The here and now is the only place that truly matters. Everything else is secondary.

Unfortunately, we live in an age of constant distraction, where our attention is pulled in a million different directions.

I believe that ruminating about the past and thinking too much about the future is the major cause of people's unhappiness.

If you want to live an abundant life, make it a priority to be in the here and now. Are you ready to learn 4 simple ways to live in the present moment?

Watch the video below where I talk about the importance of living an authentic life:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Do you want to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

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The here and now is all you have.

While you are reading this, I want to encourage you to be here, fully. Try not to divert your attention anywhere else. More importantly, I don't want you to think about this moment. Rather, take a deep breath and really feel what it feels like to experience this moment. This is where a lot of people get stuck.

Despite the recent popularity of the mindfulness movement, studies indicate that most people are only paying attention to the present moment fifty percent of the time.

As a society, we have been conditioned to overlook the present moment because it isn't deemed to not be “exciting enough.” As a result, our minds are forever trying to distract us. Social media adds to this issue. In a world that is dominated by technology, emailing, texting, and trolling on social media have become a normal part of people's every day lives.

If you aren't connected to a screen 24/7, you are considered to be the “odd man out,” so to speak.

Unfortunately, this way of life has created a disconnect between people and their present-moment experience. As a result, people tend to operate from either the past or the future. I believe that this is the #1 reason why so many people struggle with fear and anxiety. Think about it. If you live in the past, you constantly feel stuck because you aren't moving forward.

Similarly, if you live in the future, you are anxious about what is yet to come. This wishful thinking can create a fear complex that leaves you feeling paralyzed. Both ways of being wreak havoc on the mind. In our desire to get to the end point, we fail to recognize that the future is really nothing more than thought. It doesn't exist because it hasn't happened yet. In the grand scheme of things, the destination is secondary to whom you become along the way.

In his book, The Power Of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle says it best – “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” 

The present moment is a place of control, ease, and happiness.

Your ability to be happy in the here and now is influenced by your present thoughts. This is why intentional feel-good thoughts are so important to your overall well-being. The next time that you engage in an activity, don't let your mind wander. Rather, be present with your experience and see how it changes your emotional state.

Here are 4 simple ways that you can live in the present moment.

1. Enjoy The Small Things

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get distracted by to-do lists, projects, and deadlines, so much so that you may forget to enjoy the simple things in life. Do you give gratitude for the air that you breathe or your ability to walk?

These are wildly important things to your survival, yet so many people ignore their value on a daily basis. The world is forever changing, which is why it's so important to appreciate the here and now. You cannot get moments back so I encourage you to be grateful for each one of them.

When life gets overwhelming, it's natural to reach for negative emotions because you don't feel good. In my experience, this only makes things worse. The next time that you find yourself in a difficult situation, find the silver lining and remind yourself how good your life really is… because it is. You know that, right?

In the words of Beau Taplin, “I'm starting to recognize that real happiness isn't something large and looming on the horizon ahead, but something small, numerous and already there. The smile of someone you love. A decent breakfast. The warm sunset. Your little everyday joys all lined up in a row.”

2. Unplug

Sometimes the best way to reconnect with yourself is to do a digital detox. Technology has completely taken over people's lives. Although it's intention is to connect us, it has made us more disconnected from one another than ever before.

All you need to do is go to a restaurant and see how many people are glued to their phones, instead of talking to the person that is in front of them.

Furthermore, a lot of people use the digital world as a means of escaping from their problems, so much so that this becomes an addiction in and of itself. There’s a strong connection between screen time and the decay of one’s own mental health. If you have a hard time concentrating on something for more than 30 seconds, it's time to unplug.

I'm not suggesting that you live on a desert island without any access to the outside world. However, if you find yourself browsing all day on social media, there is a chance that you aren't maximizing your time, nor are you tuning into what is important to you.

3. Let Go Of Your Past 

There's no point ruminating about the past because you don't live there anymore. You are in the here and now. The past is over and done with. Leveling up your life requires that you free yourself from the emotional blocks that prevent you from moving forward.

Something that no longer exists cannot affect you anymore. Your thoughts will feed you stories about why the past is still a part of your identity. These are just stories and can easily be rewritten. Never forget that, what you focus on, expands. If you continue to dwell upon the pain and challenges that you've experienced, you will only create more of the same experiences.

Don't be a victim of life. Break free and take back your power. A key aspect of letting go is forgiveness, for yourself and/or others. Honor the past for what it was, but be okay saying goodbye. What are you ready to let go of? By releasing the heaviness of the past, it will allow you to be more present in your mind, body, and soul.

4. Focus On Your Breath

When people are experiencing stress, it's commonplace for them to engage in shallow breathing. Unfortunately, doing so only results in anxiety and a feeling of lack of control. Your breath is the simplest and most powerful way to stay in the here and now.

