Practice Makes Present
We’ve all heard the phrase “practice makes perfect,” right? (Although “perfect” is a pretty high standard and perhaps it should be “practice makes better and better and better…”.) Something we all need more practice in is being present.
Being present is a topic that is heavy on my heart – it is the first topic of my Unstoppable Year course, and we’ve talked about it a couple times recently in Meet Kate and Flipping FOMO . Here is a little more encouragement for you regarding being more present in your own life.
Like most good and important things, being present takes practice and discipline. If you feel distracted in this world of fast-paced living and attention grabbing technology you might need to practice living differently, practice being present.
If you feel distracted in this world of fast-paced living and attention grabbing technology you might need to practice living differently, practice being present.
Start with baby steps. One of the biggest culprits in keeping us from being present is that smart-phone. Try practicing periods of rest from your phone, or technology in general.
Here are some ideas…
– Choose one hour of each day to put your phone away.
– Try one day of the week that will be low-tech, or even a complete rest from technology.
– Create a “time out” space for your phone (a basket, a top shelf, a drawer). Out of sight, out of mind.
– Practice keeping your phone off a table when you are with other people and work on eye contact.
– Turn off notifications, or leave your phone on Do Not Disturb so those bells and dings don’t change your focus.
– Remove a social media app from your phone for a week, or a month. See how you feel.
– Play and adventure. It is hard to be distracted by our phones when we are in the woods, the water, camping off the grid, or having fun on something with wheels.
– Don’t be a distracted driver, or passenger. Enjoy your car time alone, or with loved ones. Keep the drivers around you safe and commit to hands free driving.
– Last but not least, follow your joy. The things that light you up the most will hold your attention and you won’t miss your phone. Focus on the people and activities that make your heart glad and be present in those spaces as much as possible.
The idea is to play around with what works for you, to practice, to retrain yourself. Build in rhythms of rest from the things that distract you from embracing and enjoying the life you are living.
Practice makes present.