Why I live for today and not for tomorrow

It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the race of ‘shoulds’ and have ‘to’s’. Today technology has made it incredibly easy to add more to our plate, mulit-task more than ever before, and over stress ourselves. But why?

We all know it’s important to plan for our futures. You’ve been lectured on saving for retirement, buying insurance, and setting goals. These are all important things. The question is, how much time are you spending preparing for your future life, compared to time spent actually living your life now?

The existential answer is too much. The fact is that we don’t know how much time we are allotted in this life, it could all end tomorrow, so why are we stressing ourselves to the max for our future?

The key to anything is balance. Here are three tools you can use to help yourself stay more present.

Mindfulness– the practice of mindfulness is simply about being present in your body at this moment. There are hundreds of ways in which you can practice this but here are a few simple activities to get you started.
Eat mindfully. Take a piece of fruit, or any meal really, and focus on nothing else but eating it. Notice the texture, the smell, the various flavors. Chew it slowly and engage your senses. If you find your mind start to wander, bring your attention back to the task at hand and just notice.
Breathe. Sit comfortably and eliminate distractions. Spend one-three minutes just noticing your breath. Take slow, even breaths, noticing how your stomach rises and falls. Again, if you start to find your mind drifting, bring it back to your breath and just be present in your body noticing any sensations.
Meditation. There are two basic types of meditation: guided and non-guided. A guided meditation is one in which someone is talking you through very steps of mindfulness. This might be a progressive relaxation exercise or it may be focused on a specific topic. Since many people have difficulty training themselves to sit in peace for extended periods of time, guided meditations are a great way to start a meditative practice. You can find these as audio downloads or even apps for your phone. Two apps I like are www.calm.com and digipill and I love the Sounds True website for audio recordings.

Gratitude. I recommend everyone partake in a daily gratitude exercise. Some people enjoy starting their day off with this exercise, while others prefer to end their day with it. Simply spend about five minutes reflecting over your day and your life and listing out a minimum of three things you are grateful for. It is very powerful to write these items down. This makes them more concrete and creates a list you can reflect over at a later time.

Playtime. One of the best ways to focus on being present and enjoying the life we are living is to schedule playtime. Since the goal of most humans is to be happy, why not make it a priority? Make sure that on a daily and weekly basis you are making time to do something fun. This activity should make you smile and laugh. Surges of feel-good neurotransmitters are released when we laugh and smile. Whatever this is for you, make sure you are doing it daily. Watch a funny show, play tag with your kids, write a thank you note to someone, play a good natured prank on a co-worker, brighten someone else’s day. Do something that makes your soul enliven.

If you can’ remember the last time you smiled until your face hurt, you laughed until your side hurt, or you got warm fuzzies from cheering up a friend, it’s time you stop what you are doing and make this a priority. Feed your soul. Remember why you are here. Create memories and laughter for yourself and those around you. Choose to live your life.