Learn to Live in the Moment

We’ve all heard of the saying “Stop and smell the roses” but when was the last time you did that? When was the last time you were “living in the moment”? Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember. It’s a simple gift that we tend to overlook. However starting after this post, you can be different than most. Let me explain how to boost your well being and happiness in less than 10 seconds.

How do you typically go through a day? Lots of things on your mind right? Too often you are worried about what happened in the past or what’s going to happen tomorrow. There are so many things in one day that consume your attention.

Stop thinking about how a busy day feels. Just think about how fortunate you are. I’ve talked about how important gratitude is in your mindset. You are given the great sense of smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing, and feeling. What other creature on earth can do this? You have those things but you don’t use them to enjoy life enough.

It’s like we’re superheroes and need to decide how we want to use our super powers. Unlike the comic books where there can be only one Spiderman and one Superman, we as human beings are all super heroes. It’s a gift we’re born. These gifts can be used to lift you up or bring you down. How do you want to use your powers?

Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve really stopped to enjoy each moment and realizing that your moment and experiences make up your life. There’s too much worrying and thinking. You may think “When I get a new job I can enjoy life more.” or “When I have a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, I will feel so much happier.” or “When I make more money, life will be great”. Maybe you can’t remember the last time  you had your moment. Don’t feel bad.

You can change today. Right now.

If you need some examples of living in the moment, let me share mine. Here are some recent experiences where I let myself just enjoy that moment and that moment only.

– Walking on a cool evening in Taipei and feel a nice cool breeze on my face. Every breath I felt the cool air enter my body. Next to me was my girlfriend who’s soft hands I was holding while walking home.

– While sleeping in my villa in Bali on a recent trip, I enjoyed the sounds of insects and frogs outside the room. No cars. No people. Just nature. Oh and the bed was so comfortable I wanted to take it home.

– Biking along the river bank on a sunny Sunday afternoon and taking a moment to enjoy the breeze in my face while looking at the blue skies, scenery, and families having fun.

– Watching my fiancé’s little 2 year old niece laughing hysterically as she tries jumping up and down on a trampoline.

– Eating strawberry ice cream and savoring all the flavor in my mouth with each bite.

All these moments could have been doing without any thought or thinking about the wrong things.

Here is how I easily could have been at those moments.

– My feet are tired! I’m feeling sleepy and ready to just get home away from the sound of loud buses, scooters and inhaling exhaust fumes.

– I wish those frogs would just shut up!! Why are they around our room?? Every night they croak!! I hope this mosquito net is keeping out all the mosquitos while we sleep.

– Holy crap there are so many people biking today?!?! It’s like half the city here here. I can hardly move on my bike and my butt hurts.

– Why is that little boy crying so loud on the other side of the room? That kid licking the floors. Gross. Gosh there are so many kids and they’re so loud here.

– Blah Blah Blah (eat) blah blah blah (eat) blah blah blah (eat). Then all of a sudden I realize I have no more ice cream!! I forgot how it tasted already.

Which Benny do you like better? Six months ago I would have reacted more in the latter group. Don’t I just sound like I’m whining? Don’t I sound so stressed out? Don’t I sound so unhappy? Would you want to be next to me? I wouldn’t either. (sidenote: If you have many friends like this, you need to get away from them)

All these things were actually going on around me. Yes Taipei city is full of buses and loud scooters. Yes our villa in Bali was surrounded by loud insects and mosquitos. Yes there were so many people biking that some places I had to walk my bike and the bike seat wasn’t all that comfortable. Yes there were tons of kids playing at the same time and we know kids will be kids. Yes I was talking and eating in spurts. However that was not how I decided to focus my attention on. 

In the first group I sound like I am really enjoying life. I sound happy. You can imagine every moment I had a smile on my face. I felt happy. Those were life’s little moments and I took the time to enjoy them. That’s what savoring the moment you will do for you. It will change your mood, outlook, physiology, stress level and so many other factors for your well being.

I don’t walk around smiling with a spring in my step because it may sound like I’m forever in this happy trance. That is being honest. I have my ups and down during the days. I just make sure I have more up moments in my day. In a single day there are so many moment to be savored. Just start to be more aware of those opportunities.

These aren’t huge drastic changes. It doesn’t require a huge amount of time and effort. It just happens in your mind and can happen instantly. No extra effort is needed. Actually it takes the same amount of effort to feel crappy as it does to feel happy. How would you rather feel since you do have a choice?

So if you want to improve your happiness, savor and celebrate the good things. Taste, touch, feel, smell, look at and embrace each sight, meal, walk, and every activity you do. If you do that, you’ll be living your life NOW.

Do you agree with me? Is this something you do? Are you willing to try it?

Photo by Sunkato Debnath and Xurble

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