I’ve never met anyone who was trained in mindfulness at an early age. Have you? I wonder if they have to try as hard as those of us who were introduced to mindfulness in adulthood. I wonder if they struggle with distractions or if they have emotional outbursts. For those of us who do struggle with these things, I believe the effort to live mindfully is worth the prize. There’s so much wonder and exquisite beauty hiding within all kinds of mundane experiences. We just don’t see it because we’re rushing from task to task or we’re blinded by distractions pulling at our attention from all directions. It takes effort and dedication to stay in the present moment, but it also takes some forethought. This is why I decided to share this list of 10 ways to stay in the present moment. 

10 Ways To Stay In The Present Moment 

Learn to recognize the signs that you’ve lost the present moment 

Mindfulness and meditation are practices of wavering back and forth between full awareness and distraction. Undivided, unfaltering focus is not something we can achieve. The skill of mindfulness is the ability to restore focus once we’ve lost it. We practice returning to the present moment, over and over, until gradually we find ourselves living in the moment more often than not. 

To do this, it’s essential to be able to recognize when we’ve lost touch with present moment awareness. Without acknowledging that you’ve lost sight of the trail, it’s impossible to find your way. 

We should learn to recognize the signs and conditions indicating that we’ve lost touch with the present moment. Common ones include: 

• Rushing 
• Thoughts of the future
• Thoughts of the past
• Lack of awareness of your physical environment

On this last point; you don’t want to approach a busy intersection with cars rushing from all directions while thinking ahead to your next big idea. You want to be fully aware of where the curb’s edge is and whether or not the green walk sign is lit. But we must also be aware of our surroundings in less dangerous situations. When you step outside for a coffee break, here, too, you should be fully focused on the fresh air, the sunlight, the sound of birds singing, and, above all, the fact that you intend to rest. 

Create cues to stay in the present moment 

With some practice and dedication, you can turn ordinary objects, places, or experiences into a reminder to be mindful. One of the best ways to stay in the present moment is to simply remember to be mindful. With busy schedules and conflicting priorities, this is easier said than done. But if we designate certain things to call us back into the present moment, we can outsource some of the burden to remember to the power of habit. 

“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.”

― Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation

For example, through intention and repetition, I’ve turned water into one of my cues to be mindful. This means when I drink a glass of water, I do so with full mindful awareness. When I wash my hands, I do so slowly, taking a deep breath. When I wash dishes, I am mindful of my movement, attempting to make it fluid and efficient. 

Related article: Mindful Movement Is A Life-And-Death Matter

I’ve also done this with a beaded bracelet that I wear every day. This cue is especially important for me first thing in the morning. As soon as I wake up, I reach over to my nightstand and pick up my bracelet. As I put it on, I take a moment to affirm my intention to be mindful during the day ahead. 

You can turn anything into a mindfulness cue. Good cues are ones that you’ll inevitably engage with several times throughout the day.

This post contains affiliate links, which help us keep the blog afloat. Click here for more information.

Meditation is the training ground

I think of mindfulness as the skill required to bring mindful awareness to each present moment—whether driving in your car, in a heated meeting, or when playing with your children. This differs from meditation, which is a targeted exercise under controlled conditions. Normally, with meditation, you dedicate a specific time, practice in a particular place, and focus on something of your choosing. Ultimately, the skills required to recognize distraction and return to present moment awareness can be strengthened through meditation. These skills then translate to the real-world scenarios in which being more present is desirable.

Classic concentration meditation is especially helpful for building the mindfulness muscles—those required to lift you out of distraction and place you back into the present moment. Concentration meditation consists of simply focusing on one object. The object is typically the breath. 

The breath is arguably the greatest object of focus because it’s always present and it represents life itself. The practice is to attempt to focus on the object fully. When we become distracted, we simply return our focus without getting frustrated. This repetition of noticing distraction and restoring attention builds the capacity to be mindful in all situations, not just on the meditation mat. 

Related article: Concentration Meditation: Peaceful Resistance Against Invasive Tech

Use nature to stay in the present moment 

Nature is the ultimate cue for mindfulness. When we walk through breathtaking scenery in the mountains or along a white sand beach, we feel this intuitively. The beauty of the surroundings is compelling and it pulls us into the present moment. Urges to plan ahead are suspended. Fixations on the past are forgotten. 

