The Zen of Success – Focus on Now
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha
It is important for you to understand that focusing on the present can really do a lot for you, by helping reduce stress it helps you enjoy life to the fullest, increase your effectiveness, and help you achieve goals and objectives.
In General there are Three Things that we all can Think About
- The past by reliving things we might have messed up, being embarrassed about something we did, wishing we could have something back that is gone, as well as living in memories of good times past, and being angry about things done to us. You understand the idea that the past can generate all kinds of thoughts.
- The future by worrying about things we need to do later, about what might happen, a big event that’s coming up soon, being anxious that things might go wrong, or that we might mess up, and hoping for something wonderful and dreaming of great things to come.
- The present by what is happening right now, at this moment, and what we are doing now.
Of course, it is natural and inevitable that we will think about all three, and we cannot stop ourselves from thinking about the past or the future. More importantly however, with good practice, we can learn to focus on the present much more than we already do.
Benefits of Being in the Moment
There are actual benefits from increasing your focus on the present. Here are just a few for you to consider:
Increased enjoyment of what you are doing overall, by being in the present rather than having your mind somewhere else, even food tastes better as you take time to savor the moment and flavors, as you have more fun with your family and even work can become more enjoyable.
Reduced stress by worrying less about the past and future, as being in the present is almost like meditation, where there are no worries, you are just experiencing.
Better relationships by really committing yourself to be with someone, to listen to them, you are being a better father, husband, friend, daughter, and girlfriend. You have much better conversations and develop stronger bonds.
Get things done by focusing more on what you’re doing, rather than trying to multitask or think about a hundred different unrelated things at once, you can actually complete what you’re doing, increase your job performance, and get tasks done in a timelier manner. You might not necessarily complete more, but you will complete what you set out to do, as stronger focus tends to get things done, and in my experience, when your focus is split among a lot of things, it is less powerful and much less effective.
“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.” - Mohandas Gandhi
