Find Time Here and Now - Even When the Future Looms

The Time Finder with Paula Eder

The way you use your time is the way you live your life.

Find Time Here and Now – Even When the Future Looms

Posted on December 4, 2008, under Time and Energy.

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein

Finding time and living in the moment when you have a big event on the horizon can be challenging for many. Have you found it so?

The other day I was talking to a friend who was returning to work after a sabbatical. She said that the night before her return she was not able to sleep, tossing and turning through the hours before dawn. A woman I know through a virtual coaching group has shared about how her worries in the days prior to speaking engagements can keep her from being able to focus meaningfully on other tasks.

And who among us hasn’t experienced the anticipation of children waiting for Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa? (I well remember trying to keep a classroom of 5-year-olds focused on December 23rd – a humbling task, to say the least!)

Thich Nhat Hanh writes: “Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”

Large events, even if you are fully prepared for them, can “loom” over the days just prior, overshadowing them and sapping our focus and energy in the present. It doesn’t matter whether you are looking forward in anticipation or in dread – the “looking forward” moves you away from yourself and from your life right now.

So, what can you do to get back in touch with life? Here are 3 ideas:

Take a deep breath and sit quietly for a moment. Pay attention to your feelings and let them simply flow through you. Don’t hold on; just observe and let go. Breathing in and out, your mind will quiet and the present moment will emerge.

If you are worrying about a future event, or looking forward to it, stop and write down 5 things that you are anticipating. Promise yourself that you will be ready when the time comes, and that you can check your list whenever you need to in the days ahead. Then put your list in a safe place and let go of your anticipation in the present.

Sit quietly and think of three things that you are grateful for in this moment. The attitude of gratitude is one of the most potent tools I have found for coming back to the present from tangles of worry or anticipation.

How do these ideas work for you? Are there others that you have tried? I’d love to hear!

What if you could find another hour every week? You can! For more Time Finding resources, you are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!

Let’s explore time together …

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There are 2 Responses to “Find Time Here and Now – Even When the Future Looms”

#1 Alison - 04 December, 10:52 PM

Thanks – all 3 suggestions sound like excellent options to try.

Re the first idea, I recall the mantra, “Feelings float through me like clouds through the sky.” I find that imagery very helpful.

#2 Paula - 05 December, 5:55 AM

Hi Alison – I love your mantra. The gentle imagery certainly would be helpful in letting go! Thank you for sharing that, and here’s to your time success!

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