""What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if?"
The quote above has long been a favourite of mine from Letters to Juliet as I feel it helped me have a mini revelation about dwelling on the past too much. Flip that thought upside down and sometimes I now feel that I can focus on the future too much. I'm an avid goal setter and organiser to help me achieve what I want but I seldom stop thinking ahead and embrace what's going on around me to live in the now but I've really been trying recently to do just that. I've been trying to stop worrying over deadlines every day and my ever expanding to-do list and embrace the moments and activities going on around me. Here are the things which have helped me to live in the now.
Turn off your phone
I find that learning to unplug from social media and just live has been so rewarding. Rather than checking all those emails coming through or social media notifications i've stopped to surround myself with real physical life. Technology has well and truly taken over and i'm guilty of grabbing a bite to eat with friends but still constantly checking my phone, not only has this lack of manners become accepted by society, but it's become perfectly normal distracting us from the great company we have right at the table. I now don't feel lost if I don't have my phone with me, or if it's tucked away in my bag.
Let go of those grudges
Growing up I could hold a grudge like nobody I knew. I could recall dates and times of when something horrible was said to me and who said it. I could probably even tell you what shoes they were wearing. Maybe it was because I wasn't exactly popular in school but it made me stupidly bitter. Letting go of all those grudges has been such a weight off my shoulders. As I've grown up, I've realised that people come and go in your life and that it's natural for this to happen, I shouldn't be holding grudges against those who have. I still wish them the happiest of birthdays and say hello if I see them out and about and I feel so much better for it.
Don't hold back
This is another thing that I'm still guilty of sometimes. Holding back and/or saying no when really I should be saying Hell Yes! You can't live in the now if you're too scared to embrace it with both arms. As I said, i'm still working on this one but since actively thinking about not holding back I've done some awesome things that I wouldn't have done before. Even if it is getting up on the nightclub dance floor stone-cold sober.
Surround yourself with positive people
As I mentioned above, people will come and go throughout your life and it's actually perfectly normal. As everyone grows and blooms, people can grow apart and it doesn't have to be a negative thing. Surrounding yourself with like-minded and positive people can do the world of good. There is nothing to hold you back from being present in your life than negativity or people who stop you from believing in yourself. If you surround yourself with limitations and limiting people, you will always be limited.
Do you try to live in the now and embrace the present?
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