I don’t know about you but it seems that from a really early age it is drilled into us that we must focus our effortson preparing ourselves for a better future. While I agree it’s important to have an aim, a focus and direction in life to give us some sense of purpose, I also think that it can also be an unhelpful when we don’t know what we want and don’t know or appreciate where we are It is all to easy to get caught up in the future that we forget to enjoy the life we’re meant to be living right now.
The Importance Of The Present
A seemingly neglected yet important key step in achieving a better life is to become aware of and harness the beauty and value that the present moment holds. There are a myriad of options you can choose from that can enable you to develop this awareness and appreciation, with one of the most popular and widely practiced being meditation in all its forms.
The great thing about Meditation is that it enables you to calm and declutter your mind. It brings awareness and focus to the present moment, shuts out distractions and quietens your mind and its thousands of thoughts. With practice you can achieve this in as little as a few minutes and allows your mind and body to relax free from worries about the past or future.
This inner reflective time provides you the mental space and clarity to filter your inner thoughts. While doing this it also brings awareness of how often your mind tries to distract you from the present moment, and I’m certain that as you begin to do this, you will be very surprised to note how frequently your mind steals your present moment from you, to shift its focus to the past or future. This is a habitual process driven unconsciously that has a positive intention for you by keeping you aware of things of concern in your life. This is your Limbic System trying to keep you safe, but, inadvertently it causes more harm than good and is part of a self-sabotage loop that we can become stuck in.
Enjoying Your Life
Your life is all you have and this is why your goals are important, but it’s the outcomes they create that really generate the results and more of the life you want. You must be willing to enjoy your life and live consciously, even if you haven’t yet reached your goals.
Even if you have a significant goal, it’s important to be realistic that it will take clear, defined planning and potentially years of building experience and while achieving your goal may bring feelings of pride and fulfilment and rightly so, it is equally important for your life to be filled with happiness, fun and positive focus until you get there. This will keep you motivated, focused and committed to achieving it and staying on track.
You can remain happy by concentrating on the present, appreciating what you have right now, the people who are supporting and helping you and enjoying the experience as you make positive progress towards your goal. You will know that you’re always one step closer every day.
Visualising Your Future Self
There is enormous value in spending time appreciating and enjoying the present moment, you can also add to your happiness by visualising your future self.
Develop and focus on the feelings associated with the successful completion of your goals and creating the outcome you most desire. Think about the traits you’ll exhibit when you have the life you choose to create. Now bring those traits into your present being.
This is where you can be proud of the steps you’ve taken so far, because what you’re learning now shapes your future, so approach each day filled with the positive intention to be happy that you are where you are, doing what you can to create the future, life and version of yourself you want and express gratitude that you can.
Live The Life You Want Now
Whether you maintain complete focus on your ultimate goals or not, it’s important to live the life you desire right now, not materially, but in your mind and body. No one knows how many days they’re allocated in this life, and you owe it to yourself to make the most of them!
Most importantly of all, you need to believe in yourself, because if you don’t no one else will either. There are people that are afraid of or don’t believe they deserve success and hold themselves back from achieving their ambitions. They put off action toward their dreams indefinitely because they fear success and fear that they’re incapable. Self belief is an absolutely essential element to this entire process, with this you will set yourself up for success because you believe you can. Henry Ford famously said “Whether you believe you can, or believe you can’t, you’re right.” The choice is yours.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Take at least some time for yourself every day, regardless of how busy you are you can spare yourself 5 minutes to visualise your future
- Stop wasting your time on people who don’t believe in you and your abilities
- Develop and maintain a “glass is half full” mindset and attitude
When To Use Visualisation
For successful outcomes – See yourself performing skills at a high level, achieving your goals, being who you want to be and living the life you want.
To motivate – Envision yourself achieving your goals vividly to remind yourself of your objective and what you need to do to reach it. Many athletes, actors, and singers “see” and “feel” themselves performing a routine, program, or play several times perfectly in their minds before they actually do it.
To familiarise or set the stage for a performance/event – Mental imagery can be used effectively to familiarise yourself with the surroundings before an event, such as a competition site, a racetrack, a stage or a difficult play or routine prior to a competition.
To do a run-through – Athletes and performers often do a complete mental run through of the key elements of their routines. This helps them to focus and eliminate some pre-performance jitters, thus making them more comfortable when the time comes to compete or perform. It also serves as a warm-up or mini rehearsal.
Visualisation is a wonderful tool for preparing for anything, and everything. It invariably results in a higher level of performance.
How to Visualise What you want:
Go somewhere quiet and private where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and think of the goal, mood, new behaviour or skill, you want to acquire. The second step of my Immediate Care Process – Whole Brain State is designed to help you do precisely this and can be found in my book available on Amazon.
Take several deep breaths and relax.
Visualise the object or situation you desire in your mind as clearly and with as much detail as you can.
Add emotion, feeling, and your senses to your vision.
Practice it at least twice a day for about 10 minutes each time.
Persevere until you succeed.
Maintain positive thoughts and a good attitude throughout.
Finally to wrap things up. Build healthy, positive, daily habits that keep you focused on what you want. Stop wasting your time on dead ends. Know that people and events will get in your way and that’s normal, just focus on what you want and where you’re going. Take action, learn your lessons, and enjoy creating your future.