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“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Dr. Denis Waitley
In our fast-paced, over-communicated world a lot of men are so busy that they miss living in the present moment. Many men can’t enjoy where they are because they have somewhere else to be. They can’t build lasting relationships because they have to go meet someone else. Many men live their lives bogged down with so much clutter that they can’t live in their present.
Live in your present
It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that you miss living your present moment. Recently, I found myself running on fumes because I was so busy looking at tomorrow that I failed living today.
I had to be at this meeting. I had to be involved in this venture. I had to follow this person. I had to try this new gadget. It became a never-ending cycle. I was sabotaging my present.
I looked busy. I looked productive. But, in reality, I burned out.
I was not enjoying life. I was sabotaging my relationships, health, wealth and dreams. I had to make some critical life changes to get off my road of self-destruction.
The only way that I was going to enjoy life was to separate myself from distracting people, places, and possessions. What good is it to hang around people who discourage you constantly, go to places that drain you emotionally and work yourself to exhaustion to own things that soon decay and not enjoy your life?
Don’t over complicate life
Don’t get so busy looking and thinking ahead that you miss the great things happening now. You will sabotage enjoying your today fretting over what happened yesterday and worrying about what might happen tomorrow.
Living in the present takes work. It requires you to simplify your life by cutting out the distractions and refocus on what’s happening around you.
When you do the birds will sound clearer. The grass will look greener. The roses will smell fresher. The sky will look bluer. You will see life the way God meant for you to see it.
Don’t get to the end of your life and regret that you didn’t live in your present moment. You only get one shot at life and you don’t want to mishandle it.
Take a moment to take inventory of your life. What present moment events have you forfeited because you are consumed with tomorrow’s problems? I am not saying that you don’t set goals for tomorrow, save for a rainy day or concern yourself about your future.
As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Make your new ending by focusing on your present. But, before you can begin this process of transformation you must stop your self-sabotage.
If you are ready to live in your present moment so that your tomorrow is better, here are seven self-sabotaging activities you must eliminate.
7 self-sabotaging activities you must eliminate
Stop spending quality time with discouraging people.
Life is too short to spend time with people who live in a perpetual state of discouragement. Every time you see them, they have nothing good to say. Every word that comes out of their mouth is doom and gloom.
According to them, nothing is good. They complain about the economy. They gripe about their job. They bellyache about how bad they have it. A conversation with these people will leave you discouraged, discontented and disgusted with life. Walk away. Block their phone number. Unfriend them on social media. It is your choice whether you spend time with discouragers or encouragers.
Stop running from your problems.
Face them head-on. No, it won’t be easy. You may have to confront a loved one who caused you pain. You may have to give up an unhealthy habit to move forward. You may have to face an issue that you ran from years ago. It is time to stop running and take a stand.
Because running from your problems does not solve them, it only makes things worse. If you don’t confront your problems quickly, they only mount up to cause more problems. Make up your mind today to stop running from your problems and face them head-on.
Stop trying to be someone you’re not.
One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else. God designed you to be you and no one else.
Don’t become discouraged because of who someone else is or what they are doing. There will always be someone prettier, smarter, wealthier, younger and faster but if you attempt to imitate them, you cancel out who you are designed to be. Don’t change who you are to imitate someone else. Be yourself and let the world love the real you.
Stop holding onto the past.
Don’t let the past hold you hostage from living at maximum capacity. Don’t allow the past to keep your vision and dreams stagnant. The past is gone and it will never come back. No matter how many times you replay the events in your mind, you cannot change what happened.
I know it can be hard to let go of the past, but you must make a conscious decision to move forward. Seek out a professional counselor, a trusted friend or mentor to help you break through a past pain. Holding on to the past whether good or bad, can distract you from what you need to get done today. You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
Stop holding onto unforgiveness.
Don’t live your life with unforgiveness. Holding onto unforgiveness hurts you more than the person you don’t forgive. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my joy, disrupt my peace and keep me from moving forward.”
Forgiveness gives you victory over the situation and allows you to let go, find peace and liberate yourself. The freedom of forgiveness is not necessarily for the other person but it’s for you.
Stop living in a comfort zone.
The desire to remain in our comfort zone is natural and because of that instinctive need, we jump on the someday bandwagon and push our goals and dreams to the side until another day. Unfortunately, nothing ever happens.
Tomorrow becomes next week, which soon leads to next month then next year. Then next year leads to five years, then ten years. Until eventually, the life you desired to live becomes a distant memory. You can’t afford to fall into the trap of “someday” because it may never come. Break free from your comfort zone and live life at a new level.
Stop blaming others.
The extent to which you achieve living in your present depends on you taking responsibility for your life. Too many men have a habit of blaming others for their circumstances. They say my parents did not support me, the company did not promote me fast enough, the job market did not provide the right jobs and the list goes on and on.
You may have to admit that your situation is a direct result of the choices you made. If you want to live life at maximum capacity, you must take responsibility for where you are, stop blaming others, learn from your mistakes, make the necessary changes and live forward.
Question: What self-sabotaging behavior have you allowed to distract your life? Leave a comment below.
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