Keys to Staying Present and Maximizing Your Life

We have all checked out a time or two in life, haven’t we?

 You are in the car, and arrive at your destination so lost in thought that you don’t remember driving there. 

You just realize you have finished ¾ of a bag of chips, but don’t remember how they tasted or really enjoying them. 

Maybe it is when you are talking with your kids and they ask you a question which you answer, but you don’t remember what you just said yes to because you were preoccupied.

It doesn’t make you a bad person to check out once in a while. It makes you human, but it is also not something you want to become the norm. You would miss all of the wonderful little things that life can bring. So here are a few tips that you can implement to keep you present and enjoying every minute of life while maximizing your health at the same time.

Keep a journal. It may sound silly. It did to me before I started doing it. It doesn’t have to be a big epic drama, but it does help to write down 5 things you are grateful for either right before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. This allows you to have a reference point of how great your life is vs. focusing on what isn’t going right at the moment.

Take a different way home each day or at least each week. It will keep you engaged if you have to think about where you are going. Studies also report that this helps keep your mind sharp and Alzheimer’s at bay.

Schedule time with your loved ones and shut work out during that time. This may sound challenging, especially if you have a very demanding career. I can personally attest to this. My premium private clients have access to me by cell and I have, at times, found it challenging to dedicate time to my daughter and fully serve my clients at the level I want to without feeling like I am neglecting one or the other. The solution? Schedule specific times with your loved ones that are sacred times. You would never try to do two jobs at once or talk to 2 clients at the same time in two locations, right? So make the commitment to focus on where you are and who you are within that moment and no one else. They will feel your commitment to them and how special they are to you.

Focus on your food. Eat only when you are present with your food. This means don’t eat while watching TV because you will eat more than if you were focused on what you are eating and when you are full. Turn off the TV. Leave your desk and work alone. Put down the book. Light a candle (even if it is just you) and enjoy each bite.

Journal your food. I am sure if you have ever been part of a weight loss program you have heard this in some variation before. It may have been tracking your points or your calories, but tracking in general works. What I ask my clients to do is track with intention. Look for patterns. See how certain foods affect your energy, moods, digestion, mental clarity, and more. When you understand how foods affect your health, it allows you to make better, conscious decisions about what you eat. Awareness is the first step in any lasting behavior change. You can track your calories/points all you want, but if you only look at quantity while ignoring quality or its effects on your body, how will you ever expect to continue making better choices?

There are certain foods that fuel your body and others that sabotage your health leading to disease. Learning which is which now, could save your life a few years from now from cancer, heart disease or living with fibromyalgia or MS.

Last step, but absolutely NOT the least…Get 5 hugs per day. Physical interaction is a key to happiness. This goes back to infancy. There have been numerous studies that have documented babies that are held are not only emotionally healthier but physically too. Think about how good a bear hug feels, especially after a bad day. Newer research is also stating that as an adult if you get 5 hugs a day, you’ll live 5 years longer. Isn’t it worth wrapping your arms around someone you care about each day to make sure you both live an extra 5 years? (Important warning: If you love them and they have filed a restraining order against you, I would advise finding someone else to hug.  J)

Truly though, our body needs and craves human contact, whether we are a “huggy” person or not.  If you are not a “huggy” person, I would start with one hug per day and build from there.

Remember, we are not looking for perfection, just progress. You have the power to dictate if you will live a full life feeling fantastic each and every day or drag yourself through life drained and feeling like crap. It is not the big things that decide this. It is all of the tiny decisions we make each and every day that determine our future.

I hope yours is amazing and you choose to be present, living life to the fullest!