Sunday 10 April 2016

Be Present.

Here's some thoughts on being present and how we can all help ourselves spent more time in the moment. Click to read more...


How often are our minds really in the here and now? I'll bet that a fair few of us spend a lot of our time either in the past or in the future and not actually in the present moment. This can create lots of unnecessary stress and anxiety on top of all the pressure of everyday, modern life, which let's be honest, has a tonne of it's own trials and tribulations. The reality is, being present can be really hard work because it means not only accepting enjoyable moments and experiences, but also the really tough ones.

The act of paying attention and being in the moment, as I'm sure most of you will know, is more commonly known as mindfulness. It's about being aware of what's going on with your body, thoughts, emotions and surroundings in a non-judgemental manner.


So how do we go about spending time in the present moment? It's certainly not something that happens overnight and takes a bit of getting used to but there are things that we can all do to work towards this.


LET GO

Let go of any preconceptions, thoughts or your wish to have constant control. There are lots of things in life that we have very little control over despite us maybe wanting things to be a particular way. But that's OK, mindfulness is about acknowledging and accepting this and letting it be. Not the easiest of things to do, but I feel it's much more beneficial than clinging onto things that you still can't change.

WORRY LESS

How many nights have you been kept awake worrying about things that are yet to happen, or ruminating on things that have been and gone? I know this is something I've done and still do at times, although I try my best not to. Because there's certainly nothing you can do to change what's happened in the past. We're not time lords. And constantly worrying about the future takes the enjoyment out of the journey we're on to get to wherever it is we're going.

ACCEPTANCE

Accept how things are right in this moment, good or bad. And accept that things will change, a wonderful moment unfortunately won't last forever, but that means a painful moment will also pass. 


BE KIND

Being kind and compassionate towards yourself is so important when you're practising mindfulness. In fact, scratch that, it's so important ALL THE TIME. We're all bloody wonderful in our own way, we deserve our own kindness at the very least. We're often so much better at being kind to others than we are to ourselves, so take some of that compassion and shine it inwards.


KEEP LEARNING

I believe that a large aspect of mindfulness is about continuing to learn and educate yourself on what works for you personally. Mindfulness is a process of personal exploration and as cliche as it sounds, a journey. 

Let's start a conversation:
Do you practice mindfulness? If so, what do you find helps bring you into the present? I'd love for you to leave your thoughts either in the comments below, or drop me a tweet @_hellojordan


Here's some thoughts on being present and how we can all help ourselves spent more time in the moment. Click to read more...





5 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I found your blog, I absolutely love it! Being present is something I personally struggle with too. I just tend to overthink and worry about the future, about upcoming events, about everything. I'm currently learning to get better at it though and your post reminded me of the most important things so thank you :) have a wonderful day x

    Sara / AboutLittleThiings

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    1. Aww thanks so much Sara, I'm so glad that you're getting something positive from my little blog and that you found the post helpful! You will get there, it just takes time, practice and patience. And don't forget to be kind to yourself!! Jordan xx

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  2. Wonderful words of wisdom and something i try to adhere to every day! Xx

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  3. I'm not sure if I'm ready to jump head-first into mindfulness just yet, but I'm definitely going to put more effort into being happy in the moment. It feels like everything I do is over in the blink of an eye lately and I want to start remembering events better instead. Thanks for writing a very thought-provoking blog post!

    Lisa | farawaylisamae.com

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my posts and leave a comment, it's very much appreciated!!

Jordan xx