My life seems like it is just going by, how can I Simplify my life and enjoy it more in the moment?
- Being in the moment takes a bit of preparation, somewhat similar to planning a vacation or scheduling meal plans for the week. You need to take some time away from the actual situation meaning last-minute planning or changes in the midst of your vacation or meal prep will feel rushed and even more hectic, nothing remotely connected to simplifying.
So take 5, 10, 15 min to write down the things, activities, scheduled events that are making you feel like you’re on autopilot. This doesn’t need to happen all at once, you can observe your life for a week. Once you have this valuable insight, you can start to make the necessary changes. Similar to planning the trip start with the must-haves of your day, this brings you closer to where is your joy and excitement in the moment? Plan the more enjoyable things first to start the process of simplifying being in the moment and stop the autopilot routine of life passing you by. - In my book I write about ‘actions of faith’, these are things that you would do even if the outcome seems impossible. An act of faith that you could do to connect more with immediate enjoyment is to schedule activity into your day right now that you’ve always wanted to do but you’ve made excuses for years. For example, I had a client who wanted to try belly dancing for years; she received gift certificates, won prizes to group classes and never followed through until one day she found the courage to take action and sign up for a group class. It shocked her whole routine, she had no other choice but to get in the moment and she hasn’t looked back since.
- Simplifying your life could start with taking short breaks of 5 to 10 mins in your daily routine. You are creating a deliberate pause to be more mindful and change the pace of the day or the moment. This gives your mind a chance to regroup, assess, ponder an idea, from this place of awareness you can create the opportunity to be more connected. If you don’t have 5 to 10min to spare then start with 1- 3 min and start taking back valuable moments of authentic connections that you may be missing out on as life is passing you by.
- De-cluttering your emotional state will help you to connect better with being in the moment. You may be feeling like you’re chasing your happiness or success, or that you missed it altogether and all areas of your life is in some state of chaos. Well, don’t attempt to change it all at once. First, from the emotional standpoint list the emotions that are creating the biggest mess. These could be guilt, detachment, self-doubt, fear of failure and or success to name a few. They’re cluttering your mind with thoughts of why me, self-pity, and sadness around not appreciating the things you do have so you’re unable to experience any joy in your life? Similar to tidying up your closet let’s put a few of these emotions in a garbage bag and try on some more vibrant happier ones such as; self-confidence the simple action of deliberately smiling for a few seconds changes the chemical response in the brain to trigger the Healthy Body into feel happier, having the courage to feel hopeful, and a core belief of deserving more enjoyable moments are great new emotional outfits to wear today.
