Letâs change your life in two words. And I donât mean abracadabra.
These arenât magic words that you just say once and POOF! you have a completely different life. But if you embody these words, if you actually put them into practice in your life, over time, you will be happier. Over time, you will be a stronger, more resilient person whoâs less anxious and more connected to your life. Are you ready? Here they are:
Just this.
Just this, as in right here, right now. Living in the present moment is so powerful. And to demonstrate this truth, letâs explore a worst-case scenario.
Letâs take the worst day⊠You just got fired. You walked into a job that you love, one that you enjoy, that brings you fulfillment and a nice paycheck, and you got fired. For no clear or, as best you can tell, justifiable reason. They just said youâre gone. Youâre out of here. And when you text your significant other, âHey, bad news. We have something to talk about,â they text back,
âYeah, well, if thatâs true, weâre done.â
Now youâve lost your job and your partner. And when you try to leave to go home, with plans to binge-watch something and jump into the fridge and eat whatever you can find, your car wonât start. Your vehicle is broken down. You call the mechanic and explain the issue, and they say, âWell, that doesnât sound good at all. Youâll need a tow.â And so now youâre stuck at a job you no longer have, without a partner to talk it through with, and life just sucks today.
When you finally make it home, you open the fridge and realize thereâs not much food. Suddenly, youâre hit by the fact that not only is there not much food in the fridge now, but soon thereâll be none because you donât have a job and groceries arenât cheap, especially these days.
Thatâs rough. But consider thisâŠ
In that moment, in that exact moment, are you OK?
Sure, if you play it all the way out, and you donât end up getting more food in the fridge, and no one gives you food, you could starve. And if no one gives you an opportunity to work, without a job to put a roof over your head, eventually, you might lose that house. And that partner who left might not ever come back, even if you wanted them to. And you might not ever find someone else.
All those things are possibleâand even worse. But right now (in this imaginary scenario), youâre not starving. Right now, youâre not destitute. You still have clothes on your back. You still have breath flowing in and out of your lungs.
Right now, in this present moment, somehow, if youâre able to be here, youâre OK.
And the truth is, weâre almost always OK in the present moment. Are there people suffering? No doubt about it. There are people in excruciating suffering right now. But Iâm guessing itâs not you because youâre reading this.
Whenever you feel anxious, lost, stuck, hopeless, fearful, or upset, remember: just this.
Get a Daily Mindshift every morning in your inbox!
Know someone who might enjoy this?