How to live in the present moment, in 7 psychological keys
One of the principles of Gestalt therapy And from the practice of meditation is the idea of living in the present moment. For some people, this pattern of life serves as a way of experience life in an authentic sense while not indulging in unfounded concerns.
However, one thing is theory and another is practice. ¿How do you do that of living in the present? And what does it mean? In the following lines we will try to answer these questions.
What does it mean to dwell in the now?
In short, living in the present moment means interpreting all our experiences as part of a set of unique sensations, which only exist as such in the here and now.
That means, for example, not holding the belief that what we experience are more or less perfect copies of previous moments, or what are they previews of what we will live in the future.
That way, you won't fall into the trap of believing that we owe our whole life to our memories and to what what we look forward to in the times to come (regardless of whether expectations are good or bad), Y
we will appreciate what is happening to us as it is in the present moment.7 keys to living in the present
From here we will see some basic guidelines to begin to incorporate this philosophy of life into our daily lives. Are you ready to start this journey?
1. Ending rumination
Psychological rumination is what happens when what worries us or causes us stress draws all our attention and thoughts to itself.
Basically, these are unpleasant memories (regardless of whether they are based on real experiences or ideas) that turn into something to which everything we do or perceive ends up referring to.
To end the rumination, it is advisable, among other things, to find moments to rest and, especially, to dedicate them in walk through natural environments. For more information you can consult this article:
- Rumination: the annoying vicious circle of thought
2. The world of mindfulness
Meditation does not make our minds go blank (that is impossible), but rather helps us to divert our attention from interpretations of reality based on the past and the future.
Mindfulness is a well-studied and easy-to-practice form of meditation that has also proven to be effective in preventing relapses into depression. You can learn more about its principles and its practice at this article.
3. Learn relaxation exercises
Meditation is not the only way to disconnect; there are also many relaxation exercises that focus on relaxing the muscles and the accompaniment of a type of slow breathing that uses the capacity of the lungs to the maximum.
These techniques help us cut through intrusive thoughts linked to the past.
4. Rationally judge your expectations and goals
A good way to lighten loads and begin to appreciate more the experiences directly linked to the present is to make an assessment of your own objectives and responsibilities. It is difficult to live in the present when you have to be working 11 hours a day.
That is why the time invested in taking stock of one's priorities in search of greater well-being will be time well spent.
5. Learn to manage self-esteem
It is necessary to make the self-image and the self-esteem are a tool to know each other faithfully, not something that enslaves us and makes us feel bad for not complying with the expectations that we have imposed on ourselves.
If we do everything we do with an eye on whether that brings us closer to or further away from the "ideal self", we will be wasting many opportunities to soak up the genuineness of each experience simply because our attention will have been hooked on an ideal that only exists because it we have created.
6. Do sports
Few activities make us focus more on the present like physical sport. As these types of exercises require effort and concentration on what is happening, it works very well to "disengage" our attention from worries.
But, in addition, doing sports makes our body secrete a greater amount of endorphins, thanks to which a feeling of well-being and relief invades us.
7. Soak up existential philosophy
Existentialists defend the idea that life only has the goals and the meaning that we want to give it, and that idea is fundamental to manage all the expectations that we notice that do us more harm than good.