With some practice and repetition, we can begin to make nature, even in its less majestic forms, a powerful reminder to be present and aware. We can’t always hike in the mountains and we can’t always afford a beach getaway. But we can notice flowers. Even major cities are home to all kinds of flowers. They’re planted along the streets. They’re hanging from neighbors’ windows. If we can just take a moment to stop and notice them, then we can appreciate them while enjoying a break from worries or regrets. 

Stay in the present moment by limiting distractions

A simple way to think about mindful living is that we’re either attuned to the present moment or we’re distracted. If the goal is to experience more of life as it’s truly happening by staying in the present moment, then the goal is also to limit the antithesis of mindfulness, which is distraction. 

In sitting meditation, our thoughts distract us. This is not only OK, but it’s also an integral part of the practice. As mentioned above, we build the capacity to be mindful by ‘correcting’ for our distractions and reverting to mindfulness. But this is in a controlled setting: the meditation mat. 

As we’re moving about the world conducting our business and fulfilling our commitments, distractions pop up and remove us from the present moment. Distractions cost us time. They can cost us our peace by causing strong emotional reactions. As in sitting meditation, we should meet distractions with equanimity and grace and return to our intended state of mindful awareness as quickly as possible. At the same time, though, we can prevent certain distractions.

Practical tips on limiting distractions

There’s an excellent book on reducing distractions called Indistractable by Nir Eyal. Here are a few practical takeaways from that book in bullet form: 

• Be conscious of transitions between activities throughout the day. Gaps between tasks are often where we seek distraction.
• Let your values guide your tasks, and always know the ‘why’ of what you’re doing. We are less susceptible to distractions when we are acutely aware of what we risk being distracted from.
• Keep a schedule. In the schedule, book a weekly 15-minute block to review your calendar. Use this time to review the times you got distracted and develop mechanisms to prevent them from recurring. 
• Let others know when you plan to be indistractable. Letting people know directly that you’re unavailable is half the battle.
• Learn to identify emotions associated with intentional distractions such as TV and social media. This helps you to deal with the root cause.

For more insights from Indistractable by Nir Eyal, click here to watch our short summary of the book on Youtube. 

How to be more present with others 

The wandering mind is perhaps the most prolific thief of mindful awareness. In conversation, our mind loves to scan its library of memories to come up with something that relates to what the other person is saying. While the mind is searching for things to say it’s often missing out on what the other person is communicating. Sure, it’s hearing the words and processing them, but the sounds the other person is making are but one part of the conversation. What is this person’s intention? What are they feeling? Are they suffering? Keeping the focus on what the other person is trying to communicate rather than on what they are merely saying anchors the mind. Listening deeply helps you stay in the present moment, but it also leads to more productive and compassionate conversations. 

“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Manage your thoughts about the future 

I tend to think ahead. I rarely dwell on the past, and I’m grateful for that, but I do spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about and planning for the future. Much of this is not negative or harmful. The creative process starts with a plan. There are many practical matters that relate to my family’s well-being that can only be executed with planning. Of course, there are also worries. Naturally, uncertainty regarding matters of importance, such as my family’s well-being, causes me to worry. 

Two Stoic practices to reduce worry

There are two concepts from Stoicism that help me temper this penchant for thinking ahead. The first is The Dichotomy of Control. This concept trains us to identify what is within our control and what is not within our control. For the matters outside of our control, once we’ve identified them, we’re much less likely to dwell on or resist them. Using The Dichotomy of Control as an exercise removes a lot of angst about the future, because it sorts the future into two practical categories: ‘can do something about it’ and ‘can’t do something about it’. Without this exercise, we find ourselves grappling with all sorts of matters that are simply not within our sphere of influence.

The second Stoic concept that helps reduce worry is amor fati—the love of fate. This is similar to The Dichotomy of Control, but amor fati is more about heading off into the unknown with confidence and excitement rather than worry and dread. There are many future events in your life of which you are totally unaware. Life is mysterious and unpredictable. For some, this leads to a lot of worry. We must embrace the unknown and rely on our confidence and abilities to handle whatever life conjures up. We must face these unknowns when they arise and only when they arise. 

