Learning to LIVE in the NOW

So for the last 10 days (I am not going to make it sound like I am a saint, it is just 10 days) I have been successfully living in the moment. Taking life in one day at a time, one moment at a time. Cherishing each moment and doing my best to just ‘be’. I’ll be honest it has been a whirlwind to get here but I am extremely hopeful that I can capture it and ride with it for a while longer.

A number of years ago this quote resonated with me ‘If you are thinking about the past you are depressed, if you are thinking about the future you are anxious. If you are living in the moment you are present.’ At the time, I didn’t think it was made for me, but more for those that were challenged by a healthy mindset. Boy, was I wrong! Perhaps it resonated with me so much that it was attempting to cry out to me to listen. Many years on, I finally have cleared my ears, and this is how I am applying it.

How to live more presently, like time is a gift and like nothing else in the world matters in that moment:

1. I have totally disconnected from scrolling

Literally I was one of those people that would be scrolling through insta, getting so deep in someone’s profile and invested in their life (I would have no idea who they were btw) and would forget that I have my own life to live. Long ago I deleted profiles of chicks with ripped abdominals and models that look good in everything but I was still finding myself getting lost in someone else’s world that, whenever I did this I felt lonely, isolated and wishing my life was filled with more. I have learnt to avoid the deep whole that social media tries to pull us into.

2. Being realistic about what I can achieve in a day

With a million and one things on my plate I was certainly getting very overwhelmed with a LONG list of to do’s. Which led me to working way too many hours to try and keep up. So, each day I throw 3 x things into my phone that I need to achieve and I check the list when I sign off. 3 x things a day is much more ideal than a never-ending list that is never going to get done in a day. Now, I can finish a day and feel like I have achieved what I set out to and enjoy my evening with little guilt.

3. I’ve learnt to breathe properly (and I use it all the time)

There is an epic little start up called ‘The Breathe Project’ one of my amazing friends introduced me to them. Kat and Bodhi are making it their mission to teach Australians how to ‘breathe properly’. I take my hat off to them because they know how to breathe and the world needs to know it too. If I can’t sleep, or, if I feel a little overwhelmed taking 4 big breathes in holding for 4 counts and breathing out for 4 counts is my solution. It seriously works wonders. Actually, it was my bestie Dingo who helped me realise that I was good at breathing ‘in’ but not so good at ‘letting go’ and breathing out. I have been practising for about 12 months now and anytime my mind races or I just want to rest, I breathe in for 4, hold for 4 and out for 4 and very soon I feel more calm, centred and ready to either fall asleep or move forward in my day.

4. Being ok with whatever the future holds

This one is the one I am working on the most. Being content in the moment. Being grateful for who I am, what I have and who I have in my life. Don’t get me wrong I still have hopes and dreams for the future but I think more than ever I have identified the importance in being grateful for the now and celebrating what I have now. I am practising detaching from things, learning to just accept and be grateful for. Usually we get upset if something doesn’t go to plan. But hold up!? What plan was that? Our plan, our crazy weird idea of what the perfect future would look like?! I have learnt that is a sure way not to live in the present and get caught up in looking forward to the future. A bit like ‘I’ll be happy when I have a boyfriend, I’ll be happy when I finish my degree, I will be happy when I go on holidays’. The key to happiness is being content and happy NOW! Learning to accept and learning to let go.

5. Smiling at the little things in life

This one is easy for me. It is a habit that I have let go of and have been focused on getting it back into my every day. Taking time for the little things that make you smile, make your heart sing! No matter how many times a day you do them, they will always make you smile. A mentor of mine taught me this many years ago – shout out to Dr Fred Grosse. He called it giving yourself a 10/10 day. Filling your day with little moments (10’s) that make your heart sing. It could be getting your morning coffee, seeing a sunrise, patting a puppy, telling a joke, texting a friend or smelling a rose. Take time to stop and smell the roses, take time to acknowledge the little things that make you feel good. That is living in the present. Write yourself a little list and make it your goal to do at least 5 every day. Work your way to 10 and then you’ll have a 10/10 day every day.

Love, gratitude and content vibes being sent your way.

With Love from Bel x