IS IT IN THE PAST?
Do you move into the future looking in the rearview mirror reliving losses, unfinished tasks or dreams, or false starts?
IS IT IN THE FUTURE?
Are you jumping deep into it, always looking for tomorrow and all the great (or horrible) things that could come?
THERE’S ANOTHER OPTION.
The present, right now.
So many of us place our focus on what was or what will be, and in the process miss the moments that come one minute at a time.
This year, let’s embrace the present. Yes, planning for the future is important. Yes, learning from past mistakes is important. Yet embracing the present brings its own rewards.
Several benefits include:
- Reduced stress and anxiety.
- Improved relationship conflict resolution
- Improved creativity
- Help to balance priorities
- Help to regulate emotions
- A “connectedness both with yourself as well as with what’s going on around you.”
- The opportunity to develop joy.
Joy is a focus before it’s a feeling.
Honestly, this revelation was a surprise to me. I had always associated joy with everything being right in my life. Joy was fleeting and totally dependent on what was happening around me.
In reality, joy is not what others think about you although we do feel a pressure to be thought of well by others.
Joy does not have to be a feeling of pleasure. Sure pleasure can be associated with joy, but joy is not dependent on pleasure.
Joy is not the absence of sadness or the presence of the spectacular.
Joy is a point of view, a way of looking at things.
Joy is in the purpose, the outcome.
Joy is the focus we put into all the actions of our life.
As we move into 2023, let’s all work on our focus, being purposeful and mindful about it. And in the process, let’s find joy, true focused joy!
Happy New Year!
P.S. In putting this post together, we “googled” and found various sources. Because they had such great information, we wanted to share just a few with you. We don’t have written permission to do this, but are going on the assumption that these authors won’t mind us sharing. They are worth the read:
The Importance of Being Present & How To Do It
How To Do Present Moment Awareness Meditation
How Present Moment Awareness Can Make Life More Meaningful
7 Awesome Reasons To Be Present & How To Do It
Joy Is A Focus Before It’s A Feeling