302: The Gift of Being FULLY Present - The first question

I’m Mitch Matthews and this episode is kicking off a 4 part series called, “The gift of being fully present.” These will be four short episodes… all under 15 minutes… specifically designed to help you to live more fully in the PRESENT during this holiday season.  It is so important… especially THIS year.  I mean… seriously… with 2020… it would be soooooo easy to be caught up in the past… of visions of what could have been.  And with all the potential questions about the future… we could get buried in the worries and anxiousness of what could be around the corner for 2021 and beyond!  But as you know… if you’re a DREAM THINK DOER… I believe that although this year has been a wild ride… I believe the people who are INTENTIONAL with their thoughts… as well as their habits and their resulting actions… we can even make a year like 2020… an amazing year!  More importantly… if we do this right… we can fully live in the moment and soak up incredible experiences over this holiday season.  That means loving well, bringing excellence, having fun, taking action as well as resting and finding a sense of peace… even amid all the craziness of this year!  Plus… I think if we get our thought life right… we can make 2021 our best year yet… no matter what kind of curve balls get thrown our way.  I know… it’s a tall order… especially with the goal of keeping each episode under 15 minutes… but we’re going to do it… AND we’re going to have some fun as we do this thing too.  So let’s get to this!

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

But let’s talk about being present… fully present.  Being fully IN THE MOMENT.  We know this is important.  Heck… this is something that’s been written about...  talked about… and encouraged for centuries! 

Here are some examples:

“Children have neither a past nor a future. 

Thus they enjoy the present, which seldom happens to us.”

- Jean de La Bruyère

 

“Live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, 

find eternity in each moment.” 

-  Henry David Thoreau

 

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow,

so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”  

- Dalai Lama

 

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. 

Each moment is all we need, not more.” - Mother Teresa

 

Scripture: 

Philippians 4:6-7  

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”

 

 “Wherever you are, be all there.” -Jim Elliot

 

So… yes… being fully present has been talked about for a very long time… and that makes sense… right?  Because when we’re able to achieve it… life is richer.

We’ve all had those moments of being FULLY PRESENT.  Maybe it was intentional.  Maybe it was the result of really working hard to be IN THE MOMENT… and you were able to have this amazing conversation with a friend.  Or maybe it was because of an event.  Maybe it was a vacation… or a tough life experience… and you found yourself caught up in the jaw dropping beauty of a sunrise… or the simple beauty of changing leaves on a tree.  Or… a holiday… when you had one of those moments that you cherish… not because it was Hallmark Christmas Movie perfect… but because it was messy… and unorganized… but you were able to connect with someone and it was something you’ll never forget.

But it’s those moments that can be amazing!

Now… in our NEXT episode, we’re going to cover some quick brain science to talk about two competing components of your brain that are fighting FOR and AGAINST you living in the moment… and more importantly… we’ll learn a specific strategy for winning that battle.  BUT for this episode… I’m going to give you a question.

This simple question has been a game-changer for me as of late.

 

The question is… 

“What am I doing… right now?”

Okay… okay… I’m guessing that might feel a little underwhelming… but stick with me.  Here’s a story… to help set up the question.  A few months ago… I was walking down some stairs and I almost tripped and fell.  Not because there was something on the stairs.  Not because there was a puddle of water that I slipped on… Not because someone pushed me.  Nope.  I almost fell… because I was walking down the stairs AND checking my email on my phone.

Yeah… at the same time.

Now… I’m grateful to say I didn’t get hurt and luckily no one was around to see it happen.  But that was a serious wake-up call.

I had a problem.  I mean… I’m busy and my schedule is full… but somehow I’d convinced myself that checking my email was as important as walking down a flight of stairs.  Hello?  In what world does that make sense?  And hey… we’re all about being real here… so I’m guessing you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Whether it’s checking email while on a staircase, or… checking texts while you’re in a meeting… or… checking your social media feed in the weirdest places like the bathroom or in the kitchen when you’re with your family or friends.   

This isn’t new… and, I’m not saying that email is bad… or texting is bad… or social media is bad… in and of itself.  BUT when it pulls us away from what we WANT and… or… what we NEED to be doing… it’s something we need to get intentional about.

So... with this episode… I just wanted to get you this question to experiment with.

The question is… 

“What am I doing… right now?”

 

I’ve started to use this to just draw me back to the moment.

I started with my phone.  Yeah… I started with those moments where I was tempted to grab my phone… or heck… when I was just getting started with this process… I would just find my phone in my hand… not even remembering I’d grabbed it.  That’s when I would stop and ask myself, “What am I doing… right now?”  That simple question helps you to bring your thoughts back… and to intentionally choose to overcome something we’ll call the “Distraction Habit.”  

By the way, we’ll talk more about that “Distraction Habit” in the next episode too!  So get ready.  But for now… just experiment.  

 

Let’s get specific.  Here’s the experiment.

 

STEP 1: When you catch yourself reaching for your phone

STEP 2: ASK THE QUESTION: “What am I doing… right now?”

STEP 3: THEN… follow up a simple deep breath in… and a deep breath out.  

 

Let’s see what happens with using that simple little question to bring you back to your present moment.

The goal is not necessarily massive change… but the goal is to start to be intentional about grabbing a hold of specific moments in time.  Moments that might have been lost otherwise.

“What am I doing… right now?”  Ask it.  Breath.  And just see where it takes you.

I can’t wait to hear from you.

 

EPISODE MINUTE BY MINUTE

• 0:02 What to expect this month
• 1:51 Let’s get our thought life right
• 3:45 Mitch’s favorite quotes regarding this topic
• 4:39 Mitch’s favorite verse regarding this topic
• 7:40 The question of the day
• 9:30 Experiencing the gift of being present
• 11:44 A tool to bring you back to the moment

 

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:

Let me know how the experiment goes.

Hit me up on social media… or leave a comment below.  Let me know what happens as you start to catch yourself and ask that simple but powerful question.

Oh… and since we’re diving into this subject of the GIFT OF BEING FULLY PRESENT all month… comment and let me know some of your favorite strategies for being fully present and in the moment too!

If I use your idea… I’ll be sure to give you a shout out in the episode!  

Lastly, be sure to invite your friends and family to join us for the series.  Let’s share the love and help more people to live in the moment too!  I can’t wait to see where this takes us!