Living In The Moment with Self Awareness
Quite often, you probably think about your past and worry about your future. That makes it hard to enjoy life in the present. Learning to be mindful and living in the moment will help you appreciate your life more, and reduce those feelings of anxiety, stress and depression. Practicing mindfulness by living in the moment with self awareness is worthwhile, and here are 5 simple techniques to get you started.
Here are some techniques to help you practice mindfulness and live in the moment:
- Take note of your current surroundings.
The first step in living in the moment is to notice your surroundings. You may not often take the time to look around and see what goes on around you. Sit down and take a deep breath. Then look at everything around you.
- If you are indoors, what do the walls look like?
- What patterns do you see in the ceiling and floor?
- How many windows are in the room?
- How many ceiling lights or other lights can you see from your position?
When you stop and look more closely at your surroundings, and take in all that is around you, then you are more equipped to live in the moment.
- Begin to use self-care activities.
Another thing to put you in the present moment is doing activities that bring you joy and bring forth positive emotions. You might engage in a hobby you like, walk in nature, or spend time with family or friends. These activities all may make you feel happiness and a focus on the present moment.
You need also to be mindful of your typical daily routine. Make some time for activities of self-care, like eating healthy meals or doing breathing exercises.
- Try to detach yourself from your phone whenever possible.
In this age of smartphones, it seems that we live in fear of having idle time. You may grab your phone while waiting for a friend to arrive for lunch, or while you wait at a doctor’s office.
Break that habit. Allow yourself to just sit and look around you, instead of checking in on social media. You can start this new habit when you wake up in the morning. After you get out of bed, don’t go for your phone immediately. Enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet and have a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can spend time in the morning with your family before the computer and phone call to you.
- Use simple breathing exercises.
Mindful breathing may sound simple, but it’s a powerful tool to use when you manage your emotions, learn to live in the moment and improve your mental wellness.
Breathwork has the ability to teach you how to pay closer attention to the sensations your body experiences daily. It usually has you focus on inhaling and exhaling, along with the sound your breath makes and the ways in which your body responds to breathing.
- Let go of your worry.
It’s easy to say, “don’t worry,” but much harder to accomplish. Worrying today is not going to change what you encounter tomorrow. Each second spent worrying about your future is one second you have wasted in the present. Worrying removes you from living in the present and leaves you thinking about all the possibilities in your future. In that state, you cannot live in the moment.
If you have circumstances that trouble you, focus on the ways you might solve existing problems now. Improve the moment you’re in. When you spend time focusing on what could happen in the future, it robs you of the experience of what is occurring now. Each moment in your present life moves very quickly – you don’t want to miss it.
Conclusion
When you practice mindfulness to help you live in the moment, it can enhance your daily life. It promotes other positive emotions like contentment, happiness and gratitude. You can cultivate this skill if you are dedicated, and practice mindfulness consistently.
Using the techniques in this article, you can begin to live in the moment instead of worrying about the future.
References
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/simple-tips-for-learning-to-live-in-the-present/
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-do-you-live-in-the-present-5204439
Building Self-Awareness: 5 Tools And Exercises To Understand Yourself Better
Self-awareness is the vital ability to turn your focus on yourself and how your emotions, actions or thoughts align – or don’t align – with your personal internal standards.
When your self-awareness is high, it becomes easier to manage emotions, evaluate yourself objectively, understand the ways other people perceive you and align your personal behavior with your innermost values.
Here are five tools and exercises that will help you understand yourself better:
- Use a thought diary.
Thought diaries build foundations for increasing your self-awareness. They also:
- Track thoughts that are automatic for you.
- Track what occurs that brings on the thoughts.
- Track how you react emotionally to stimuli.
If you have the time, thought diaries help you to analyze why you experience the emotions you feel.
- Do something that is new to you.
Placing yourself deliberately outside your comfort zone reveals a great deal to you, helping you to determine:
- What you’re comfortable with
- What you do and don’t enjoy
- Where your fear boundary is
New activities for you could include learning about new topics. Ask yourself “why” you feel the way you do, to discover the root reason why you wish to do something.
- Use coaching or therapy.
With coaching, you’ll be tapping into your innermost motivations. This helps you to create a plan for making changes. You can set goals for self-awareness in the future and outline the clearest path to self-improvement.
Therapy allows you to learn a great deal about yourself. Trained professionals are helpful in learning to unpack experiences from your past and to better understand your own behaviors.
- Listen to your inner voice.
The words you use daily have profound impacts, helping to shape your relationship with others, things and ultimately yourself.
Many people talk to themselves, and it’s a natural but undervalued skill. It will:
- Stimulate useful self-reflection
- Increase your motivation
- Connect you more fully with your emotions
There is a correlation between talking to yourself frequently and attaining a higher level of self-evaluation and self-awareness. Using positive words is more helpful. Pay close attention to your own voice – do you speak to yourself in ways you might not let others speak to you?
Also be attentive to the ways in which you respond to success and failure. Your inner voice subconsciously creates valuable feedback loops, which can be turned into positive or negative experiences.
Using phrases like “I have to,” “I can’t” or “I shouldn’t” may limit your potential, as they create a more negative attitude.
- Practice yoga.
Yoga is at once a physical and a mental practice. When you stretch, bend and flex your body, your mind learns self-acceptance, discipline and self-awareness. You’ll become more fully aware of your own body and the feelings you manifest. You’ll also become aware of the workings of your mind and the thoughts that are generated subconsciously.
You can also pair your yoga with meditation of mindfulness in order to more fully boost your self-awareness.
Conclusion
Self-awareness is a vital aspect of your personal growth and subsequent development. It basically refers to your ability to recognize your own behaviors, thoughts and emotions.
This self-awareness will allow you to more fully understand yourself, including your values, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses.
If you seek professional or personal growth, it’s important to develop a keen sense of self-awareness. It will serve as a strong foundation for effectively managing emotions, making well-informed decisions, building stronger relationships and achieving fulfilment on a personal level.
If you are keenly self-aware, you will better understand your aspirations, goals and motivations, which will enable you to align your actions accordingly. Living in the moment with self awareness is life-changing.
References
https://positivepsychology.com/building-self-awareness-activities/
https://www.betterup.com/blog/self-awareness-activities
https://positivepsychology.com/self-awareness-matters-how-you-can-be-more-self-aware/
I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business for time freedom and passive income and to simplify your life. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. This is also why I want you to think about living in the moment with self awareness and growing a profitable online business. Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is right for you.
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