Wasn’t the weekend wonderful? And isn’t next weekend going to just as good… especially given we get an extra day in Melbourne?!
But what about now? What about this moment you’re living right now? Sometimes we get caught up in reminiscing, looking back or looking forward. We might sometimes forget to focus on what is happening right now in this moment.
This is not to say we can’t look back or forward… Looking back and remembering good times can improve our mood, looking back can help us to learn too. Looking forward can also improve our mood and help us to plan the next step in our journey.
But if we are always looking back or forward we might miss what is happening right now. We might miss the beauty of this moment, the amazing view, the sensation of the cool air, or the sun on our back, or the sound of birds chirping in the bush. The rock climber needs to be in the moment to ensure his safety, but the thrill of being able to see what he sees & achieve what he does is part of the experience of being in the now.
When we pay attention to the present moment our memory of this moment can be improved. We are noticing more and encoding this sensations in our memory of this moment. Can you remember the moment you fell in love? Or the moment you recurved your dream job? Or the moment you found out you got into your chosen course of study? Or the moment your team got into or won the the finals?
Choose one thing to pay full attention to today and notice all the sensations you experience during this moment. Here are some options: drinking a cup of tea or coffee; walking out of the office into the sunlight at lunch; a hug from a loved one; leaving work at the end of your day; seeing a friend smile; or maybe dinner tonight. Is there something different about that experience when you pay slightly more attention to it than usual?
If the idea of focussing on the Now, and being mindful appeals to you and you are finding this difficult that’s ok… mindfulness can be difficult. You might like to have a chat with us at Enhance Life Psychology about how we might be able to help you please click go to the contact page and send a message to us.