By actually focusing on your breath and tuning into how it feels to breathe, your mind will slow down and racing thoughts will start to lose their power. At this moment, all that comes to matter is you and your breath. I encourage you to take a deep breath now and see how it feels. It's a great reminder that everything is going to be okay.

Your life consists of a series of present moments.

These moments are forever unfolding before your eyes, so make an effort to pay attention to them. Instead of focusing on the next moment, what can you do right now that will allow you to be more present?

In the words of Steve Goodier, “Wherever you are, be there. If you can be fully present now, you’ll know what it means to live.” This is your point of power. Now is the time to own it.

Do you want to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

Do you want to know the secret to living a fulfilled life? BE HAPPY! Turn expectation into appreciation.

This message came from Tony Robbins who said, “Turn your expectations into appreciation and your whole world changes in an instant.”

If you don’t have expectations, you can never be disappointed. Sounds simple, right? Then why do so many people struggle with this notion? We live in a world built on expectations. We have become entitled, and believe that the world owes us something.

If you adopt this mindset, you will never experience true happiness in life.

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Do you want to know how you can create a daily ritual that will help you turn expectations into appreciation? CLICK HERE to purchase my course, Morning Ritual Mastery!

Too many people are obsessed with creating the perfect life.  As a result, they aren’t able to enjoy the experiences that life provides. I guarantee you that there will be times in life when things are not going to go your way; your rules and beliefs about the world will be violated.

If you adopt this mindset, you will never experience true happiness in life. Take a moment and ask yourself, “Where in your life do you tend to demand or expect things from others without expressing your appreciation?”

Don’t let the outside world determine your happiness. True happiness is an inside job. It’s a state of mind. “On a deeper level, you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a playful, joyous energy behind what you do.” ~Eckhart Tolle

You don’t have control over the world. The only thing that you have control over is yourself. Whenever you catch yourself being upset, sad, angry, or having high expectations of yourself and others, stop and pay attention to your thoughts. Master your mind so that it doesn't master you.

Expectation comes from you taking life for granted and not fully appreciating the beauty that surrounds you. BE HAPPY! Turn expectation into appreciation.  When you let go of expectation and replace it with appreciation, you live a life of gratitude.

In Sonja Lyubomirsky’s The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, she refers to gratitude as “a kind of meta-strategy for achieving happiness.”

She goes on to say, “Gratitude is many things to many people – it is wonder; it is appreciation; it is looking on the bright side of a setback; it is fathoming abundance; it is thanking someone in your life; it is present-oriented.” What are you grateful for? Appreciation is about the here and now. The moment is all we have. If you aren’t happy right NOW, you won’t be happy in the future.

BE HAPPY! Turn expectation into appreciation. When you do so, watch what happens to your growth and state of mind. I challenge you to spend an entire day with zero expectations and respond to everything in your life with appreciation. The rewards will be incredible.

Lynda Barry said it best – “Expect the unexpected, believe in the unbelievable, and achieve the unachievable.”

Do you want to know how you can create a daily ritual that will help you turn expectations into appreciation? CLICK HERE to purchase my course, Morning Ritual Mastery!

I want to share with you the most important daily ritual that I have in my life. I practice this ritual every day and it has made a big difference in my life over many years. That ritual is the power of gratitude.

I believe that gratitude is one of the most important emotions that you can experience.

Like any emotion, you have to proactively and consistently practice it every single day in order to embody it fully. If you fail to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings in your life, than what is the point of receiving more?

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

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Do you want to learn more about how to create daily success rituals?  CLICK HERE to check out my morning ritual mastery course!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

If we all stopped for a moment and looked around us, we would find endless things that we have that others would only dream of – clothes, food, clean water, shelter, etc. The list goes on and on. Research by UC Davis psychologist Robert Emmons, author of Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, shows that simply keeping a gratitude journal can significantly increase well-being and life satisfaction.

No matter how horrible you think your life is, gratitude is always the antidote. Appreciate and enjoy the little things in life, because these will be the moments that you remember most. Dan Millman once said, “Life is a series of moments. The quality of attention and action that we bring to each moment determines the quality of our lives”.

As you reflect on each day, ask yourself, “What moment stood out for you that made you smile?”

So many people wait until something big happens in order to celebrate and experience happiness. If you do so, you will not enjoy your life on a daily basis. If you constantly live in your head, you aren’t able to be present.   You end up becoming your worst critic, and you start looking at things from a negative lens.

Your head is always going to analyze everything, whereas your heart has no limits. The more grateful that you are every day, the happier that you will be, and the more positive things that you will attract into your life. Take a moment and ask yourself, “What are three things that I am grateful for?”

John F. Kennedy said it best – “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”.

Make gratitude a part of your daily ritual. Live by your words and be appreciative for what you have.