Positivity: Living in the Now
Living in the now can be as positive an experience as you make it.
Living in the now allows us to only be focused on our immediate needs, our immediate surroundings, and ourselves. Living in the now lets us ultimately focus on pretty much anything and everything we want to.
What’s the difference? When you live in the past you can really easily get caught up in all the “what ifs”. What if I had done ‘x’? What if I had participated in ‘y’? Some people get so caught up in nostalgic recollections of the past that they want to “go back” to it – except, of course, it was not so great as our off-colored perception recalls it to be.
When you live in the future you open yourself up to torrents of anxiety. More “what ifs”, but about possibilities as-yet unrealized. What if that jerk wins the presidency? What if I can’t fix this problem? What if I get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow? Some people get so caught up in worry about the future, they completely miss out on the now, and they disempower themselves thoroughly.
Living in the now lets us focus on this moment, right here, right now. When we are in the present, and dealing with our immediate circumstances we are ultimately empowered to choose positive over negative, to maintain the focus we need to create and do and achieve.
There is value in the past and in thinking about the future. The past teaches us lessons, good and bad, that ultimately shape us into who we are. The future gives us goals to achieve and places to go from where we are now, because life is always in motion.
The trouble is when we get too focused backwards or forwards, and the now slips into unimportance. Right at this moment will only be at this moment, and then it will be gone. When we choose how this moment of our life will be, when we live in the now and strive to experience what is happening to us we take the wheel and drive the car where we want it to go.
This can be challenging. Our society is obsessed with “bringing back” the past and “forging ahead” to the future. When people live in the now, present and breathing at this moment they empower themselves. When we empower ourselves those who strive to claim all the power they can over us fear they will lose their control.
Living in the now means you choose this immediate experience. That can be completely positive, because it’s for you to make it so.
Finding positivity is not hard, it just requires action. Knowing that living in the now allows us to directly control our thoughts and feelings, we can choose to find positivity right now. When we ultimately are in the present moment, we are in control of what we are feeling and doing, and of course in this way we empower ourselves. When we feel empowered, we often spread that feeling to others around us, and as such can build more positive feelings. We can use the positive feelings this generates to dissolve negative feelings. When we take away negative feelings, we open up space to let in positive feelings, and that is something we can be grateful for. Gratitude leads to happiness. Happiness is the ultimate positive attitude. Positive attitude begets positive energy, and that is always a good thing.
This is the one hundred twenty third entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog and spread the positivity.
In relation to Positivity, check out my Five Easy Steps to Change the World for the Better.
