How to Live in the Moment

Good Thoughts Podcast / How to Live in the Moment

Dr. Gary Epler – The new way of life is to be your true self by knowing where you’re thinking from moment by moment. Think from the heart with kindness and think from the mind with creativity. Today, we’ll talk about applying this new way of life to living in the moment.

Joan – The living-in-the moment expression has been around for many years and the benefits are well known. Today, is about learning “how” to live in the moment. Before we get to that, what does this mean to you?

Living in the moment means being engaged in life at all times. This means know what you’re doing, what you want, and where you’ re going. It means paying attention. You can only do one thing at a time. Pay attention to the moment. This means putting away the mobile … when talking with friends and family. Put away the mobile when interacting with people at work and in public.

What happens if you don’t live in the moment?

Stress.

Stress? Can you explain?

If you’re not living in the moment, you’re having negative thoughts about the past or about the future. For example, you’re upset with yourself about mistakes you’ve made. You’re feeling sorry for yourself. You feel guilty about something. You worry about not finishing a big project. You think about failing at your presentation or losing your job. All these thoughts mean you’re thinking about yourself and your problems from the stress center and not experiencing the moment.

Stress seems to be the biggest problem if you’re not thinking in the moment. What else happens?

If you’re thinking about negative problems in the past or unknown events in the future, then you can’t enjoy the moment. For example, you may miss lifetime opportunities connecting with people you love. A commencement speaker told the graduates that he let his dying father’s calls go to voice mail, rather than taking a moment away from work, to talk. He still regrets not hearing his father’s live voice one last time.

That’s such a sad story. Live in the moment for people you love. What are other benefits of living in the moment?

The biggest benefits are enjoying the moment and having zero level stress. You can only think from one location at a time. If you’re thinking about past and future problems, then you can’t think from the heart with enjoyment and kindness. You can’t think from the heart with giving. It feels good to give. You’re free to think from the mind with creative ways to solve problems and help people.

Now the big question, how do you live in the moment?

Be your true self. This begins with a healthy lifestyle which means having a healthy nutritional lifestyle, eight hours of sleep every night, and one hour of exercise every day. These three health habits will provide the energy for living an extraordinary life with no negative thoughts or self-doubt. This means having compassion for yourself and others. This means having a high level of happiness by being content with your current situation. This means learning something new every day. This means positive social communication every moment where both people feel better after the interaction. This means experiencing the feelings from the mind with total calmness and universal acceptance of who you are. This means being in the flow when you’re doing something you love. Finally, this means paying attention to the moment.

Can you give an example of being in the moment?

It’s called being in the flow. You’ve experienced a wonderful day where everything goes well or you’re enjoying something when you forget about time or surroundings. You’re happy. You’re content. This is being in the flow, and it’s related to skill and challenge. When your skills and challenges are equal, you’re focused on the activity with no distractions. You don’t think about failure. You have no thoughts about yourself. You don’t care what other people are thinking about you. Time is distorted – feels like ten seconds doing a triple jump at a track meet that takes only a second, or feels like minutes working on a new discovery that takes hours. The activity becomes so enjoyable that you want to do it again and again because it’s pleasurable and brings you happiness. It’s living in the moment.

What’s an example of living in the moment by paying attention?

You and a friend volunteer to build a house for a nonprofit hurricane rebuilding organization. There are 15 new houses to be built from the foundation up, and about 100 people are helping in the project. You arrive and find sleeping arrangements, and report to the group leader for your assignment. All during this time, you are living in the moment because you are only thinking about what you’re doing with no negative thoughts about the past or the future. You’re assigned to the carpenter group with two other volunteers, and you’re asked to move a storage room from one location in the house to another. You plan and design the project with your team and then do the sawing and hammering nails. This is the most enjoyable day of your life. You’re doing physical work with no thinking from the head. You’re having enjoyable feelings of kindness, giving, and helping. You’re living in the moment.

Live in the moment. Eliminate stress and enjoy life. Do you have any closing comments?

Living in the moment means being engaged in life, being in the flow, and paying attention. This means no stress in your life. I have a call to action. Remember that at any given moment in time during day or night doing whatever you’re doing or activity you’re engaged in – you’re safe, you’re secure, and you’re healthy. Learn to have no thoughts about yourself from the stress centers. No thoughts about past problems and unknown future events. Think from the heart with kindness and giving. Be your true self. Thrive in your uniqueness.