living in the present moment

Stop striving. Start thriving. “Just a little bit further,” my brother kept telling me. I was out of shape, trying to get to the top of the mountain. Exhausted, I was just trudging along.

My brother, leading the way, kept reassuring me that it was just a few more switchbacks. . . and then, the summit! It would be a beautiful view, he assured me.

Many promises of “just a little further” stacked up. It was always “just a little further.” I grumbled about understanding the Israelites as they followed Moses: “Just a little longer in the desert, I promise!”

The trail was passing me by, but I was not noticing. I just kept trudging along. I missed the rhododendrons, the brook, the wildlife. . . pretty much everything along the way. All to get to the summit.

We made it, but I missed the real treat: the journey up.

Don’t we all do that? We believe that life will start when we get to _________ (fill in the blank). When we get our degree, when we get some money, when we get the promotion/job/career, when we have a child, when the kids are gone, when the house is paid off, etc., etc., etc.

The problem is, that point is usually just beyond where we are. And in the process, we miss where we are. We await the future and forget the present (“present” is my word for 2015).

STOP!

Stop striving. Stop waiting for life to begin “when . . . .”

START!

Start thriving. Start enjoying right now. Start enjoying the process, on the way to what will be.

Join me in this week’s Thriveology Podcast, as I explore how to stop striving and how to start thriving.

(And here is the link to how to support the podcast.)

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Last week, I talked about my 1 word resolution.

This week, I want to tell you about my word. See if it applies to you, too!

I often find myself impatient, caught in my thoughts, distracted by something else, or plagued by “What if?”, “If only. . .”, “Why?”, “When. . .”, or “I should. . . .”

Oh, I know better. But I still fall into those traps. I let those thoughts PULL me away from the present moment.

But I also know this:

This moment is all we have. Be in it!

This moment passes. Just like yesterday passed. The next moment may or may not come.

Yet, we live much of our lives in thoughts of what happened, and fears of what might come. Our thoughts of “what happened” are really our perceptions of what happened. Our fears about what might come are not preparations — they are just fears.

We all exist in the present, between what was and what will be. But we live in the only two time-frames of which we have no control. We can’t change what happened, and we can’t know what will happen.

Which brings me to my word: Present.

My task this year: to be more present. To be less distracted. To live in the moment I am in. . . as much as possible.

When I fail? That’s OK. That moment passes, and I have a new opportunity to live in the present.

How about you? Will you join me in the present?

Listen in as I admit my growing edge, and tell you how I will be more present.

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Stop Striving. Start Thriving.

My Word for 2015: Present