Womenlines welcomes Anji Hallewell as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava. In her sharing for this month, Anji is telling tips for living in the ‘Present Moment’-
When you are on public transport, what is everyone doing? Are they alert and aware of their surroundings or are they buried in their phones and minds? How much of your waking days do you spend thinking? Whether that be thinking about the future or what has already happened. How much of that thinking turns in to worry and frustration? How much of that causes stress and physical complaints? And how much is even necessary? All of this is a product of the mind running away with itself and the opposite of being conscious, aware and connected to what is happening now. It’s time to take control.
I was in my 30’s when I started to feel that life had become very serious. Where was the fun and zest that I had experienced in my 20’s? I felt very torn because I wanted a successful career, but I didn’t want to be burnt out and miserable with it. Despite working in more -creative environments, I still felt overworked, stressed and drained all too often. It really was time to do something about this, because this was no fun or any good for me in mind, body or soul.
Both spirituality and science understand that in shifting your attention to the present it can settle the mind. And by continual practice, something powerful happens, because as you increase your awareness you are also becoming more conscious of how you think, feel and behave. This may not sound like a very big deal, but the majority of the issues that we face are behavioural and behaviour stems from what we think and feel. Now you see it as a bigger deal!
Being present allowed me to become more aware of what was happening in situations, so I could cease opportunities and just generally respond better. I was more switched on in meetings and in conversations that it became very obvious what I needed to do to get the outcomes that I desired. I also worried less and because of this, I became less stressed and nicer to be around.
Suddenly, I was able to think outside of the box and see a whole range of different options and solutions to problems and obstacles. I became the go-to person in the department, I was trusted with larger projects and my relationships were so much stronger. I had become far sharper in mind and happier too. Who wouldn’t want that!
So, how can you start to become more present in life? Here are three simple things that you can start doing.
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CURIOSITY: Reconnect with that childlike curiously that you once had. Children are fantastic at being curious. They are naturally inquisitive as they are growing up and learning about the world. Then at some point, we stop asking questions. Either we think we should already know and are too embarrassed to let other people know our little secret or we think we already know all there is to know. Curiosity allows you to stop and appreciate whilst learning more about something you’re interested in. It also ignites positive energy and creativity, so you elevate your thinking to another level!
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PAUSE: Secondly, pause every once in a while. We are always busy doing something. The one thing we don’t have an abundance of is time, but if you whiz through life at high speed you’ll miss out on the things that matter to you. So, if things feel a bit too busy and you need to stop, just momentarily pause. Slowing down is not a sign of weakness, it’s smart.
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REFLECT: Become aware of who you are and how you operate. Sometimes you will achieve great things and other times you may not handle something as well as you had hoped. The point that we often miss is that both give us great insight into ourselves. You must take the rough with the smooth to fully understand how you can improve yourself. Being able to see your shortcomings and not be self-critical is a very powerful place to be because it means that your mistakes will not define you.
Learning how to be more present doesn’t mean that you will be in a constant state of euphoria, nor will it make your life perfect, but it will allow you to see things clearly and put you in control to determine how you live your life.
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