Happy Wednesday everyone! Here is a quick little post sharing my thoughts on a mindset change that has really helped me in almost every situation ever. You can apply this thinking whether it be during a workout, after a rough day, siting in traffic, or just day to day.
I share a lot of posts about living in the present moment and not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It’s totally human to have those thoughts and truly most of us spend more time in our heads thinking about things that are not happening in front of us more often than we are taking in what’s happening now. It’s not wrong or bad to think like that - it's how we were wired! I’m not typing this post from a standpoint of power saying I live in the present moment 100% of the time and life is great and I’m so at peace, blah, blah, blah (I wish!) - but slowing down my thoughts a bit and being conscious that we truly only ever have the present moment has calmed me and helped give me clarity the past year or two.
This quote by Deepak Chopra is written on my wall as a reminder of the truth about life. When you think about it, we really do only have the present moment. The past is gone, the future does not exist yet. Yes- we can work now to create the future, but we sometimes get so caught up in our future plans or goals that we miss what is happening right in front of us.
Two ways of thinking that have helped me is slowing things down and just appreciated everything that has gotten me to this moment and reveling in it because it may be temporary and change in the future.
Should
This word comes into play a lot when we talk about the past or the future. It’s usually used in terms of regret or anger at ourselves. “I should’ve been doing this… I should start this path”. The term “should have” keeps us stuck in an endless loop of going over past events. As cliche as it sounds, the past is something that cannot be undone and we can’t revisit past actions. There are only actions we can take in the present moment to move on or recover from those events, so dwelling with the word should just brings us into negative thinking.
A good challenge for the rest of the week is to eliminate the would “should”.
Every time you catch yourself saying “I should’ve done this or should not have done that” take one second to recognize the use of the word, forgive yourself for being hard on yourself, and then think about what you can do now to create a today that you want.
Just being aware of how much you say may bring light to what situations you are stuck on. The good news is we can always take action on anything we want. We get to build our lives day by day.
Try it out, if you can't eliminate the word at first, its fine - just be aware of how many times you use it and focus on forgiving yourself each time.
Past Events Give Us Guidance
Thinking of the past as a learning standpoint as also helped me release guilt and shame about things, with every situation you go through you learned that you either liked the outcome or disliked the outcome. You now have a clear view on what you like and don’t like - which lead you to this current moment. If you liked something in the past, you can now work to achieve more of it and if you disliked something in the past, you now know what you dislike and how to avoid it/grow from it/ chose the opposite.
Thinking about how those past events led you to this present moment- where you can now make the conscious decision to pursue an action in that similar direction or away from that direction, helps you create the future you want.
Future Focus
Finally a little bit about future thinking to end the post. I noticed I've rushed some of the most enjoyable things in life by thinking about what comes after. I would spend more time fantasizing about the possible outcomes - good and bad. I find this to be the harder habit to break, you might too if you are a very goal oriented person. When you want something so bad, you don't take the time to praise yourself for getting where you are now and enjoying the situation and company around you. I haven't completely mastered this one yet but I've noticed the past few months when I catch myself thinking about the "What Ifs" I will take a deep breathe and look around. I'll just take in who is around me, think about how grateful I am to be here in this moment, healthy, feeling good, and just enjoying what is here while its here.
The beauty about earth and the human experience is that it is all temporary. I don't mean this in a dark or scary way, but in a way that makes it all magical. Every moment is unique and what makes it unique is that it can change and wont be here forever.
Any Comments?
These are just some thoughts I've noticed were strong in me this week. I hope maybe you got a perspective change, or maybe you hated it - who knows! Let me know your thoughts in the comments or DM me to chat about it ( @happyhippiefitness_) , I love this topic!
Sending happiness and light your way :)