How to live in the present moment, in 7 psychological keys

The main keys to know how to live in the here and now in an authentic and unapologetic way.

One of the principles of Gestalt therapy and meditation practice is the idea of living in the present moment. For some people, this pattern of living serves as a way to experience life in an authentic sense. experience life in an authentic sense while not indulging in unfounded worries.

However, theory is one thing and practice is another. ¿How does one go about living in the present and what does it mean? In the following lines we will try to answer these questions.

What does it mean to live in the now?

In short, living in the present moment means to interpret all our experiences as part of a set of unique sensations, which only exist as such in the here and now.

That means, for example, not holding the belief that what we experience are more or less perfect copies of earlier moments. more or less perfect copies of previous momentsor that they are anticipations of what we will experience in the future..

In this way, we will not fall into the trap of believing that we owe our whole life to our memories and to what we expect from the times to come (regardless of whether the expectations are good or bad), and we will appreciate what is happening to us as it happens. appreciate what is happening to us as it is in the present moment..

7 keys to live in the present

From here we will see some basic guidelines to start incorporating this philosophy of life into our daily lives. Are you ready to start this journey?

1. Putting an end to rumination

Psychological rumination is what happens when that which worries us or causes us stress attracts to itself or causes us stress attracts all our attention and thoughts.

Basically, these are unpleasant memories (regardless of whether they are based on real experiences or ideas) that become something to which everything we do or perceive ends up making reference..

To put an end to rumination it is advisable, among other things, to find moments to rest and, especially, to dedicate them to walking in natural environments. For more information you can consult this article:

• Rumination: the annoying vicious circle of thought.

2. The world of mindfulness

Meditation does not make us leave our mind blank (that's impossible), but it helps us to to turn our attention away from interpretations of reality based on the past and the future..

Mindfulness is a well-studied and easy-to-practice form of meditation that has also proven to be effective in preventing relapses in depression. You can learn more about its principles and practice in this article.

3. Learn relaxation exercises

Meditation is not the only way to disconnect; there are also many relaxation exercises that focus on Muscle relaxation and accompanying slow breathing that uses the maximum capacity of the lungs.

These techniques help us to cut off intrusive thoughts linked to the past. intrusive thoughts linked to the past.

4. Rationally judge your expectations and goals.

A good way to lighten burdens and begin to appreciate more the experiences directly linked to the present is to make an assessment of one's goals and responsibilities. It is difficult to live in the present when you have to work 11 hours a day..

That is why the time invested in taking stock of one's priorities in search of greater well-being will be time well spent.

5. Learn to manage self-esteem

We must make self-image and self-esteem a tool to know ourselves faithfully, not something that enslaves us and makes us feel bad for not meeting our self-imposed expectations. the expectations we have imposed on ourselves.

If everything we do is done with an eye on whether it brings us closer to or further away from the "ideal self", we will be wasting many opportunities to soak up the genuineness of each experience simply because our attention will have been hooked on an ideal that only exists because we have created it.

6. Play sports

Few activities make us focus more on the present than physical sports..... As this type of exercise requires effort and concentration on what is happening, it works very well to "unhook" our attention from our worries.

But, in addition, doing sports makes our body secrete a greater amount of endorphins, thanks to which we feel a sense of well-being and relief.

7. Soak up existentialist philosophy

Existentialists defend the idea that life only has the goals and meaning that we want to give it, and this idea is essential to manage all the expectations that we notice that do us more harm than good..