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Does any of this sound familiar?

For goodness sake, get a grip, woman. Don’t you know how lucky you are? You have zero right to be unhappy. Thousands are being murdered in Syria and you can’t even get out of bed, you self-indulgent cow. What happened to that fitness regime you promised you’d start, eh? No self-control, that’s your problem. And you haven’t replied to Jane’s texts.

Jane must think you’re a crap friend. And she’s right. It’s a miracle you’ve got any friends left. Get up! You’ve got a to-do list which stretches from here to Loch Lomond. Pack the boy’s bag for camp, check Twitter. The plants on the patio are dying in their polystyrene coffins because you haven’t had time to put them in pots.

Poor plants must hate you. Better check those watched eBay items. You don’t want to miss out on that incredible vintage (aka old, smelly and broken) deckchair, which is going to transform your life and usher in a new era of relaxation. Oh, dear God. I’m supposed to have handed in my review of Ruby Wax’s book to the paper. Gah! What are you going to tell them, eh? ‘Sorry, I was too stressed out to review the book about anxiety and stress?’”

Well the good news is you are not alone in this very common dilemma even the high flying journalist who wrote this article feels overwhelmed, stressed and rubbish sometimes too……

Or perhaps:

• Work takes up most of your life and you constantly feel like you are chasing your tail
• The joy has gone out of your life and you feel like you have lost your spark
• You can’t remember the last time you took a day off
• You feel like a hamster trapped in a wheel going round and round
• Been too busy is something you perceive as a sign of success or of a flourishing career
• Often you eat in tandem with other tasks and rarely take a lunch hour
• Days are so crammed full that you literally dread even starting them
• You’ve recently noticed that you are consistently more tired when you get up in the morning than you are when you go to bed

It doesn’t help either that this fast paced, quick fix, target-driven, celebrity and social media obsessed Society we currently live in is remarkably effective at brainwashing people into believing they should look a certain way, act a certain way, be a certain someone, when in reality every single one of us is different.

Society pigeonholes people and wants you to believe that you have fewer rights to be happy because you do not fit an idealistic lifestyle. This toxic pigeonholing’ happens because it keeps the consumer tread mill in business, continually filling up the pockets of plastic surgeons, BMW and Mercedes, banks, estate agents and pharmaceutical companies who prescribe so called “happy pills”.

Life can be relentless, frantic and exhausting, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

You have an option to develop a healthier lifestyle and mindset….

With the continual interruption of texts, emails, facebook, instagram and twitter messages, there is no time to rest, relax and to consider how we really want to spend our lives and what conditions we need to create in order to make this happen. That said, some of us intentionally keep busy in order to distract ourselves from the bigger deeper questions about our existence on planet earth.

We all have a unique life purpose and plan. But contrary to this understanding, there still appears to be a, “template” and timeline that society reinforces us to follow. For those of you reading this and living in the West, I am certain that you are familiar with what that template is. We go to school, get our education, find a job, meet a partner, get married or live together, have a family and continue to support our lifestyles and pay our bills. This template may work for many people, but it can also be a trap in making us believe that life is a one size fits all kind of deal.

What about those who dare to be different and choose to follow an alternative path? What if we aren’t meant to have our life roll out in that exact order and fashion? Does that mean we should feel down and out about ourselves?

Being “wired and wildly busy” provides us with a sense of importance and that we must be in demand. Of course, this may infact not be true. On a physiological level, most of us experience a rush each time we speed through work tasks and our to do lists. This can sometimes result in people getting hooked on that feeling and often becoming an adrenaline junkie. For some, speed is an ecstasy fix.

Put simply we get off on speed and busyness so our bodies and brains end up yearning for it and then beginning to demand it.

21st Century life pressures us to feel like we can be everywhere and do everything and it gives us quick fix, magical tools that strengthen this false belief. Witness today’s super mums juggling the schedules of their children, work, bills and me time, how was this possible before mobile phones, email and social media? Though she is pressured, she is not bored. One part of her feels like she is indispensable consistently receiving praise for completing such a difficult task.

So, what’s the cost of 21st Century time stressed living to our health and well-being?

It can be exciting and thrilling pushing ourselves to and often beyond the limits of how much we are capable of. That said, doing too much too quickly can be exhausting, uncalled for, and potentially dangerous, for example, phone calls whilst driving.

In our relentless overloaded world, we often feel depleted and more tired when we get up in the morning than when we go to bed. Our productivity levels and the quality of our work depreciates with speed. The quicker we approach tasks the more likely we are inclined to make errors. When we feel up and high, we ride our hectic life like a high performing surfer in the flow of a great wave, but when we’re down often we wipe out, burn ourselves out and can’t seem to overcome exhaustion. Most importantly though this has long lasting and detrimental consequences for our health and well being.

