John Lennon on Being Present.

Mindfulness advice tells you to “be present”, or “be here now”. This sounds great, but how exactly does one DO that?

A great way to think about it actually comes from John Lennon:  “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans“.

Life is that person talking to you, while you’re in your head mulling over things that happened in the past. Life is your kids who can’t wait to share about their 2nd period teacher, while you’re mowing back over your to-do list for tomorrow.

Being present means to let the internal chatter go, stop the mental multitasking, and focus on the more immediate things in your life.

How To Actually Do It

Now that you understand what it means, now you are better able to make it happen.

And I wish there were some magic formula, wand, and fairy dust, but there’s just not.

• On one level, it’s very simple.
• On another level, it’s incredibly difficult.

Here’s the simple part:

You need to consistently pull your mind back to a “singular focus”, to one thing at a time, whether that’s the person you’re talking to, the meal you’re eating, or the walk you’re taking outside.

Here’s the hard part:

Being consistent. Your mind wanders by default, veering off from from what’s in front of you. Getting it to stay on that singular focus takes training. The more you do it, the better your mind will be at staying focused.

Don’t miss out on the life right in front of you by mental multitasking. Be consistent by training your brain over time to return to your singular focus. In the long term, this mindfulness training will build connection with your family, friends, and your world.