With a healthier perspective on the future and the skills to handle both the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns of life, we create more space for ourselves to reside in the present moment. 

Stay in the present moment through the five senses 

In Buddhist traditions, there’s an emphasis on the five bodily senses. They are seen as the gates through which much of our experience passes. This makes perfect sense. We become aware of a tree once we see it. We become aware of a fire once we smell the smoke. When we understand that our conscious experience is largely shaped by what we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch, we can begin to connect intentionally with our senses to remain in the present moment. 

But normally we don’t do this. We walk around absorbing all kinds of experiences through our sense gates without mindfulness. We just let stimuli enter our experience without acknowledging where they came from or how they make us feel. 

Practice bringing mindful awareness to your senses one sense at a time. Simply acknowledge what you’re experiencing through that particular sense without any judgment. Practicing like this builds a more mindful relationship with the senses, which not only allows us to stay in the present moment, but it also lets us be more selective with what we choose to see, hear, taste, smell, or touch.

Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something 

There’s always an object of focus in mindfulness practice. We can be mindful of the act of brushing our teeth. We can be mindful of our movement as we’re moving from one room to another. This is what makes mindfulness so compatible with daily life. Being more aware of what we’re doing allows us to do those things better. I don’t believe that we should practice mindfulness as a performance-enhancing protocol, but I am grateful for the fact that it typically leads to better performance. 

It’s useful to identify the areas in your life in which you’d like to be more mindful. The Eightfold Path from Buddhism is helpful for categorizing broad areas of life into smaller chunks so that we can direct our focus towards them more intentionally. 

If you’re fighting with a loved one, Right Speech of The Eightfold Path is a useful target for your attention. If you’re allowing work to take over all aspects of your life, Right Livelihood comes to mind. When you can’t stop thinking about someone who wronged you, Right Thought is an appropriate place to practice. 

Be mindful of what makes you tick

It’s also beneficial to bring mindfulness to the states and conditions that lead to poor behavior. For example, I am more prone to frustration and anger when I am too hot or too hungry. I’m working on my ability to mindfully recognize these states, because when I don’t notice them sneaking up on me, they sometimes lead to regrettable behavior. 

Whether you’re using The Eightfold Path to guide your practice or not, it’s a good idea to identify a few actions or behaviors that you would like to perform more mindfully. Set little challenges for yourself and allow for at least a week to practice being more mindful of your chosen object of focus. Give yourself time to break your old habits of rushing or forgetfulness. Identifying objects of focus that deserve more of your mindful awareness is a sure way to remain more in the present moment. 

Slow down and smile 

This is the simplest bit of advice in this article but I urge you to take it very seriously: slow down. So much of our mindful awareness escapes us simply because we’re rushing. I struggle with this, but I’m working on it. I always feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day, so I tend to try to speed things up. But I’ve learned that this only increases my fatigue and stress. It also leads to mistakes and generally less mindfulness. 

Do your nervous system a favor and just slow down. The simple act of slowing down automatically brings more awareness to whatever you’re doing, especially when you’ve been habitually rushing for most of your life. 

“Restore your attention or bring it to a new level by dramatically slowing down whatever you’re doing.”

– Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation

 

Finally, smile, even if you have to force yourself. Never forget the infinitesimal odds that you even exist. Be grateful for life itself. In this sense, it’s not actually so much about forcing yourself to smile. It’s more about remembering to smile. There’s almost always a reason to smile hiding within each present moment. You just need to uncover it. 

What does it mean to stay in the present moment 

Life only truly happens in the present moment, so to stay in the present moment is to truly live. Thoughts of the past and future have their utility and meaning, so we do not want to rid ourselves of them entirely; not that this is possible, anyway. But we don’t want our experience to be dominated by the past, future, or unchecked emotions. So we should choose the middle path—embracing our natural thought patterns while striving to notice the beauty, stillness, and clarity that comes with more mindful awareness. 

Spread the word and share the love 🙏

If you enjoyed this article, consider sharing it with your friends and followers on social media. Your support means the world to us. 💖 Click on the social share icons below and let others discover the insights, tips, and inspiration you found here. Together, we can create a community of like-minded individuals who practice mindfulness and Stoicism.

👉 Remember, a simple click can make a big difference!