Your Mind May Be Stealing Your Time
Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.
Have you ever heard the saying “don’t let the future steal your present?” This statement is very powerful. Many of us could benefit from following this mantra as it teaches the importance of mindfulness.
If you have never heard of mindfulness before, it is the practice of being present in the moment (it is also the core of meditation practices and something one must master in order to become truly skilled at meditation).
Your mind may be stealing your time:
What does this mean? Well, have you ever been on a vacation or doing something you really enjoy but had the thought “I don’t want this to be over” or “this is so fun but soon it will be Monday and I’ll be back at work.” This type of thinking only allows your mind to steal away your precious time. And in reality, the time will naturally pass and exciting, joyous occasions will naturally come to a close. So don’t feel as though you have to perceptively speed up that process!
When you have thoughts like these, rather than being in the moment and enjoying what you are doing, you are focused on when it will come to an end. This type of thinking (non-mindfulness) will take away from you being in the moment and does not allow you to get as much as you can out of the experience. After all, part of the excitement is the build-up to getting there.
Another example of this is when you have something very exciting approaching — perhaps a trip, your wedding, a reunion, or a big party. Let’s run with this example for a moment: You may be so excited about the trip that all you “can” do is think about and plan for it. However, by thinking this way, you are essentially wishing away the time between now and the trip, which is going to pass anyhow (because that is what time does). Then, before you know it, you are on the trip, and then, it is over.
A better approach to savor the upcoming excitement of the trip is to literally do that: to be present in the moment including the time leading up to it, and not to wish away the time until you get there.
The excitement of awaiting something out of the ordinary or special is easily understood, but by focusing so heavily on what’s to come, you miss out on what’s in front of you. And for something big that’s approaching, this usually means that you wish away the present time rather than savoring the excitement leading up to the big event. Then, before you know it, the trip has arrived, you have the experience, and then it ends and is in the past.
Tags: Act From Your Wisdom
