Tips on How to feel more Positive and be in the Present

I have had a really difficult time in the past few weeks and today I listened to a presentation about mindset.  One of things that was discussed was being in the present.  Too often we cling on to the past and bad things that have happened or we worry about the future.  The truth is that the place where the real action is is in the Here and Now.  This is really important.  Forget about the past, that's done with.  Don't worry about the future because anything can happen to change that.  Just concentrate on now, what is happening today and deal with that. Here are some simple tips that can help you

1. Drink Water

Drinking water works because:

• it makes sure your emotional state isn’t a reflection of your being dehydrated
• it makes you slow down and breathe
• it gets you to take a mini-break from whatever external situation you’re in

So I’ll just join my lineage of coaches and trainers. Want to be more present? Drink water. (20 ounces / .5L is a good guide.)

2. Breathe Deeply

Speaking of my lineage, there’s a technique known as combat breathing that has you breathe in while counting to 4, hold for 4 counts, and breathe out for 4 counts. Repeat for 3–5 breaths.
The technique is used by athletes, first responders, police officers, soldiers, and other people in high-stress environments. You don’t need to be under fire to be in a high-stress environment, and there’s no need to reserve a perfectly good presence technique for only when you’re in a high-stress situation.

3. Wiggle Your Toes

Seriously. Our toes are anomalies from the rest of our bodies, for they’re one of the movable parts of our bodies that we don’t reflexively move or incorporate into the rest of our motion or lack thereof. Our toes are just there, not moving.
Rather than over-thinking this one, trust me and do the following:

• Scrunch your toes up to make a toe fist
• Wiggle them
• Stretch them out
• Focus on moving your big toes without moving the rest of them
• Now do whatever feels right for your toes

4. Stretch

No list like this would be complete without including stretching. A stiff, constricted body leads to anxiety, and it’s hard to be present when you’re anxious.

5. Take a Meditation Moment

6. Take a Jam Break

Have you ever been belting out your favorite song in the shower or in the car and realized that for the last 45 seconds, you were 100% in the moment? Or have you busted a move because you simply could not not-move while listening to that song, only to realize that you’ve been dancing in front of strangers?

7. Step Away from All Electronics (Including Your Phone)

You might think that it’s just the notifications that are pulling you out of presence, but it’s deeper than that. Given the ways that our brain works, when we touch tools, we start to reflexively do the activities that those tools help us do.

8. Shut Off All But Critical Notifications from Your Devices

I mentioned notifications above, so let’s wrap back around. You’ve probably already heard tips about shutting off email notifications, and that’s sound counsel. I want to take it a step further and think about all notifications from all of your devices.

9. Get Some Nature Therapy

There’s a growing body of scientific literature that’s showing a correlation between happiness and getting outside.

10. Play with Kids and Pets

Aside from the exercise components and the way they get us to unplug, there’s another really good reason to play with kids and pets: they fire up our oxytocin factories. Oxytocin — sometimes called “the love hormone” or “the bonding hormone” — is a key hormone that promotes trust, relaxation, and happiness in humans.

11. Declutter Your Space

Clutter affects us in two ways: 1) it forces our brain to chunk clutter areas into one unified mass (to make sense of it), and 2) it reminds us of unfinished business. 

12. Ask “What Really Matters Now?”

1. Grab two clean pieces of paper or notecards.
2. Step away from your desk or working area.
3. Ask yourself “what really matters now?” without looking at your To-Do list.
4. Write down whatever comes up.
5. For each item on the list you just made, ask yourself “does this really matter right now?” Scratch through any items that don’t get a resonant yes from you.
6. Transfer the remaining items to the other piece of paper.
7. If nothing is time-sensitive for the next 30 minutes, do something else on this list. (Make sure to look at your calendar first.)
8. Come back, look at the list you made just before leaving, and work on whatever matters most. If you do this at the end of the day when you’re really just looking at the screen and clicking buttons, consider not coming back at all.

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