Regardless of your status in life, whether you are deep into a demanding career, retired and serving as a volunteer for a worthwhile community organization, or simply caring for a loved one, your mindset will determine the success and satisfaction you receive from your efforts.
One of recommended business practices popularly bandied around today to improve overall performance is “Mindfulness”. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, NOT being reactive or overwhelmed by what’s happening around us. What I’m about to explain about mindfulness may seem esoteric to many, but nothing I could discuss has more practical benefit or more positive impact on maximizing productivity or success in life.
Research into self-awareness development confirms that a huge roadblock for virtually all of us, even though we may know better, is that we spend so much of our focus (and energy) on worrying about the future and regretting the past. Regrets about the past bring up loads of blame and guilt about ourselves and others, and worry about the future brings up warnings, doubts and fears about what will go wrong. We know this because of the explosion of psychotropic drug use to treat anxiety, stress and depression in our country.
When fully one third of our entire annual healthcare expenditures are spent on psychotropic drugs, you know we have a serious problem. Mindfulness is all about remaining in the “Now”.
The real benefit of examining our past is to appreciate the learning and wisdom we gained by going through that time of our youth and inexperience. Every human, without exception, made dreadful mistakes in their youth. Nobody was immune to bouts of idiocy as they suffered through childhood and adolescence. Many of the mistakes we think we made were not even our mistakes, but the mistakes of adults who transferred blame to us unjustly. (I admit there is significant buried trauma in all of us because of the unhealthy and miserable adults in our lives, but that doesn’t change the truth of my statements above.)
The value in examining the potentials of our future is to develop excitement and optimism about what is to come. As we build this excitement and optimism, we begin formulating plans and developing an eye toward discovering the countless opportunities that will be presented to us. Our sight of the future will be imperfect, yes, yet today we all can read articles or watch programs about developing technologies that will make all lives on the planet immeasurably better. How can anyone be pessimistic about what is ahead of us?
Even when we look at the reality of a beneficial past and a future of limitless potential, too much attention on these positives of the past and future take far too much of our attention away from where it most productively should be…fully focused on our present, our NOW!
Researchers for decades have been studying the effect of attention to the past, present and future on us humans. Focus on the present, the now, is where all our creativity is maximized. The present is where we develop and apply our self-confidence, where our best problem-solving and decision-making blossom. In the present is where we are most calm, patient, and introspective. It is where we do our best communicating.
The people we know with the highest self-awareness focus their attention primarily on the present, for that is where ALL productivity happens. True, we can’t be our best without learning from our past, and planning for the future, but relatively little of our time should be allocated there.
We, in fact, can only live in the present. Our happiness is rooted in maximizing our enjoyment of the present day. We communicate, we associate, we relate to everyone and everything in the now. All solutions to our problems begin today. The Present is what is. Let’s get the maximum value and enjoyment out of what is!!!
Our online course includes much learning and exercises that deepen your self-awareness, and that will lead to greater happiness, success, with less stress and worry. Priceless! Sign up today by clicking here or contact us for more information. You will be glad you did.
Tom Searcy, Board Certified Coach
info@spiritofeagles.com
574-850-9912
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