Some of my clients seem to be stuck in the past. Instead of living in the moment they dwell on the past. They may have regrets about things they did, or did not do and how their lives would have been different if they had done these things. Another issue that I find is less common, is worrying about the future. The future is uncertain so people fret about what might happen in their lives. The fact of the matter is the only thing that really matters is the present moment. I really work hard on getting my clients to understand this concept. Something that I find really helps is explaining that the past is for learning from, and the future is for hope Beyond that, thinking about either one too much is detrimental. The best way to live you your life is to enjoy what is going on as it is happening. In the modern fast pace world, this can be somewhat challenging to do. However, it is not impossible. Just like everything else, it takes practice. One of the things I do with my clients is to I have them repeat affirmations out loud. An affirmation is a positive statement or possibly a negative statement asking for exactly what it is you want. For example, I told my smokers to repeat such things as, “ I hate cigarettes!” And “ cigarettes are disgusting!” And “I will never smoke another cigarette as long as I live!”
By repeating statements out loud, we can basically program our brains to give us exactly what we want. This is another way of living in the moment.