Come Back

One way to stay in the present moment

Our minds like to drift into the past or the future by thinking about the “shoulda, woulda, couldas” and the “what ifs”. This habit takes our awareness away from the present moment which is all life is made of. At my wellness meeting last week, we discussed the importance of staying present in the here and now. There is often less actual stress in the present moment as long as we don’t let our minds wander away. I started a practice of telling myself to “come back” to the now when this happens. It is a way to bring my awareness back to what is in front of me. As a result, there is less stress.

Ruminating about the past is a popular pastime. Perhaps having a failed romantic relationship is some of the most fertile ground for this type of thinking. We endlessly go over what we might have done differently to achieve a different outcome. Obviously, this is pointless because we can’t change the past.

Worrying about the future is another exercise in futility. We can’t control what will happen, but we can make plans to try to minimize stress.

It isn’t easy to stay present, but I have found it is possible to reduce my mind’s time travel by telling myself to “come back” constantly.

Thank you for reading :)