Here is a little acronym that a friend of mine shared with me recently to remind us of essential components for managing our day-to-day life.
P – Be present. Do your best to avoid being caught up in the past, worrying or obsessively anticipating the future. You have heard me refer to these habits as the thief of the past and the thief of the future. They will rob you of your gift of the current moment: your present.
L – listen. Listen to people you are communicating with. Listen to what is happening around you. Practice mindful awareness. Avoid “sleepwalking” through your day or being constantly distracted; caught up in your phone for example.
A – Attitude. Practice and cultivate a positive, cheerful and productive attitude throughout the day. Do your best to resist the ever-present pull toward focusing on the negative; our brains are literally hardwired toward focusing on the negative as a result of centuries of survival programming. This too takes mindful practice.
You – Be selfish. Sounds bad, right? Not really. I use the term enlightened selfishness. If you fail to take care of yourself, not only will you suffer but those who depend on you will likely suffer as well. So, what are you doing today to take care of yourself? Are you making healthy dietary choices? Are you taking time to do things that make you happy? Are you being mindful of the return on your investment of your precious time and energy?
So with this simple tool to remind you to stay focused, balanced, centered, and positive, go play. Have fun!
No comments yet.