Do you find it hard to live in the present moment? Maybe you are unsure how to practice mindfulness? Living in the present moment can provide many benefits for your mental health and overall wellbeing. There are various different ways that you can start living in the present moment and they are likely to be easier than you might think.
Maybe you constantly worry about the future or the past - doing this can cause you to feel more anxious or stressed out. Living in the present moment can help you to feel more relaxed and positive. You might still have stresses that you need to face, but it should hopefully feel easier to deal with when you are living in the moment.
The Importance Of Living In The Moment
There are many benefits to living in the present moment and they all will have an overall impact on your life and wellbeing. Before we discuss the different ways that you can practice living in the present moment, I want to talk about the benefits of living in the present moment.
Some of the benefits you could experience are:
- Improved Concentration - When you live in the present moment, there should be fewer distractions for you to experience, as you will be placing your focus on what is in front of you, then and there.
- Increased Relaxation - As you should hopefully be worrying less about the future and the past, you should begin to feel more relaxed and experience less stress.
- Achieve Your Goals - Your goals should be easier to reach if you are focusing on the present moment and not worrying about what could go wrong or mistakes that could occur. This can make your goals become more achievable.
These are only a handful of the benefits you could experience when living in the present, others include, increased positivity, improved effectiveness, and more motivation for life.
How To start Living In The Present Moment
Now that you know the many benefits of living in the present moment, it’s time to look at how you can live in the moment. These are simple changes you can make in your life and you can even start to practice them today.
Here are 5 ways to live in the present moment.
1. Learn How To Meditate
Meditation is a great exercise to help you become more mindful and be able to live in the present moment. Meditation can help to clear your mind and focus on the present moment. This could be through listening to the sounds around you and focusing on them, or just being in the moment and clearing your head.
You can listen to guided meditations or just practice your own meditations if you would prefer. Either will work and can help you to focus on the moment and relax. Meditation is a beneficial practice that can help to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Even just meditating for 5 minutes a day can be enough to help you start living in the present moment.
You could try this before you go to bed, or when you wake up in the morning - whatever works best for you.
2. Practice Gratitude
If you practice gratitude each day it can help you to focus on what you have now, in the present moment, and why you are thankful for it. Writing in a gratitude journal can help you to focus on the positives and feel better about your life and what you have to be thankful for.
When you have to think about all the things you are grateful for, you might find more positives that you normally would take for granted. This can help you to focus on the present moment and what’s going on in your life right now, not the future or the past.
You can try to practice gratitude throughout your day, where you can take a moment out of your day to think about things that are happening than and there. This can help you to focus on the good things that are happening each and every day.
3. Notice Sensory Details
In your daily routine, you will normally do things without any thought - therefore, if you can stop and take note of the different sensory details of that task, it can really help you to live more in the present moment.
These sensory moments can be things you are touching, smelling, hearing etc, in that exact moment. For example, maybe you are going out for a walk in nature and you stop to listen to the birds singing or the wind blowing the trees. This helps to incorporate more mindfulness into your daily routine.
In turn, this can make you more focused on the present moment, instead of thinking about things that have not yet happened, or things that have happened which you cannot do anything about.
4. Self-Hypnosis
Self-Hypnosis can help to relax you and keep you in the present moment, it can help you to clear your mind and focus on the moment, letting go of negativity or stress. You can listen to hypnosis tracks in the comfort of your own home, laying down or sitting down - and without any distractions.
When you are listening to a hypnosis track, you should find that you are focusing just on that moment and listening to the track itself. This can help you to clear your mind and just focus on what you are doing and feeling. In addition, this is a great practice helps you to not only relax but also change your limiting beliefs for positive ones and live in the present moment.
5. Practice Breathing Techniques
Breathing techniques can be a great way to relax and focus on your breathing for a moment. This can be particularly helpful if you are feeling anxious or stressed, as it can bring you out of your panic and make you put your focus and energy into your breathing, rather than your worries.
If you find yourself worrying about the future or the past, breathing techniques can help to bring you back to the present moment and get you focusing on what is happening right then, instead of thinking about things that haven’t happened.
When you feel that you are lost in your own thoughts and worries, breathing techniques are a great way to calm you down and bring you back from your thoughts. Try to focus or count your breathing if you are in a situation where you are facing stress or anxiety - it should really help you to relax and live in the present moment.
Live In The Present Moment With Self-Hypnosis
Living in the present moment isn’t always an easy thing to do, but these tips can help you along the way. Breathing techniques and self-hypnosis are great ways to relax, live in the moment and clear your mind.
