IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY BY LIVING IN THE MOMENT

How often are you dwelling on other things when driving or doing anything? That is living in your head rather than in the moment.  This article aims to discuss the six important things about living in the moment and how they can improve your life:

1. What does it mean to live in the moment?
2. Why it is so difficult to live in the moment?
3. What does it require to live in the moment?
4. What are the benefits of living in the moment?
5. How do we learn to live in the moment?
6. How do we avoid Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia?

What Does It Mean to Live in the Moment?

Living in the moment means focusing on the here and now and being fully aware of what is happening within your mind and all around you at any given moment instead of letting your mind wander on the past, the future, or anything else.

Why is it so Difficult to Live in the Moment?

First, the mind constantly receives thoughts; some just come out of nowhere, and others come from past experiences, especially bad ones, which are constantly rerun in the mind. Other thoughts are on what the future might hold. This kind of “Mind Wandering” keeps us from living in the present moment and can cause us to fail to remember what we should be doing, creating anxiety, depression, and worry.

Second, we are constantly bombarded with distractions: Phones, laptops, and tablets can keep us occupied, wasting time and keeping us from doing what is at hand. It is easy to become preoccupied with routine things like checking email and responding to Facebook notifications or other social media outlets. This causes us to be unaware of what’s happening around us and remembering what we should be doing.

What Does it Require to Live in The Moment?

1. Separate yourself from your thoughts. When thoughts come into our minds, that is when we must deal with them; otherwise, we become lost in them and lose all awareness of the present moment. It is important to remember that we are not our thoughts; we are the observers who decide what to accept or reject.
2. Focus on the task at hand: Clear your mind of all other distracting thoughts. This is difficult; it requires you to blank out worries, results, and distractions, which can take some serious practice over an extended length of time.
3. Focus on things that are present around you: For example, if you are driving, focus on observing the signs, traffic, and where you are going. If you are walking, look at the beauty around you, the blue sky with white puffy clouds, the flowers, trees, and the calm, beautiful day. If you are eating, concentrate on the taste of the food, not the TV or other distractions. If you are busy at work, focus on that and nothing else if you desire to do your best work.
4. Reset your brain: Take a few minutes out several times during your day to think about the things important to you. For example, think about your marriage and how to improve it, things you plan to do together, places you want to go, and things you appreciate about your mate. Show gratitude for the things you already have.
5. Become fully involved in what you are doing in the present moment: Try losing track of everything else. The eases the mind of all worry and anxiety and enables you to do the task at hand to the best of your ability.
6. Accept the things you cannot change: For example, you can’t change the world conditions like war, evil, violence, awful shootings, and poor government decisions. As far as government, you can only cast your vote during elections to hopefully elect leaders proficient in government matters and concerned about the welfare of the people they serve. Struggling in your mind about these things only increases needless worry and anxiety.
7. Keep an open mind to learning new ways of coping with life: Accept the fact that there is so much more to learn that can help you deal with everything you face. Be willing to experience new things and go to new places.

What are the Benefits of Living in The Moment?

1. When the mind is clear of anxiety, worry, fear, and other useless thoughts, you are free to be present at the moment when you are with friends and can relax and enjoy yourself.
2. The appreciation level for life and the good experience it brings goes up when the mind is freed of negative thoughts and things out of your control. Then you are able to appreciate the opportunity to be with friends.
3. Living in the moment means being fully engaged and able to experience a sense of pleasure and enjoyment.
4. When you practice living in the moment and accepting life as it happens, it frees you from entertaining thoughts of anxiety, worry, the past, the future, and all the things you have no control over.
5. Living in the moment opens up an intense ability to listen to others about their concerns, which builds stronger relationships.
6. You will enjoy life much more instead of being concerned about when the next shoe will fall. Life is enhanced when you enjoy what is happening in the present instead of clouding your mind with all the things that take away from life’s enjoyment.

How do We learn to Live in The Moment?

The hardest thing about living in the moment is cultivating the habit. That takes time. It means that you are reminding yourself to live in the moment throughout the day. Whenever your mind begins to stray, you must return it to the present. It is necessary to make it a priority and constantly practice it. Listed below are some ways to help you to form the habit of living in the moment

1. Thought control: When you feel lost in your thoughts, shock yourself to present reality.
2. Alertness: Be conscious of what is happening around you.
3. Gratitude: Instead of worrying about what may happen, be thankful for all the good things that have already happened.
4. Breathing practice: Take a few minutes each day to practice breathing exercises.
5. Acceptance: Learn to accept things you can’t change; worrying about them does not good.
6. Positive mind set: Take time to evaluate the positive things in your life.
7. Family and friend Connections: Spend time with your family and friends.
8. Continue to learn: Learn things that improve you and enable you to enjoy and appreciate your life.
9. Be mindful: Recent research shows, practicing mindfulness to relieve anxiety can be just as effective as medication. Definition: Mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes. Mindfulness is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it.”
10. Stop multitasking and try to avoid distracted thinking: It is more productive to fully focus on a task without distractions than to be spend much longer while dabbling in other things.
11. Get a good night’s sleep: Getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep for better brain health, which enables you to think clearer, reduces anxiety,  increases emotional balance, and results in better social connections.
12. Get active: Exercise is an all around good health builder; it helps the memory center of the brain for increased memory. Even beginning with a 10 minute walk can make a difference and building from there as you are able. The main objective is to avoid being sedentary for long periods of time. Take time to be active several times a day.

How do we prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia?

“Experts in the US found that the following could all cut the chances of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, and the benefits grow with every extra healthy lifestyle trait achieved.“

1. Being active
2. Eating a better diet
3. Maintaining a healthy weight
4. Not smoking
5. Keeping normal blood pressure
6. Controlling cholesterol 
7. Having low blood sugar. 

“Researchers followed 13,720 middle-aged women for 20 years and found that the more healthy lifestyle factors a woman had, the less likely she was to develop dementia.”  [1]

Even though dementia is more common among women than men, the above also includes men.

Conclusion

Nothing worthwhile is easy; living in the moment is challenging but worth it! Living in the moment brings many benefits, as mentioned above, but one of the greatest benefits is developing the ability to live life in a meaningful and worthwhile way. With practice, we will learn to live moment by moment, resulting in a happier, more productive life.

Finally, and most importantly, the only way to experience the best life offers is to have a relationship with God, who created us and knows more than we do what is best for us. He speaks to those who have a relationship with Him through His Word, the Bible, and through the communication of prayer. If you are ready to know God and have a relationship with Him, please

CLICK HERE.

[1] THE TELEGRAPH February 29, 2023, the seven lifestyle habits that can radically reduce dementia risk.

Story by Sarah Knapton The seven lifestyle habits that can radically reduce dementia risk (msn.com)