Being more present needs to become the default

If you are an over-thinker, over do-er, & have been wired to associate success or acceptance with doing...being present will be unfamiliar to you.

It will feel boring, it will feel like failure, in some cases it may even feel threatening & inherently wrong.

Everything about 'being more present' is against what most people believe to be 'success'.

We are taught if we are making progress, achieving & striving to our goals...we should also be struggling, feeling anxious & constantly thinking/planning.

While rooted in logic, & evidence from the past, this couldn't be more incorrect when it comes to healing.

This is a sure way to burn out, & later down the line face more serious health issues.

If you are working on being more, you must realise it probably wont feel great...or even good (for a while). Expecting it to feel wonderful & 'right' is a high expectation that you will fall short of.

So the best bit of advice I can offer somebody who is trying to become more present but has spent most of their life striving, stressing, moving the goal post...is to accept it wont feel comfortable. 

Lean in to the bordem, lean in to the unfamiliar, reframe your beliefs around what 'success' is, challenge the narratives you hold around what productive is.

Just because the present feel uncomfortable, doesn't mean it is 'wrong'. It is unfamiliar. You become more familiar by training yourself to be there more often.

Training invisible muscles are hard. Your ability to be present is not tangible, especially when you first start. There are no newbie gains. This is why you have to develop the ability to show up & practice presence even when you don't see clear results.

They delayed gratification & long term reward is so SO worth it: higher quality of life & increased longevity (to name a few).