Several years ago, while sitting at my daughter’s wedding, I
was haunted by our pastor’s words…”I ask you to be truly present in this
moment”. I felt as if I had been shaken
from a deep sleep. How many times in my
life had I not been truly present?
What had I missed by allowing my mind to not live in the present? What had I missed due to being driven by accomplishing rather than being?
Thinking back, my mind soon drifted to “I wonder how the reception looks? Did they forget anything?” Oops, I guess my “living-in-the-present”
muscle needed some strengthening. After
11 years committed to my own personal development, while providing guidance to numerous
life coaching clients, I continue to be a work in progress. However, I’m proud to say that I have
made progress. It’s easy for me to have empathy
for my clients whose joy has been sabotaged and who, subsequently, have become
overwhelmed due to their failure to stay in the present.
When a client is working through a transition, “overwhelm”
is the first place I look for an opportunity to help them make a small change
that will yield a big result. When we
are overwhelmed, we tend to live in the future.
Living in the present causes us to slow down and, subconsciously, we think
we are too busy to slow down. Our brain
speeds to the next task because, remember, we are overwhelmed (no time…no time). Have you ever noticed how people who function
with confidence, poise and control don’t seem to be distracted? They appear to have all the time in the world. It turns out that highly competent, productive
and resilient people have developed characteristics that serve to help them
navigate their busy lives while guarding against chronic overwhelm. Those characteristics are:
·
They have a clear understanding of what they
value.
·
They possess a sense of purpose.
·
They practice gratitude.
·
They respect boundaries that protect them from
over-committing their time and resources.
·
They believe in their personal value and that
they are “enough”.
·
They accept life’s (and their own) imperfections.
·
They are committed to enjoying their lives every
day.
With a life coaching professional committed to helping you
find your strengths, face and overcome your obstacles and keep you on track, you
can reduce the bumps in the road. So if
you find yourself bogged down in future
thinking and feeling overwhelmed, let me ask you: What are you missing by not being fully
present? How are your boundaries? Will your next accomplishment PROVE your value? Would you like to travel a smoother road?
Let’s talk about how I might help you.
jandfulcher@gmail.com
