5 Ways To Live In The Moment

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog on 4 Thoughts That Will Change Your Day( in case you missed it here it is:http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/4-thoughts-that-…-change-your-day/

Since then I have had a number of you ask about ways you can incorporate those thoughts into your daily lives. Therefore I wanted to spend time today sharing the things I do in order to truly be present and live in the moment. This means being present with others around you, conversations, nature and truly being and living in the present moment. The reason I believe this is important is that all we can control is the present. We can’t control the past and we can’t control what is going to happen in the future. I have found that truly happy content people are very engaged in every moment of their life and are always “present” no matter what they are doing.

As we all know, life is very busy. Our work lives are busy, our family lives are busy and eveyone I know seems to rush through life. Quite often we go through a day and don’t even notice what is happening around us.  Here are the strategies that I personally use to live in the moment and truly be present.

I find that one way to be in the moment is to remind myself to be present and to live in the moment. Like anything in life, it takes practice and I find I am constantly getting better at living in the moment. How do I do this? I simply try to remind myself to be truly present at that moment in time with whatever I am doing. Whether this is in conversation, or observing things around me, I try to remind myself to be truly present in that moment.

For example, often when I wake up in the morning or last thing before I go to bed, I take the dog out back and really try to notice things around me. Whether it be the sunrise, the stars, the birds or nature out in the backyard,  I try to really observe and take in all that is going on around me.

Through doing some Yoga and also Meditation, I have learned the importance of Deep Breathing. When I feel uptight or stressed, simply by taking a few deep breaths brings me back to the moment and allows me to focus on what I am doing at that time. I have a deep breathing routine I often do after I exercise in the morning or prior to bed which really seems to ground me and put me in the moment and in a very positive restful state of mind. There are some great deep breathing meditation exercises on You Tube that I use that only take about 10 minutes to listen to.

I find that exercise really helps me to live in the moment. When I run, ride, ski or do any outdoor exercise I find that it is really easy to live in the moment and appreciate all that is around me. Last weekend Lauren and I went for a run at the cottage where we decided to run 1km without any talking. We decided just to live in the moment and just “be”. It is amazing how this makes you feel when you truly live in the moment and notice all the amazing beauty in our world that is abundant around us.

For those of you that have read my past blogs, you know the importance I put on truly being appreciative for everything we experience in life. One of the things I do every night just prior to going to sleep is to think of 3 great things that happened that day. I find this really puts me in touch with reality and allows me to be in the moment. This is why I think after I do this every night I just drift off to sleep and have a great restful night. For those that missed my blog on 3 Thoughts For a Peaceful Sleep, you can access it here:http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/bedtime-thoughts…-enjoyable-sleep/

I find that by being outside in nature it very easily puts me in the moment. I believe this is because there is just so much beauty around us. Whether it is walking, running, or backcountry skiing, when I am outside I am truly in the moment and really appreciating life. Next time you are outside look around and be truly present and I guarantee you that you will notice so much beauty and truly be in the moment. Last night just before bed I went outside and did a little stretching on the back deck and noticed a gorgeous glowing harvest moon that was simply beautiful. By being “present” it allowed me to really notice nature and appreciate my surroundings.

There is so much beauty going on all around us and often we need to practice living in the present. We only get one chance at this amazing life and it is not a test run so we need to try and enjoy life as much as possible.I find living in the moment takes some practice however the rewards are abundant. Therefore my suggestion to be present and really live in the moment and enjoy life is to incorporate the following strategies into your daily life:

Wishing you a “Live in the Moment, Love Life Day, Kev