It’s January 2020 and I am sitting here on the cusp of big change.
Next week, I’ll begin a new full-time job as a reading specialist teacher at the local elementary school AND my first semester of graduate school for school counseling. After the last few years of running my own freelance writing and editing business, this change in schedule and pace seems rather overwhelming.
But does it have to be?
I’ve recently been reading (or attempting to) The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The whole book is dedicated to explaining the beauty of living in the present moment and observing yourself when you start to live in the past or the future. He calls this “psychological time.” He explains that we are never EVER actually living in the past or in the future. We only live in the NOW. And in the now, we never have problems, we never worry or feel guilty or feel fearful…we just are.
This is a bit of a tough concept for modern humans to understand. In my home country of the US, we live the opposite of this. We are constantly calculating how to get to the next best thing. We are overanalyzing our past and living in guilt and regret. We are always trying to be better, faster, stronger, richer, skinnier, healthier than we are right now. But what’s the point? We don’t live in the future. We don’t live in the past. We live NOW and only now.
So, as I begin this new chapter of my life and take on these new challenges, I’m choosing to live with less time and more life.
I used to (and still admittedly do) get caught up in worry. In planning for every possible outcome. In figuring out every solution about how to have a better future. In feeling frustrated about how much time things take or dreading when I have to get started with my next activity. But I choose to let that all go.
I choose to live NOW. To not worry about what will happen in 5 years, 1 year, 3 months, 1 week, 2 minutes. To live in the present and appreciate everything I am experiencing. To stop worrying so much about time and age and status. To trust that if I live in the moment, what is needed will come and what is required will be done at the right time.
Here are my tips, with some great help from Eckhart Tolle’s brilliant mind, on how to live with less time, and more life:
1) Know the Difference Between Clock Time and Psychological Time
This is key…because in the modern world we have to abide by clock time in some cases. You have to get to work, you have to go to the store when it is open for business, you have to pay bills on time. This is all clock time. However, we DON’T need psychological time. This means the past or the future. By being mindful and staying present in the NOW, you don’t need the guilt of the past or the stress of the future. If you catch yourself worrying about these things, mindfully watch yourself and bring yourself back to appreciating what you are doing right now.
2) Create Stress-Free Systems
A lot of the time we live in the past or the future because we are disorganized and/or overwhelmed. Eliminate some of this “need” to worry of the past or future by creating simple stress-free systems in your life. Grocery shop one day a week so you always know you will have food on hand. Wash your clothes on a certain day so you always know they will be clean and when you are cleaning them. Create morning and evening routines so you can learn to enjoy the acts you are completing and not worry about what is coming next.
3) Remember the Power of Focus
One thing at a time. That’s a mantra worth remembering. You can only be doing one thing in the present moment. You can’t be doing the laundry at home that is piling up, you can’t be scheduling appointments and completing homework and making dinner all at once. You can only truly do one thing well at one time. So focus on that. Do it well. And then move on to the next thing. The key is learning to enjoy and savor what you are doing at the moment without worrying about what is coming next. Everything will get done. And it will get done with more quality and joy if you focus on the NOW.
4) Be Kind to Yourself
You are human. You are one (amazing) person on this earth. You may not get everything you hoped to get done, done each day. And that’s okay. Be kind to yourself. Being hard on yourself about what you didn’t get done is a form of living in the past. You can’t change that. You can only control and live in the now. Focus on appreciating the breath you are taking, enjoying the task you are working on, or savoring the feel of your clothes against your skin. Everything you need to do will get done in time, and guilt won’t help you get there.
2020 is a big year and the start to a big decade for many of us. Though that may seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to. Learn to focus on the moment, on the NOW. Enjoy this and your life will be filled with more joy and less worry.
I am ready to bring this new perspective into everything I am beginning. To truly enjoy the process of learning and growing as a human. To not worry so much of the time but to enjoy the life I am lucky enough to live. To appreciate the challenges, the beauty, the NOWness of all of it. Will you try too?
This year I’ll be doing periodic updates about my experience embracing the NOW. I’d love to hear how it is changing your life, too.
