Because it’s all we have – and that’s a good thing!
Hey everyone. It’s Monday blog time again. Yup…here we are again. Time to roll up my sleeves and get to work…maybe just one more cup of tea…and another ten minutes of YouTube to get my head in the game…and then, oh check that out, I want one of those…ordered. Hey where did my day go?! OK yeah, it’s time to talk about why being present is SO important.
I’m sure we’ve all been there, yes? If you’re reading this and you’ve never had one of those days where it’s just impossible to concentrate, you’re distracted so easily and you get nothing done but frustration: no, I didn’t see which way John Connor went!
Come on – it’s human nature.
We all struggle to muster the energy and attention we require sometimes. For some it’s an acute, even chronic problem. For others it’s more intermittent, but nevertheless; it can be a serious impediment to our progress.
I’ve spoken about this before in my blog and video called The Lazy Choice. You can have a down day. It’s fine! Heck have two, why not?! As long as you choose to do it.
What’s the difference? The energy. Plain and simple.
If you have made the conscious choice to spend all day in bed, watching Netflix and stewing in your own juices (sorry if you’re eating) then good!! Do it. As long as you have made the choice, consciously, and then followed through: you’re winning. You’ve made a choice from an empowered position.
If, however, you set out to spend your day working hard and clearing your ‘to do’ list, but find yourself gawking at instagram without even realising it: you’ve checked out! You’re no longer in control and you’ve allowed your subconscious to run the show.
Quite often, in the scenario I’ve just outlined, the reason for such oblivious and instant procrastination is unworthiness. Deep down you don’t believe that you are the sort of person who deserves to achieve, to get to the end of your working day and feel that sense of accomplishment.
So your old programming kicks in and diverts you away.
Before you know it, you’re getting frustrated with yourself and further brow-beating your inner self. Not a recipe for success!
So why then do I raise this in the context of talking about the importance of the present?
Because that’s all we have! It’s the only thing that’s real. If you want to affect change, in any area of your life: it has to come from the present moment. Being a three-dimensional being, that’s all you got!
Of course I’m talking physically. I know that we can be sending our consciousness off into different planes of reality, parts of the universe that transcend time etc… But whatever, the bottom line is; if you’re sat there, spending time somewhere else (be it on a distant plant conversing with a higher conscience, day dreaming about owning a certain car, or indeed; beating yourself up for being ‘lazy’) you’re not physically acting.
Without physical action in the present, you know what gets done? Well, nothing physical!
This is why you can’t think yourself thin, while sitting on your bum. You can’t meditate your blog written (much as I wish I could sometimes) and you can’t think yourself rich. Don’t get me wrong: planning and working on your inner game is vital to success, but action is always required.
This is why I say that action is concurrently the most and least important part of success. Why? Because action in and of itself is meaningless. You’ve heard the expression “don’t confuse movement with progress” (if not, you have now). This speaks to the point that you can doubtlessly fill your day with mindless pursuits that kill time, but don’t advance your cause at all.
I’m also a fan of the Abraham Lincoln quote:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe”
Giving more weight to preparedness, in order that the action is effortless. Better that, than spending the lion share of your time doing imprecise action, in the hope that you’ll happen upon the desired result.
In a strange way, that’s how this article has wound up actually! I’ve spend a lot fo it setting you up for why the present is so important, without really talking about it.
Here’s the simple truth: now is all that is real.
If you find your mind wondering, bring it back to being present. Sitting there living in an imagined future (as all futures are) whether happy and successful or, as most are given to; fraught with disaster, is getting you nowhere. Bring your mind back to the present and focus on what is before you.
I say this to a lot of my students as well: you are more resourced and resourceful than you think you are. An exercise that I’ve seen other speakers/authors/coaches do, is to get you to add up the total value of all of your possessions. To come to a figure that you’re really worth and then understand that it’s a LOT more than you probably think.
It’s so easy to have an end goal in mind, to think just how far away from your present reality that seems and then completely disconnect from it.
But you have everything you need, right here in the present, to make your next step towards it!
This is what my Micro 2 Millions program is all about – baby steps. Now we use these for another very good reason, which is to not overwhelm the subconscious. It’s also designed though, to help you identify what you want, break it down/reverse engineer it; and then just focus on taking the next step.
You might want to be a millionaire. Well that’s a lot easier than it sounds, but you might also want to be paid millions for doing what you love to do. OK, so we can (and should) do all of the work preparing your subconscious for that reality, visualising and so forth. When it comes down to it though, you’ve got to start taking action in that direction or else; it win’t gonna happen!
So I say again: be present! What and who do you have at your disposal right now?!
Maybe you know someone in your field, who is living the kind of lifestyle you’d like. Great! You have a mentor. Get them on the phone as soon as you can and ask their advice.
It could be that you know someone who runs a highly successful business, just not in the same area as you’d like to be in. Also great! They can still give you plenty of hints, tips and tricks for turning something into a success. They might also make you aware of aspects that you want to avoid and this is invaluable information too!
I know that right now, in the present as I write this: for large parts of the Western world, meeting up with people is forbidden. Fair enough, don’t do anything unsafe. But that also means that a lot fo the people you want to talk to, are also at home with more spare time! So reach out to them.
By being present, not being lost in an imagined future where they yell at you to leave them alone and slam the phone down; you can start to see just how much advantage you really have!
Do you see now just some of the reasons why being present is so important?
It enables you to focus on what you can do. It clears you of all the baggage of the past (unworthiness, pain etc…) and the future, enabling you act positively and begin introducing a new notion to your subconscious. Namely: that you are worthy and you are the kind of person who gets sh*t done, successfully!
Thank you so much for reading this blog, from the bottom of my heart! If you enjoyed this, I produce regular Do It With Dan blogs, podcasts and videos. I have three books published now: Stepping Beyond Intention, The Dreamer’s Manifesto and From Time-to-Time (a really great book on time mastery). All of these are here to serve you and make you part of the journey as well.
For more guidance on how to change your internal programming, to attract greater abundance and experience greater freedom: please click on the link below for free access to my…
