11 Small Actions To Boost Your Confidence
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The Importance Of Being Present
You will be surprised to know that most of us spend 70% of our day either thinking about our past or our future. We miss out on the joys of being present in the moment. Living in the moment is all about living like there is no tomorrow. Why should we focus on it? Why is so important? Well if these questions are running in your mind right now, then let us simply look at the reasons for mastering the art of being present in the moment.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ―
It Releases Your Worries
When you live in the moment, you forget about what others are thinking or saying about you. You become content and happy. When you master the art of being present in the moment, you tend to let go of your past failures or past glory. You don’t compare your present situation with your past or future and hence you tend to be at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
You Start Noticing Beauty Around You
When you live in the moment, you start noticing how beautiful and amazing the world is. It will change your way of looking at things and people. You will be in a position to enjoy the smallest things in life. When you live in the moment, something as mundane as taking a walk also turns out to be a pleasurable experience.
You Become Focused
When you realize that this is the only moment you have, you become focused in life and things. One of the biggest signs of living in the moment is that you focus on the task at hand instead of multitasking. It will help you become more effective and efficient in life. When you focus on any task and you immerse yourself in it, you will start enjoying the task.
You Become Thankful
The moment you realize this is the moment you have, you become thankful towards everyone, people and nature. It will help you to diminish your ego. It makes you realize the vastness of this universe. Living in the moment helps you to count your blessings. It teaches you to appreciate the joys in the small things.
It Makes You Smile
Realizing every moment, living just in the moment will make you smile. It will not only keep your body healthy but people around you will like you for the wonderful and cheerful person you will become. Your habit of smiling will help you in creating a positive image about yourself. You will be able to spread joy and warmth. People will look forward to interacting with you.
Living in the present is an art. You need to make conscious efforts to learn and practice it. Initially you may find it challenging to let go of your past, however gradually you will get used to it. Being in the present will help you in becoming a better and happier person. Take a holistic approach towards life and master the art of being present.
How To Be Present In 5 Simple Steps
Life gets in the way and we lose sight of what is important to us when we placed too much focus on the past and the future. Being present allows us to be free from worries of the past and the future.
It is not unusual for most of us to be a captive of our past or to be worried about our future. Most of us are worried about things that went wrong or about things that are going to happen. Worrying about things that are not in our control we tend to miss out on the joys of living in the present.
The only thing that we can control is what is happening currently. We only have the power over our present, not our past neither our future. It is essential that we make a conscious effort to live in the present. It can be challenging initially however it is certainly not impossible. Let us look at the 5 steps on how to be present.
“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” ― Eckhart Tolle
1: Get Rid Of The Baggage
Most of us prefer to be prisoners of our past. We live in our past glory or past failures. It is important to get rid of our past baggage and move on to remain in the present. It is a good idea to clear your personal space by removing things/objects that flood your memory with the past. Keep your home and office minimalistic and you will be able to stay in touch with the present moment instead of living in the past.
2: Start Your Day On A Positive Note
Life is busy and we tend to rush through without noticing small blessings in our day-to-day life. It is easy to find flaws however make a conscious effort to see small joys of life. Always start your day on a positive note. Affirm your positives and your strengths when you start your day and you will see the difference in your approach as the day progresses. Positive affirmations help you to overcome anxiety and your fear of the future. Meditate in order to be at peace with yourself.
3: Focus On One Thing At A Time
Multi-tasking takes away the pleasure of doing any activity. If your aim is to stay present it is best that you focus on the job at hand instead of trying to do too many things in one go. Enjoy every activity that you do. Immerse yourself in the activity and you will yield successful results.
4: Learn The Art Of Forgiving
Quite often we harbor resentment towards people who have hurt us. This grudge prevents us from living in the moment. We dwell over situations that have bought us grief and thus we become unhappy. To avoid the pain of the past, it is essential to forgive those who have hurt us. Forgiveness sets us free and lightens our heart. It allows us to focus on the present instead of the past.
5: Keep The Child In You Alive
Children are carefree because they live for the moment. They don’t let their failures bruise their egos. They get up and try again instead of brooding over their failures. Keep the child in you alive and you will learn to be present. Appreciate the beauty of small things around you.
Replace Your Inner Dialogue With Positivity When Negative Self Talk Kicks In
Most people will find it extremely difficult to be present at all times and caught themselves with negative self talk. This is okay, as long as you are aware of it, you are doing better than most people.
More often than not, we are our own worst enemies. Or more accurately, those niggling little voices inside our head. Sometimes, we’ve lived with these voices for so long and have gotten so used to them that we do not even notice them anymore. However, these voices are opinionated, often in the negative, so they will keep holding us back if we keep listening and giving in to their whims. They are often unkind and even sometimes downright mean, too.
This is the kind of inner dialogue that inevitably keeps us from reaching our highest potential, so it is always a good idea to put this inner critic in its place and ignore its incessant gripes. Thankfully, you can take on this internal turmoil head on and ultimately free yourself from its shackles.
“If you feel anxiety or depression, you are not in the present. You are either anxiously projecting the future or depressed and stuck in the past. The only thing you have any control over is the present moment; simple breathing exercises can make us calm and present instantly.” ― Tobe Hanson
Acknowledge
The first step to dealing with this inner dialogue is to recognize its presence in your life. If you take the time to truly pay attention to what it has to say in the course of an entire day, you will be surprised to find that it is actually omnipresent. By paying attention to the din of your inner voice, you will invariably realize how often it is hindering your ability to achieve your goals and make your dreams come true. Such is the first step for imminent change.
Challenge
You know it’s there and you know that it only has bad things to say to you. So instead of just rolling over and taking it, choose to stand up for yourself and challenge it. By simply accepting the inner voice as the truth, you are allowing it to win. But by pushing back, you are giving yourself a fighting chance.
Silence
You are now at a point where you can do whatever you want with the persistent harping that only exists in your head. So what are you going to do about it? Silence it, of course. So turn down the volume when the negative dialogue starts coming. Or better yet, mute it altogether. Negative dialogue should never be as loud as the positive, so turn it off to make way for the positive.
Replace
Now that you are not using precious time and mind power listening to the negative din in your head, you now have the opportunity to start embracing the positive. So instead of hearing that you can’t, consciously replace it with you can. Whatever the negative inner voice might tell you, immediately replace it with the exact opposite.
Believe
But of course, positive words could only go so far. You have to believe in them, too. And this can be very difficult, especially if you have gotten so used to listening to the opposite for some time. So take stock and make a list of all the great things that you know about yourself. And if the negative dialogue starts rearing its ugly head again, point out all your positives to negate the negative. And because you know that these things are true, it will be so much easier to drown out the falsehoods.
Keep Going
Always remind yourself that you are a work in progress. You may not get it right the first time, or even the next. But by keeping on and continuing to make changes in your life, you are on the right track.
