The Power of Now

The month of June is my favourite time of the year. It’s the halfway point of the year offering an opportunity to contemplate the progress of the goals set at the start of the year. For some, their goals are on track to happen, some have been discarded and some will start sometime in the future. Taking the time to look at where you are right now offers an opportunity to contemplate if the goal is still relevant. Are adjustments required due to new insights or perhaps identify a new goal which offers more to your life? Whatever the answer, setting aside time regularly to gain perspective and clarity on current progress, make adjustments or identify additional support requirements can only add to your momentum to make a goal a reality whatever the time frame.

While some may argue taking time out to pause for reflection is a poor use of time when you could be taking action, I believe it offers an opportunity to recognise not only the progress and the success attained in working towards your goal but a chance to savour the small or big achievements in your personal and professional life. So much time is used to look back and forward, wouldn’t it be nice to savour the Power of Now. Using this power offers space to gain a calm sense of perspective and clarity on what is happening and what needs to happen next at work, at home or just for fun.

Maybe consider using not only the start and middle of the year to evaluate progress but introduce a daily practice such as Mindfulness or Journaling so that you stay present and feel the Power of Now without being caught up in what has happened or the various scenarios which may occur. Mindfulness does not have to be a big activity – you don’t need special clothes, a large block of precious time or money to access it. It can be as simple as taking the time to take a deep breath, hear what is going on around you (office noise, kids playing, traffic noise, silence), feel your feet on the ground and focus fully on what you are doing right at that moment. It may be a designated time at the end of the day, a week or month to take a pen and paper to journal on your progress, new insights, new people, reconnections or just the good things in life. Perhaps selecting to do it at the same regular time so that it becomes part of your routine, a habit that allows you to tap the Power of Now, celebrate how great you are doing right now and make tweaks to your actions to make them more effective.

At this halfway point of 2016, reward yourself by taking some time to enjoy the Power of Now, develop strategies to make time for it so that you can boost your level of clarity and make space for thinking to make better informed decisions for a life lived in the Now.