wasting an even greater percentage of your life.
I agree that we should always make a conscious decision to appreciate the present. We can never get this exact moment back again. Every moment of every day is different in it’s own unique way!
Great post, thanks for sharing!
Great post, Joshua. Mindfullness is the key to so much in this life. One mantra that I try to live by — and with three small kids it takes on new meaning — is “Allow what is to be”. When you go with the flow you can’t help but be present and mindful!
Be well!
That comment about hating your job is wasting 71% of your life is a real eye opener. I choose to take on a lower paying job that makes me happy rather than have a higher paying job that will cause more stress. I think it actually balances out because if a higher paying job causes higher stress than I’ll be spending more money on unnecessary trying to soothe myself anyway. My career goal is to simply avoid “Sunday Night Syndrome”, meaning as soon as I start dreading my job, I find a new one!
Great post!
Those points clearly state what everyone should be doing.
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10. conquer addictions. addictions in your life hold you hostage. they keep you from living a completely free life today.
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this really resonates with me.
when i am stuck in my stupid addictions, i easily get overwhelmed and forget to enjoy living in the present.
i am very working on my addictions.
i am trying to be more content minded, get rid of my unnecessary desires and focus living in the moment, simply, happily :)
valuable post, joshua~
I love #5. As someone who worked my way out of one career that I enjoyed but really didn’t fit our family’s needs (transcribing with 4 little ones underfoot isn’t exactly ideal), to one that I am passionate about and fits our lifestyle perfectly (blogging and consulting), I am also passionate about encouraging others to find work they love. When you’re not able to draw a line between work and fun, you know you’ve found it!
Great post. I just found your blog and I have been enjoying your insight.
live in the present moment is the only way.
I thought about this recently and wrote:
Masters of the Moment
The days go by with each setting sun,
And as time passes our minds become
Filled with memories of glee and sorrow
And of bricks we use to build tomorrow
The past is our teacher, the future our dreams,
Our family and friends at this moment it seems,
Are the loving realities of our lives in the present,
Savor each moment of the time with them spent
This is so true see the man that picks up litter on our beach He is unphased, He is there if its snow or Sun and he seems content with his lot.
Get on with it,enjoy now,remove bad habits,reduce your cluttered unneeded possessions,interesting reading informative true,, greed and jealously just take you down, say I’m free and do what you want don’t let no one tell you what you should do.I do not know what I will have but its today I do.
Most of us know what we have to do… but still we wait for something to happen. If only one puts all these in practise, LIFE IS WORTH LIVING…enjoying every bit of it.
i learnt that living in the present moment is gods greatest gift to man and women.to be present means to be aware and focused on your thoughts and be centred in what ever we do in the present moment.present…means…this moment is a gift that we should treasure and embrace and enjoy.feel exalted and see the magic and joy that each moment brings to our human expierence.love it…treasure it and let it be.a gitf to you…………………..thank you…
living present is a good theory & philosophy. ok. but the problem is the wandering mind. how to be still without the past and future? how to engage the mind in the present moment , with the “0″ level influence of past and future.?
im confused on one thing, it says to remove things associated with the past to free us now, and i have believed in this theory but have also found negatives in it such as i have given away alot of clothes but it hurts when i cant wear something that i love because it reminds me of past, and then some people say u should just work through it, and also what if u are living the present but then u have to go and move back somewhere that may remind u of the past, what then, should u not do it, but what if u have love for the place and it has alot of positives should we not go for it to instead dissociate with the past as much as possible? im sick of the effort involved in running from the past but i so desperatly want my freedom of today. someone pls help!!
You’re capable of finding the answers to your questions from within. Trust yourself. Try seeing the list as suggestions, not commandments. Is measuring yourself by someone else’s yardstick really the way to liberation?
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