How to Live in the Present Moment

“Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.” – Eckhart Tolle 

I wanted to start off this blog post with my favorite quote from my favorite Author, Eckhart Tolle. If you are seriously trying to live life in the present more, you have to buy his book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61) ( you can click this link to purchase the book through Amazon) This book changed my perception on life in such a positive way and was my inspiration to write this blog post. 

There is no way I could create a blog trying to teach others different ways to live a happier, more fulfilling life, without discussing this topic. I believe living in the present is THE key to living a happy life. You can’t fully enjoy life if you’re always worrying about the future or the past. Another great quote from Eckhart Tolle on living in the present is “Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry —– all forms of fear –— are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” Now I am not saying you shouldn’t even think or dream about the future, because I think that is a wonderful thing, I just think we shouldn’t live in the future too long. We need to stop letting life pass us by so quickly, as if we are watching our lives go by from a distance and not fully in it. 

Below are 10 ways to help you to start living your life in the present moment more…

1. Practice. We are creatures of habit and it takes practice to change our habitual behaviors. Try to first become more aware of your personal habitual behaviors and thoughts. Notice when you are starting to worry about something in the future or when you’re dwelling in the past and take back control. Observe the thought, let it pass and redirect your focus to your current environment. Take a deep breath if that helps you to separate the two. Try to just focus on what you are doing at that moment and continue to practice this every single day. Eventually it will become less work as you make it a new habit. 

2. Enjoy the little things. This may sound cliché, but there’s a reason we have cliché sayings in the world! There are wonderful things we experience throughout the day, but we often miss them because our minds are too busy to enjoy them. I am talking really “small” things such as fully enjoying every warm sip of your coffee, jamming out to a good song on the radio while you’re driving, the warmth of the sun on your face, the feeling of a really comfortable, soft blanket wrapped around you or the feeling when you are cold and take that first step into the hot shower. Comfort is huge for me! I try to make my environment very comfy and cozy so I can fully relax. When I write these blogs I am usually wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket on my couch, sipping my favorite tea, burning incense in my pajamas! I think it is very hard to live in the present moment if you are uncomfortable, but that is just a side note I wanted to add lol Going forward, try to become more aware all the simple pleasures in your every day routine and notice how much better you feel. Time will seem to slow down a little and things will not bother you as easily when you do this. 

3. Check in with yourself from time to time. This is something we don’t do enough! Check in with yourself and notice how you are feeling throughout the day. Do you feel tense? If so, relax your shoulders and your jaw. Are you shallow breathing? If so, take a couple deep belly breaths (your belly should be expanding out as you breathe in, not your chest!) Are you thirsty? Hungry? Tired? Relaxed? Angry? etc. If you have a negative emotion, how can you change it? Are you worrying about the future right now, chores that need to get done, work? Try to take a few moments and analyze how you are feeling and come up with ideas on how to make yourself feel better. For example, if you are upset with someone, can you talk to them and express how you’re feeling? If you’re worried about a future event like a presentation or a first date try to remember it’s not happening at this very moment and worrying about it will just make you experience the emotions twice and ruin the present moment!

4. Be around Children and Animals more. The magic of being around children and animals force us to live in the present more. When your playing with your kids or pets, you are living in the present with them! They are always living in the present moment. When we are acting like children and playing tag or on the swings etc. it brings us back to when we were young and living in the moment. Kids also notice every little thing such as a pretty flower, a bird, a plane and when they point it out to you, it makes you focus on your environment as well which helps to shift your focus to the present.  

5. Overcome your Addictions. It’s so hard to focus on the present moment if we have an addiction that is taking over our thoughts constantly. Overcoming addictions obviously is not easy, but addictions hold us hostage. Try to take the steps and get the help you need to overcome them in order to take back your control and fully enjoy your life the way you’re supposed too!

6. Do whatever makes you lose track of time. I discuss this in my blog post on Finding Your Life Purpose and I thought it would be useful to add to this post as well because when you are doing something you love and lose track of time, you are living in the present. This is different for everyone so stop reading this for a moment and try to think of the moments you are fully enjoying life and lose track of time. For me, I lose track of time most when I am writing these blogs, dancing and exploring a new state or country. For my husband, it is playing a sport and gardening. What is it for you?

 7. Let go. Let go of your expectations, worries, fears and anything that is taking up space in your mind and ruining your present moment. We feel more comfortable when we can control outcomes in life, but we need to learn to let the universe work its magic and enjoy the ride more. If worrying about a certain outcome is creating negative emotions for you, it is counterproductive, so try to practice the previous steps I just discussed and see if you can learn to let go more. You will be much happier if you can achieve this, it just takes practice.

8. Be in Nature. There is nowhere better to be if you’re trying to live in the present and enjoy life more than in nature. You’re forced to focus on your environment when you’re in nature most of the time. When you’re hiking, you have to focus on where you’re walking and it’s much easier to get lost in the environment when it is so beautiful and calming. Being in nature is so grounding as well which helps. Picture how you feel when you’re at the beach, looking out at the ocean, listening to the waves crashing, smelling the salty air. Being near any body of water is a perfect place to practice living in the present.

9. Meditate & Journal. I feel like I am always telling people to mediate and journal, but they are both so beneficial! When you are meditating and journaling, you are living in the present. Even if you’re journaling about the past, you’re still “checking in” with yourself and your current emotions and it helps to let things go by writing them down. I used to think medication was so difficult, until I realized I was completely overthinking it! Now I just focus on calming, meditation music and when a thought pops in my head (because it will and this is normal!) instead of getting upset at myself for losing my focus, I observe each thought, let it pass and redirect my focus on the music again. The more and more I practice this, the better I get and I know if I could learn how to meditate, anyone can!

10. Practice being less self-conscious. When we are self-conscious and worried about how we look to others, it makes it much more difficult to fully enjoy the moment. Try to remember everyone is probably doing the same thing and more focused on how they look to others rather than how you look. Reading my past blog post on How to Let Go of What Others Think may help with this last step if this is something you have issues with.

Living in the now is especially difficult these days with our cell phones always going off and interrupting our focus. It’s hard to get away from our phones, emails, social media and all the over stimulating things in our lives, but that’s why it’s so important to practice the above steps. It is healthy to have a balance between living in the past, present and future. It’s hard to say what the perfect balance is, but I think it’s different for everyone. The key is to worry less. When you are worrying less, you have found that balance. 

Namaste ♡