Here and Now
If you’re reading this I want you to take a moment to stop reading and take a few seconds to connect with your here and now.. your present moment. For the next 20-30 seconds all I want you to do is close your eyes, breathe and simply be. Okay go..
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Alright come back to us.. What did you notice? Was that easy or hard for you to do? What were your thoughts like? Did you have a quiet mind or were your thoughts going a million miles an hour?
For a majority of us it’s pretty challenging to quiet our minds during those 30 seconds. Why? Because we have so much going on in our lives that we are constantly thinking about what we have to do in the next 15 minutes, next 2 hours, even what we have to do in 3 days. This look ahead thinking helps us stay on top of things for sure, but it can also cause us a lot of worry and stress. Most importantly it pulls our attention away from the here and now. As we think ahead or look back we lose our connection with the present moment and we miss out on a lot both cognitively and emotionally. We can’t go back to the past and change things and we can’t fast forward to the future (yet). All we can do is operate in the here and now and that’s why being in tune with the present is so important. Our physical performance happens in real time, so mentally we’ve got to be in “real time” as well.
The ability to remain in the present moment is one of two pieces of mindfulness.. a term you may have heard about. Mindfulness is a mental state where one’s awareness is fully focused on the present moment AND is fully accepting of any thoughts, emotions, or physical feelings they experience. There are many ways to practice mindfulness both formally and informally. On the formal side we have structured breathing exercises, meditation, body scans, etc. Those are all great and highly effective, but I believe some of the more informal practices of mindfulness are what you might be more drawn to. Here are a few little things that you can do to bring a state of mindfulness and present moment awareness to your everyday life.
Slow down and pay attention while you eat meals. Put your phone away and just focus on eating and enjoying your meal. It’s crazy to even say that, but when was the last time you did that?
Find a few minutes each day to breathe. Breathe however you want, but each time you take a breath focus all your attention on that breath. What it feels like going in and coming out, as well as how your body feels as you breathe.
Accept yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend. (assuming you treat your best friend well..)
Give one or all of these things a try. There’s many ways we can practice bringing mindfulness into our daily lives. It all starts with being in the here and now of every moment. As you improve your mindfulness skills and your ability to reside in the here and now you may very well see an uptick in your performance. Here are a few reasons why. Mindfulness…
Enhances focus and concentration
Contributes to decreased emotional reactivity
Enhances cognitive flexibility
Helps build relationship satisfaction
All of those things help us perform at a high level both as people and as athletes. This is your reminder to be mindful, to be present and to live in the here and now.