Most people have heard the saying:
“The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it’s called the present.”
However, how many of us spend a large proportion of our time either dwelling on issues of the past or striving to create a fantastic future? We are missing the here and now. While it’s worthwhile to reflect on the past, and to visualise the future, most of us would benefit from focusing more attention on the present.
The present is simply the reality of your life as it is today. Not how it could be, or should be, or you want it to be, but how it actually is. Even though we may not like it, the present is perfect. The way things are today are that way for good reason. This is your actual reality. It isn’t set in concrete forever, but it is what you have to work with at the present time.
To see how much of your attention is focused on the here and now, draw a circle. Now divide it into three sections according to how much of your focus is spent on the past, the present and the future. Be honest, you may be surprised. I encourage you to work on increasing the amount of focus you have for the present by letting go of the past and also your emphasis on the future. By all means, learn from the past, and always have one eye on where you are heading in the future, but try and keep the majority of your focus in the here and now, your current reality.
If you can focus most of your attention on the present you will be more aware of your reality. This enables you to change and improve things you would like to be different. It also makes you more aware of opportunities that arise today, which are easily missed if you are focussing on the past or future. Best of all, this enables you to enjoy what you already have. It may take some effort to get there, but aim for about 80% focus on the present, with 10% each for the past and the future. The past is gone, and the future never gets here – all we really have is now.
By Jacqui Thomas
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