How to Remain in the Present Moment | Jack Canfield

Hi there, I'm Jack Canfield and today I want to share with you some thoughts on how to remain in the present moment and develop a success oriented mindset that will help you get more joy and more satisfaction out of life. Far too often people focus all of their energy and their attention on their future happiness and forget to enjoy the present moment or they're stuck in the past and reliving old victories or nursing old wounds that prevent them from making the most of where they are right now. But life doesn't last forever and if you spend all of your time looking forward to the future or back to the past, you never get the chance to fully appreciate the moment you're living right now. And that's really sad because the present moment is truly all we ever are able to experience. The truth is, you can't actually live in the past or in the future. Those are just constructs of your mind. The only time you're ever able to experience your life is right now, in this present moment. And the more time and energy you devote to fully experiencing and getting the most out of each moment right now, the more joyful and fulfilling your life will be. Now here are six tips I'd like to share with you to help you make the most of the present and enjoy every moment to the fullest. The first thing I encourage you to do is to actually make a solid commitment to remain present. Now a great way to do that is to spend a few moments at the beginning of each day and remind yourself that you want to remain present during the day. And a powerful way to do this is to look into your own eyes in the mirror and say out loud to yourself, today I'm choosing to stay present to give my full attention to whoever or whatever is in front of me. I choose to be aware of my breathing and how I feel in my body, as well as the person or the task I'm engaged with now. Saying this will help you set the stage for getting more joy and more satisfaction out of each moment. Another thing I recommend you do is develop a system for reminding yourself to come present throughout the day. This could include a reminder or an alarm on your smartphone to go off every 30 minutes throughout the day. And when you hear the alarm to stop, take five deep relaxing breaths. See if you can inhale and exhale to a slow count of six. That'll give you a real deep breath and then quickly scan your body from your head to your toes and notice what you're feeling. Are your shoulders tensed up? Is your jaw clenched Are you slouching? Do you need to stretch or take a drink of water? In fact, as you're watching this right now, let's just take a moment to actually take five deep, relaxing breaths together. And as you do, just focus on the sensation of the breath coming in and going out. So here we go. And exhaling again. Inhaling and exhaling. Three more times. Inhaling and exhaling again. And exhaling. And one more time and exhaling. I don't know about you, but I actually feel a lot more relaxed having done that. Now, another thing you could do is to set aside a block of time every day to meditate and focus only on relaxing into the present moment. And with your eyes closed for as little as three minutes during the workday or as much as 20 minutes in the morning, you can focus on the rise and fall of your chest and stomach as you breathe in and out and allow your mind to gradually slow down. And then just be with your experience of meditating, whatever that is. It might just be noticing your thoughts racing through your mind, or it might be a sensation of relaxation and calm slowly washing over and through your body. Just be with whatever the present moment has to offer. You see, Regular meditation will help you remain more fully present for the rest of the day as well. Now, next, I encourage you to take time to become aware of your body. A great way to tune into the present moment is to focus on becoming aware of the physical sensations you're experiencing in each moment. Notice any pain, hunger, thirst, tension, numbness, or physical sensations you might be feeling. Listen to what your body is telling you and take care of any physical needs that are asking to be addressed. Your body is a rich source of information, and when you pay attention to it, you will do a better job of giving yourself what you need to thrive in each moment. Now, my fourth piece of advice is, is to become aware of your thoughts. Have the intention to keep your thoughts positive and focus on the present moment. If you find yourself following a negative train of thought, worrying about the future or regretting the past, shift your focus back to the here and now and focus on the positive aspects of the present moment. One of the best ways to do that is to focus on what you have to be happy about and grateful for right now. Now, maybe you're spending time with your friends and family, or enjoying a walk outside in the sunshine, or working on an exciting project, or reading an interesting book. Whatever you're doing, take time to appreciate it and by taking time each day to consciously focus on the good things that you're experiencing right now, you will come to appreciate your life so much more. Now, my fifth tip is simply to become more aware of your surroundings. There's a lot going on around you at every moment, but if you don't take the time to notice it, you're going to miss it. So I encourage you at several points during the day to pause and take a moment to simply observe your surroundings. Are there people or animals around you? And if so, what are they doing? Is there anything beautiful or interesting about your surroundings? Can you hear any birds singing or people laughing? Is there music playing? Can you see sunshine through the window? Or dramatic clouds moving across the sky? Or gentle rain nourishing the landscape around you? Notice everything you can and look for the beauty and the magic because it is there, I promise you. And when you look for it, you'll find it. As I look around now, I'm aware of the lights that are allowing you to see my face lit up. I'm aware of the camera. I'm aware of the stands, of the lights. I'm aware of my hands moving. I'm aware outside there's a gentle rain falling, which we need here in Santa Barbara because it's been a drought in California for the last years. I'm aware of a little light on the camera blinking red. I'm aware of the people that are around here that are supporting all the stuff we're doing today. I'm grateful for them, and I'm aware of their presence. I could go on, but the main thing is I've come into this moment. I'm not in the future. I'm not in the past. Now, finally, my last suggestion is to make a conscious effort to enjoy where you are, no matter where that is. Think about how much time you spend waiting for something, whether it's waiting for a bus or a train, waiting for the meeting to finish, waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, or just waiting for Friday to come. It can seem like your whole life is spent looking forward to some future event. I want to encourage you instead to look for what you can appreciate about where you are right now. According to Eckhart Tolle, waiting is more a state of mind than a situation that we find ourselves in. And since it's a state of mind, that means you can control it. So the next time you find yourself waiting for something, try not to think of it as waiting at all. If you're in a line waiting to get it to the checkout counter, use that time to practice gratitude for what you're about to buy, or what's going to happen when you get home, or just be present in that moment now. Notice and appreciate what's good in the world around you. If you're standing at the bus stop, use that time to read a great book or to listen to an informative podcast, or simply enjoy the fresh air or observe the other people who are waiting with you. Or better yet, strike up a conversation with one of the people there and see what you can learn about their life. You see, every moment is an opportunity to learn something valuable or experience more joy and more fulfillment if you simply observe it and allow it to be you know, one of my favorite stories is from Eckhart Tolle. He talked about being in Beverly Hills at Christmas and he was in line and it was a long line. And you know, people in Beverly Hills can sometimes be impatient because they're used to getting what they want and getting it fast because they can afford to pay for it. Well, this line took a long time and people were impatient. He finally gets up to the front of the line and a woman says, thank you for waiting. And he said to the checkout person, I wasn't waiting. She said, no, no, I've seen you in line back there. It's been like 20 minutes. He said, but I wasn't waiting. She said, what do you mean? He says, waiting means that in my mind it would have been more important and better to be up here in front of you than back there. And as far as I was concerned, wherever I was in line was perfect. So it wasn't waiting. Now that really shocked me because I used to be someone who was very impatient waiting in line because I thought I had to get to the next thing. And now I don't worry about waiting. There's no waiting. There's just being where I am. So I really encourage you to practice that the next time you're in line somewhere. Now here's your homework. This is what I want you to complete after watching this video. Commit to becoming more present in the moment and implement a reminder system that gives you the time and the space to focus on being present at different points throughout the day. Like I said, that could be your smartphone, it could be your secretary calling you every hour saying, come, present, whatever it is. And if you have any thoughts or questions about what I've just shared, please leave your comment or question below because I'd love to hear what you have to say. So thanks for watching. And remember, nothing in your life will change for the better until you do now. If you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel. For more videos like this one, and for some additional resources on how to remain in the present moment, visit my website@jackcampfield.com thanks again for watching.