Ok so I would love for us to take a moment and travel down memory lane together all the
way back to our childhood years. I'm talking little to no responsibility,
running and tumbling in the grass, tag you're it, years!
Great times right, fun times for sure. Full of enjoyment, endless energy it seems, laughter,
friends. Maybe a crush or two, but speaking of tag this conversation is starting to remind me
of some of my favorite childhood games. Things like Capture The Flag, Simon Says, Red Rover,
there's so many right and of course Tag. However there's one game in particular that
I want to highlight because I really feel like it ties almost seamlessly into today's topic
of being present in life and that game is Red Light, Green Light. Another classic and favorite
of mine growing up but really quick comment below your favorite childhood game I'm curious to know.
Alright so why in the world am I drawing a connection between the game
Red Light, Green Light and the idea of being present in life. Let me explain.
See the objective or rules of this game in short are simple right we have one player or person who
is the traffic light and they stand on one side of the room or field and then all of the other
players stand on the other side of the field or the room right. Now when the traffic light
player yells "green light" the goal is to run as fast as you can to get as close as you can to the
traffic light, however when a traffic light player yells "red light" you have to stop.Freeze in place
right and if anyone is spotted moving they have to go back and start over at the beginning.
Now why is this important or relevant to being present. Check this out, see being present in life
means taking advantage of the red light moments in life. Let that sink in for a second
because in the context of this game, "green light" is something we all look forward to hearing.
Green light means go, hit the gas and run as fast as you can right and let's be honest deep down
as kids we all wanted to be the first one to reach the traffic light. I know I definitely
was right however in the context of life this green light first mentality may not be the best
long-term strategy. What I mean by that is yes forward-moving progress in life is good, but a go
go go go all the time is not. See growing through life requires us to slow down just as often as we
accelerate, in other words we shouldn't live life afraid to hit pause for a minute or two
to freeze. To embrace and take advantage of those red light moments in life.
Be aware. A big part of being present in life is having the ability to be aware of when we are
and when we aren't being present a simple way of doing or managing this
is asking ourselves questions like am I being present in this moment am I consciously choosing
to focus on what's important right now on the things that matter on the people or relationships
that matter. See without awareness, especially self-awareness, by default we then lack a complete
understanding of ourselves. Not to be confused with knowing ourselves right because in my opinion
these two things are completely different because sure I know who I am right. I know my values,
I know my beliefs, etc. but do I also understand why. Am I fully aware of my
weaknesses as well as my strengths. Am I fully aware of my shortcomings when it
comes to being present in life or lacking presence. Just something to think about.
Feel your feelings. Now this one is for the certified overthinker like me or for the person
who just doesn't like to deal with feelings. Now if that's you I want to encourage you to
feel your feelings. Now what do I mean by that. Instead of trying to change how you feel or avoid
what you feel. I want these words I'm sharing it to instead push you towards your feelings so you
can start observing them but also understand them. By doing that not only are you being present in
those feelings but you're also forced in a way to deal with them. I like to say that the best
way to deal with how you feel, is to deal with how you feel. Seek solutions right and personally
I've been doing this using a simple brain dump exercise. All I do is take everything my mind has
clinched his hands around and dump it and then I sort and organize it in a way that helps me manage
and deal with those thoughts and feelings. Now I've talked about this exercise in more detail
in my last few videos so I'll leave a link to those down below if you're curious also
in those videos I give away my free brain dump template so you may find that useful as well.
Reduce distractions. Now this is simple because many of us
if we're being honest are not present in life like we should be
because we're distracted. Our focus is stuck in a tug of war between things and
moments that actually matter and things and moments that we perceive to be important.
We've lost touch with some of the elements that make being human and living life beautiful. Just
think for a second how much life you've missed personally due to you not being present. Kids,
family, relationships, friendships, executing on an idea or creative business venture you've
had but consciously you weren't present enough to focus or enjoy those moments.
See deep down we know what it means to be present in life
but we've allowed distractions in life to take over to create roadblocks and hurdles that can
easily be avoided with things like being aware or taking advantage of red light moments in life
or simply developing consistent routines and rituals that work for us as individuals.
Routines and rituals. Now I do believe that it's important to create a daily or morning
routine of some sort for ourselves right, it's an easy way to build focus in a sense
of being present in life but the "perfect" daily or morning routine doesn't exist.
However the right routine for you does and I really want to stress this because I don't
want to see you fall for the trap of seeking a perfect routine. What works for me, may not work
for you. Tailor your routine and rituals for your life, your habits and your goals period.
Find balance. I want you to imagine yourself for a second walking across a tightrope. Now in that
moment you're focusing on a few different things, breathing obviously, focus as well
but also balance because without balance you'll start to sway and stumble and eventually fall
off of the tightrope. See the reason I'm bringing this up is because sometimes when
we think about balance we equate that with some sort of physical skill like walking a tightrope
or standing on one leg and because of that sometimes we lose sight of general life balance.
For example, work and personal life balance. Now this skill just like walking a tightrope
isn't necessarily easy to master right but it plays a very important role in being
present in life especially during those moments that really matter.
Journal and reflect. As a writer myself I have to mention the
idea of journaling and self-reflection. These two ideas have done wonders for me
in my life and it's actually how I found my interest in poetry, but to keep this simple,
journaling and reflection gives us an opportunity to write down things we're grateful for,
moments we appreciate, the feelings we have, things we can personally improve on and the
list can go on. It also serves as a tool to help us better understand where we are
mentally and how that affects our ability to be present in life the way we want to be present.
So if you're not journaling or reflecting throughout the day I highly recommend you
give it a try. See remember this, present moments in life lead to happiness, growth, joy and love.
I really hope you found this video valuable. I hope it spoke to you and resonated with you
and if it did give it a thumbs up for me. If you're new here hit that subscribe
button down below so you can join this community and grow with all of us here.
Always remember to stay true to you and I'll see you the next one.
Peace!