Aug 16th, 2009
The 2 Basics of Living in the Present Moment
We hear this talk about living in the present moment. But what does that REALLY mean?
Living in the present moment is all about APPRECIATION and GRATITUDE (and maybe throw a little love in there too). When you are appreciating and being grateful for what you are experiencing, you are totally present.
When we are living for the next moment, we are truly missing out.
When we are rehashing our past, we are truly missing out.
People often ask “How is it possible to stay in the present moment AND create/plan for your future?”
Here is what I know: That if you are working on something for your future from a truly grateful and appreciative place AND enjoying the journey that you are on and the process that is unfolding – you are living in the present moment. In my experience, it is not possible to be filled with gratitude and NOT be present. Some believe (I used to!) that to live in the present moment, you must do something like: sit under a tree, wear weird garb and just BE.
Well, that’s one way to do it. There are times when that actually sounds appealing to me! Most of the time, however, it does not. I don’t aspire to live my life under a tree, even if the scenery/enlightenment IS kick ass. And I’m willing to bet that you feel the same way. So, no worries! Because constantly bringing yourself back to that place of gratitude and appreciation as often as possible… is all that you need:)
Recognize how grateful you are for the big, and ESPECIALLY, the little things. As often as you can, to yourself or outloud, say thank you. For any and everything. It feels weird at first. Do it anyway:)
Melissa, that is awesome! I love it! I never thought of it that way. Thank you!
Hi Melissa,
Wow! This is the mantra of my life! This is what my other church is based on. You are right…it brings happiness and love to life. When I was a practice management consultant, I had a DDS that was the biggest butt-hole in the world. I told him to say thank you to his staff every chance he got even if he didn’t mean it. It was really difficult for him, but he kept at it and starting looking for opportunities to say thank you. Guess what, his staff started to feel appreciated and they started to grow the practice. He started to feel appreciated because his staff was working as a team. Production and collections increased. He was really grateful and decided to practice this in other areas of his life. He was able to save his marriage, His college aged kids started hanging around him more. They went on some great family vacations and enjoyed each others company. He accomplished all this by pretending to be grateful until it became a habit. My plan was to humanize him before working on his dental practice numbers, but I never got that far. Thank you was all he needed!
Thanks for the comment Cookie! I love your story! My favorite part being “My plan was to humanize him…but never got that far.” Hilarious!!
Thanks Lynn!
Excellent site, keep up the good work
Thanks for the compliment! I’m loving every minute of it!