How To Live in the Moment Starting Today

As I sit here now and type, the realization is that this is my life, right now. It doesn't begin when this site begins to get lots of traffic and makes money, or when I get married, or have children, or visit Australia, my life is right now. I'm not going to wake up one day and a grand sign will appear that "your life has begun!" Nope, it's this present moment... and so is yours.

Living in the moment is one of the easiest concepts to grasp, but one of the hardest to get right. It takes tons of hard work, practice and conscious awareness to really live in the present, but it can be done. It should be done, as it is one of the most important skills to have when discovering yourself and true lasting happiness.

So how do we really learn to live in the moment?

Every single person on this planet needs to allow themselves time to step back and reflect. It's essential for our well-being. Nowadays everybody feels like they must go, go, go, but this is not what is really good for us, if we took some time to reflect, we would realize that.

You don't have to have a fancy meditation room or sit Indian-style to do this. You can simply lay down or get comfortable in your favorite chair. Close your eyes and just be. Be still. Be present. Let your mind be empty.

This is often referred to as meditation, but while doing this you can also practice some mindfulness techniques. Pay attention to how the soft fabric of the chair feels on your skin, listen to your breath, hear the birds chirping outside, taste and feel the water on your tongue while taking a drink. Really be here. Life is made up of all these tiny sensations, feelings and moments. If you just wait for the big ones (i.e. getting the new car, getting married, taking the trip, getting the promotion) you will miss out on 90% of your life. That's a damn shame.

No one with half a brain wants to miss out on 90% of their life! That's why learning how to be in the moment is so important.

Have you ever driven to work and ended up in your parking spot and thought to yourself, "I don't really remember driving here?" You definitely were not living in the moment. What did you miss? Did you miss beautiful clouds in the sky? A great song on the radio? Were you too busy repeating thousands of thoughts in your head that you missed out on the now?

So what prevents us from living in the moment? Most of the time "our story" is what makes us unable to be in the now. "Our story" are thoughts from yesterday or tomorrow. Think about it... your brain in always going.. and where is it going? Either on past events or future events - rehashing or rehearsing. Planning what you're going to say to that person when you see them, what you are going to wear to the event, what you're going to bring to the cook-out, how your future date will go, etc. OR Thinking about what he said, wondering if she liked your hair, analyzing your coworker's remark, re-visiting a memory good or bad, etc. How are we able to take in the now with all that stuff going on? It's impossible!

That's why we need to tune out, get some silence, step back and reflect. Our lives are fragile. We don't know if we will wake up and see tomorrow. We can't plan on future events making us happy, that's like putting all your eggs in one basket. We need to make sure we plan for the future, but still enjoy today... or else we are not really living.

It's really important to grasp the concept of living in the moment and get working on learning some mindfulness techniques. Here are just a few to get you started:

1. Be mindful for one minute. Set your stopwatch, sit comfortably, keep your eyes open and focus on your breath. Whenever a thought comes into your head, let it go and return to focusing on your breathing. This can seem like forever, but is a very powerful exercise in building up your ability to be mindful. Don't beat yourself up, this stuff takes practice!

2. Conscious Observation. Pick any object in your room. It can be a spoon, a shoe or a pen and just observe it. Pick it up and feel it. Really look at it and see it like it was for the first time. Don't assess it or judge it. Just consciously look at it and don't think about anything else while you are doing this.

3. Conscious Doing. Do a simple task such as preparing a cup of tea, washing a dish or brushing your teeth. Through every step of the task, really notice each sensation focusing only on the task at hand. For example when preparing tea, focus on getting out a mug, feel the mug and really look at it (using #2 conscious observation). Get some tea out of the cupboard, notice how opening the cupboard feels, take out some tea, smell the teas and focus on their scent. Open up a teabag and drop it in the mug. Now turn the faucet on and run water, listen to the sounds, feel the water on your fingers. Fill the pot with water and turn on the burner. Again, listen to the sounds, etc. You see where this is going. Try and practice this for a simple task each day. You will get better and better at observing the present moment in your daily life.

These techniques are just a few ways in which you are able to strengthen your abilities to consciously live in each moment. Remember that this is a really hard habit to grasp and practice makes perfect. Try not to disregard these mindfulness exercises as silly, but really give them a try.

Overall it's really important to remember that each day is a gift. We need to decide to be present and grateful that we have today without trying to ruin it by re-living yesterday or wishing for tomorrow. How to be in the moment is something we all struggle with on a day-to-day basis, but it's really important to take a step back and reflect on what you have today.

Practice the mindfulness techniques listed above and read the two books by Eckhart Tolle and you will have a much better handle on enjoying each moment. Live for today, now is the only moment you are sure to ever have.

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