This week saw a special date for one of my favourite film trilogies, Back to the Future.10-21-2015 was the date that Doc Brown and Marty Mcfly leapt into the future and this special event was marked by its own BTTF day! Brilliant!
Listening to the coverage there has been many articles and discussion about the predictions within Back to the Future II for 2015, people have really looked into this and have concluded that there are a lot of things that the film makers got wrong. For me, I’m glad because even though it’s a tempting idea to be able to know what’s in store for us, the film message is clear, the future should remain unpredictable and our thoughts about the future aren’t nearly as accurate as we think.
So sitting here in my red gilet (ha ha!) this strikes a chord for me in terms of some work I have been doing with myself around living in the moment.
Living in the moment and avoiding predicting and spending precious time and energy on worrying about what life will become when we really don’t know, has been a personal challenge I have been working on this year and it has really made a difference on my outlook.
As many of us, I was finding that my thoughts often lead me to try and predict my future, mostly my negative future, and this was unhelpful and was severely hindering my ability to live fully in the present moment and enjoy and appreciate what was happening around me now. Once I started to focus on this, I realised that many of the worries I predicted were so inaccurate and I had wasted precious time thinking about something that often never came to fruition.
This type of thinking has become a buzzword recently due to a wealth of new research on something which is actually an age old practice because of its perceived benefits in both life and work. However this isn’t easy and knowing the importance of living in the moment is one thing; taking action is another. It can be challenging to live in the now especially when then now is tough, and that is definitely when it counts but I’ve discovered a few tips to help me stay focused on the moment—and stay resourceful and here are my top 3:
- Know that my thoughts are not my reality. When my mind is heavy with my racing thoughts, filled with what-ifs and imagined scenarios, I look to take control. Things that have not happened, and might never happen! even if they seem so real.
Staying in the present requires recognising the difference between what-ifs and what is.
- I Use breathing to centre me in the now. When I’m under stress or pressure, I’ll take a few deep breaths to calm myself before taking action or allowing myself to launch into overanalysing the situation currently plaguing me.
No matter what the situation, there is always time for a deep breath, for a pause that will bring you back to the moment.
- I try to focus on identifying the positive in any situation. If I have any concerns about a situation then I take just 5 minutes out of my day to write down the positive aspects of a situation. I acknowledge that no day is going to be perfect but focusing my energy on the positive has really helped my mind shift in a positive direction and I have found I get a much better outcome as a result.
As we know, our minds are powerful things—and it’s up to us to guide them in a positive direction.
So as the film says “The Future is Coming” but it is determined by the choices we make and the way we behave today and we can’t predict it, so focus on enjoying the now and the future will take care of itself.
