Month: April 2023

Have you ever felt like you needed a change of perspective to sharpen things up a bit, keep moving forward towards your goals?

It’s all too easy to get caught up in routine; self-imposed or otherwise. Constant pressure at work can make for long days and even weekends. Focusing on a new skill or habit we want to reinforce can easily lead to neglect or lack of attention in other areas.

Without ever meaning to, we can quickly lose sight of the big picture; only to realise some way down the road that it no longer feels like we are working towards our vision for the future.

I came across this quote from the Dalai Lama recently; asked what surprised him most about humanity, he answered:

Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present: the result being that he does not really live in the present or the future: he lives as if he is never going to die, then dies having never really lived.

A sobering thought! But it’s not a new affliction of the modern age: I was immediately struck by the underlying similarities with the quote from Henry David Thoureau’s ‘Walden’, famously used in the film ‘Dead Poets Society’:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…

Be In The Moment…

This is perhaps where the concept of mindfulness can be such a powerful ally for us; the thought that we should focus our full attention on the present moment, because it is all we ever truly experience. If you think about it, everything else that takes our attention is a memory (good or bad) of the past or a desire (or fear) for the future.

I would never suggest that we shouldn’t reflect on the past in order to learn from our experiences; and we should definitely have an eye to the future, to know where it is we want to get to. But not to the extent that we fail to appreciate the ‘now’.

As with so many things, it’s a matter of balance; of not obsessing over the past, or an idea of the future. Through the practice of mindfulness meditation, and applying its principles to our daily lives, we become more able to pay attention to the detail of each thing we are doing or experiencing . This in turn brings an immediate sense of fulfilment and satisfaction; we are fully participating in our lives rather than waiting for the day it can start or bemoaning that the best of it has already gone.

Each moment is precious and unique, and you will only get it once. So try to appreciate it for what it is, and look for the beauty in it; you’ll be surprised how much there is if you really pay attention.

So How Does That Help With My Goals?

I’m glad you asked. It might seem a bit abstract at first, but with practice, mindfulness increases your awareness of everything you do. In time, you will instinctively notice when things are out of balance; too much of this, too little of that. You will be able to take corrective measures sooner in order to get back on track.

And there’s another benefit; you should start to see better results in both work and personal projects. Improved focus and attention will always pay dividends in any task; you might find yourself not just back on track, but making up lost ground. Those plans for the future may just start to seem more achievable.

Remember…

It’s good to know where you’ve come from, and be clear where you’re heading. But in the end life is a journey rather than just a series of desired destinations; and surely we owe it to ourselves to make the best of it?