Want to Feel Less Busy and More Present? Do This.

By Courtney Elmer

Recently, someone asked me how I have so much energy with a baby boy as busy as my son AJ. She said my positive energy was rubbing off on her, and how much lighter she felt just talking to me.  

I was tempted to brush off the compliment with an “oh he slept well last night …” or “I’m just blessed that despite his busy-ness, he IS a good baby …”

But instead, I told her the truth.

“I’m running on 5.5 hours of sleep,” I said, “and I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I don’t really know how I have the energy I have sometimes.”

I thought about it for another second, and then said, “I think a lot of it comes from making the effort to be fully present wherever I am.  It’s is something I’ve worked hard at and am by no means perfect at, but it’s something I practice as often as I think about it. I simply do my best.”

I know, I know.

We hear it all the time: “Be fully present! Live in the moment! Focus on the here and now!” (And I don’t know about you, but for me, I notice that these voices in my head scream even louder when I’ve got this sweet baby boy in front of me and catch myself thinking about all the other things.)

So, how do you be fully present with all the things going on inside your head all the time?  That is the million-dollar question.

  I can’t give you a straight answer or tell you that I have it all figured out. But, what I can tell you is what I know works for me: Focus on what’s in front of you, right now. 
  What IS in front of you?

Focus on that. 

… Not all 14 tabs you have open in your browser, just the one in front of you.

… Not the 32 notifications and the 4 messages and the15 emails that you wake up to some mornings – just the one that’s in front of you.

… Not the laundry and the dinner and the cleaning up and all the to-do’s for tomorrow – just the thing in front of you right now.

THIS is how you can start staying fully present in the moment, wherever you are.

  So, what’s in front of you right now?  
What will you choose to focus on … right now?