What is Being Present in the Moment?

From Cliché Feel-Good Statement to Real Life Practice

What if… What if… these two words often plague our mind, distracting us from the present moment.  A recent client call reminded me of a hard-won lesson from when I was being coached years ago.  My coach strongly suggested, bullied even, that I start a daily planning practice.  The benefits of that practice made a lesson I’ve heard one thousand times finally click into place when I was kayaking down the bayou with my darlin’ wife.  

Be Present in the Moment!  Focus on the Now!  Practice Mindfulness!  The buzzwords and feel-good phrases flying around the personal development world make me wanna roll my eyes up in my head far enough to make a valley girl jealous.  What do you mean, be present?  I’m here, aren’t I?  

In the original Kung Fu Panda movie, Master Oogway is speaking with Po about the gift of the present.  The first time I watched it, it sounded good, but I didn’t get it at the deeper level I do now.  Here is a link to that clip. 

Quit, don't quit... noodles... don't noodles

Do you remember young life, carelessly playing with friends, unworried thanks to the lower quantity of responsibilities?  It was easy to keep everything in our heads without fear of forgetting.  

Years later, the swirl of tasks that need attention is enough to overwhelm even the most keen memory.  Double booking appointments, forgetting which bills are due when, forgetting whose birthday is coming up, and delivering promised work late happened to me on a regular basis. Memory is fallible, and to keep it all in our head is certain to cause mistakes.  It’s those mistakes that cause us to lose trust in ourselves, which leads to worry about the future.  That worry about the future keeps our brain focused on the future, instead of focusing on what is right in front of us. 

 Months before the bayou trip, I started a daily planning practice where I would review all my tasks that needed attention and schedule when each task would be tended to.  On that day traveling down the bayou among the gators, my mind drifted to tasks and responsibilities not yet completed.  Within seconds, I trusted my system to take care of those responsibilities and dismissed the worrying.  

Instead of sorting out my to-do’s in my head, me and my darlin’ just had fun cracking jokes while drifting down the bayou.  That trip is when I deeply understood what the phrase, “be present in the moment,” actually means.  To me it means being free from worry, guilt, or the need to get somewhere different so I can finally be happy.  It means to be happy right now and enjoy what is right in front of me.

The moment a piece of learning finally clicks into place is exhilarating.  I am forever in awe of how much better life is when I am focused on the here and now instead of anxiously attempting to predict every potential future, or ruminating on how the past could have gone better.  The catch is, I can’t be present unless I know I’ve done the work necessary to be responsible for my life.  I need to trust that I have my shit together.

We build trust in ourselves by having systems in place to take care of our responsibilities.  Trust in your system can give you the faith to let go of that worry, which for me is the only way to enjoy life right now.

I don’t believe being present in the moment is as easy as deciding to be present and letting go, like many self-help gurus would lead you to believe.  It takes the discipline of using a system to trust that system will catch what needs to be caught, when it needs to be caught.  To let go and stop worrying is not only a pipe dream, it would be irresponsible of us to forget about paying our bills, let the pets and kids fend for themselves, or let our automobiles go unmaintained.  

To be responsible is to be present.  Being responsible allows us to have faith everything we have set into motion is going to work out. When we are responsible, we have trust in ourselves to handle whatever eventuality that shows up. 

Thanks so much for reading!  To find out more about me and my work, check out my website at leeasmart.com

For more about the systems I use to upgrade my level of responsibility so I can stop worrying, stay tuned for my upcoming Anti-Grind Self Mastery program.