Part 2: Stay Present

Stay present in the moment. Making a solid commitment to remain present. This is important and can make you see all the positives in the moment. It helps you let go of some of the things that you may be holding onto. It can take you away from shining moments and distract you. This can make anyone in your presence feel like they don't matter.

2. Set aside a block of time every day to meditate and focus only on relaxing into the present moment. This can happen when I get to school early everyday. Can help set the tone for the day. Even once the students come back from lunch, we can do this as a class to recollect ourselves. Be a nice halfway mark strategy. It can help not only myself but my students to be more mindful about where we are and how we are feeling in the moment.

I haven't heard of Jack Canfield before but this was a great 10 minute clip.  I loved all 6 tips that he gave but the 2 that resonated with me the most were: #1- be aware of your thoughts.  and #2- make a conscious effort to enjoy where you are, no matter where that is.  With my yoga training and other PD courses that I've been taking, I've tried to be more in the moment, to be aware of not only how my body is feeling but where my thoughts are.  I am a multitasker, to a fault.  So when I'm doing a PD class, or a zoom meeting, I will remind myself to stay in the moment, to be present.  If I don't,  my thoughts begin to wander and I'm not taking in what is going on right now in the moment.  As far as the 2nd tip- I have found that this relaxes me in situations that could be stressful, but that I also have no control over.  Last night while driving to a comedy show, a rock hit my windshield resulting in a nice chip and microfractures.  Initially, I was shocked and upset, but then I had to let it go.  There was nothing that I could do in that moment and I can't reverse time so I had to accept that I would just have to call the car insurance company tomorrow to have it fixed.  I moved on and was thinking about the show I was headed to.  It has taken time for me to let some of these kind of things go.  It's healthier for me rather than ruminating on something that I can't change.  

2 things that resonated with me, taking time out of your day to be "present" and striking up a conversation with a stranger, or don't "wait" in line. Sometimes, for myself, I need to catch myself and get to the present moment. I do this especially with my husband, where the relationship is not so great. He is always stuck in the past, complaining about the past, punishing me for past things, giving a very negative vibe. There have been times I yell and just say STOP with the past! 
I have also noticed, a lot of strangers have a tendency to talk to me! Not sure if I give that vibe, or my empathic ways, but no matter where I am at, strangers will just randomly talk to me!

Jack Canfield's talk on living in the present was helpful to me as someone who often lives in the past or future. One of his tips was to make a solid commitment to choose to live in the present. He said that you can do this by looking into your eyes in the mirror at the beginning of each day to affirm your commitment to being present. He also recommended making a system to remind yourself throughout the day for example an alarm going off every 30 minutes reminding you to be in the moment and be aware of your physicality and your breath. The final part of this tip he gave was to set aside a block of time every day to just be in the moment and meditate.

1. Forget to enjoy the present moment - sometimes I do this and take things for granted!
2. Become aware of your thoughts - I definitely hold things in and becoming more aware will help me as a teacher for sure

Remaining present is to give your full attention to the people and tasks that you are engaged with throughout your day. When you catch yourself starting to drift away to all of the things that you need to get done or are responsible for in the long term, stop! Use techniques to bring you back to the present - a series of deep breaths, relax the tension in your body. Find joy and remind yourself of the importance of what you are doing at present to help stay focused. Set aside time to meditate and relax throughout the day. Reminders, like an alarm on your phone can be used until you establish a routine.

Tips for staying in the present by jack Canfield
two of the tips I liked best were 
Become aware of your thoughts:  Taking the time to rethink and focus on the positive of the situation.  I think this is especially important when you are in a position of where you cannot do what you feel needs to be done.  taking a moment to realize what is good in the situation, being grateful for the positive things and acknowledging those things.  

Be more aware of your surroundings-  this goes back to mindfulness for me.  Taking the time to appreciate the little things.  See the sunrise, the birds, the smiles, the kind jesters of other.  Feel the rain, gentle breeze, sun, and the emotions that come with it.  Smell the air, the flowers, the food cooking.  Truly appreciating what is there in that moment and using it to relax you.

We should all be aware of signs that our body is telling us what we need. A day of yawning and brain fog would require more sleep. Feeling exhausted all day might require you to change up a few things to feel better. Working out or yoga and simple exercises would help to release endorphins to make you more alert and awake. We often feel depleted during the day but helping out our body with healthy choices and changes can help. The other tip that resonates with me is making a solid commitment to remain present. We need to stop stressing about what was or what will be. We should fully appreciate the present moment in order to enjoy it more. People spend so much time focusing energy on what already happened. The best you can do is learn from it, know it can't be changed and move on. Otherwise it will drag us down and add to the exhaustion during the day.

Jack Canfield's tips for staying in the present include making a solid commitment to remain present and to develop a system for reminding yourself to become throughout the day.  He states that we need to tell ourselves daily to stay present.  We need to choose to be aware of our breathing and the tasks ahead for the day.  Another tip was to develop a system for reminding yourself to become present throughout the day.  He suggested setting a reminder or alarm on our phone, stretching, drinking water, taking deep breaths, and unclenching our jaw.  We need to become aware of our body and the physical sensations of our bodies.  Jack stated that all we are able to experience is the present, not the past or future.  This will bring joy and fulfilling days.  

The first tip that resonated with me is "become aware of your thoughts".  I worry a lot...about everything.  When I start to become overwhelmed, I will take a moment to push the negative thoughts away and focus on one or two positive thoughts.  I think as a teacher, we pile on stress after stress and don't take the time to focus on the little things.  My daughter learned a similar strategy in therapy.  Take out piece of paper when you are feeling overwhelmed.  Divide the paper into three columns:  what is the negative thought, why is it unhelpful, how can you replace the thought.  The second tip "make a conscious effort to enjoy where you are, no matter where that is.  My mother would always tell me growing up "don't wish your life away".  This statement is right in line with jack's tip.  I will make an effort to stop "waiting" for the next great thing and instead be present in the moment and appreciate what I do have, not what is to come.