What can you do to feel less stressed and achieve more happiness, peace of mind

and success ?

The ‘power of now’ techniques introduced by Eckhardt Tolle can help you to reduce negative thinking patterns, improve your decision making abilities and to experience more happiness, peace of mind and success.

The Power of now tools can also help you remain motivated, and focused when you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, lost or you are falling victim to the procrastination trap.

So how can the power of now help you to feel more focused, less stressed and increase your energy levels?

Before I answer this question it may be helpful if you firstly reflect on the following facts:

• unless you are the type of person who practices mindfulness or mediation regularly, you are highly likely to spend most of your day either dwelling on past events or over thinking about events that you “predict” to happen in the future
• put simply, human beings are experts at ruminating, catastrophizing and over analysing
• people who suffer from depression tend to mostly dwell on the past and ruminate
• those of you who have experienced anxiety, stress and panic attacks, usually spend most of your time worrying about the future and catastrophizing about events that may never happen, typically using words such as what if, but and should.

It’s all about mindfulness and learning how to live in the present moment…..

The power of now is a “belief system based on living in the present moment”. Its core message is that our emotional problems are rooted in our identification with our minds. Eckhart Tolle, acclaimed author of the Power of Now writes that we should be aware of our “present moment” instead of losing ourselves in worry and anxiety about the past or future.

His book is intended to be a self-help guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and avoiding thoughts about the past or future.

In other words, Tolle writes, “only the present moment is important and both our past and our future is created by our thoughts”.

Most of us have had the experience of relaxing thoroughly enjoying the present moment with the sun brightly shining whilst on a beach and then suddenly our minds wander, we become distracted, and before we know it, we are taken over by that part of our brain that transports us into the past or into the future and we subsequently feel upset or low within a second.

According to Oprah Winfrey: “The Power of Now can transform our thinking. The result? More joy, right now.”

How does this relate to my personal story then?

The power of now techniques have helped me enormously to achieve the life I want and to make decisions that have allowed me to blossom and thrive.

For example, when I was considering moving to London from Yorkshire and visualized in the here and now how enjoyable and fulfilling that would be, within seconds my mind wandered and before I knew I was beginning to experience negative thoughts such as:

What if I can’t find anywhere to live?
What if I can’t afford the cost of living in London?
What if I don’t meet any new friends and so need to rely on the few I did have and thus become a needy burden?
What will I say to my parents and friends if it doesn’t work out?
Wouldn’t it be easier to stay in Yorkshire, afterall, I have a well-paid secure job and lots of family and friends here?

Fortunately, though I was experiencing these negative thinking patterns on a regular daily basis, I was able to use the here and now techniques that I had learned to escort my attention back to the present moment. I achieved this by accepting the unhealthy thoughts were there whilst simultaneously neither reacting to nor acting on the thoughts.

How can you implement the power of now and mindfulness techniques into your daily routine?

Practice the power of now meditation at the end of this blog not cross legged on a mountain in the Himalayas at your desk or sat upright in a chair at home, in your business hotel or on the bus or tube if you live in London.

Tips for the power of now mindfulness practice:

Whilst listening to the ‘power of now’ meditation, as with other mindfulness or meditation practices, just allow your thoughts to rise, plateau and fall and imagine that they are part of a film/tape or actors in a play coming and go or clouds in the sky and that you have the option to press the stop button at anytime.

Most importantly, remember that thoughts are not facts and are only your own interpretation of emotions and feelings and other people’s actions..

and so when you next experience a negative automatic thought write it down and ask yourself what evidence is there to support this thought and what evidence is there against this thought.

1. Regardless of what happens (eg if you fall asleep, lose concentration, keep thinking of other things), just do it! These are your experiences in the moment. Just be aware of them.
2. If your mind is wandering a lot, simply note the thoughts (as passing events) and then bring the mind gently back to your breathe
3. Let go of ideas of “success “, ” failure “, ” doing it well “, or “trying to purify the mind “. This is not a competition. It is not a skill for which you need to strive. The only discipline involved is regular and frequent practice. Just do it with an attitude of openness and curiosity.
4. Let go of any expectations of what the power of now meditation will do for you. Imagine it as a seed you have just planted. The more you poke around and interfere, the less it will be able to develop. So with the power of now meditation, just give it the right conditions – peace and quiet, regular and frequent practice. That is all. The more you try to influence what it will do for you, the less it will do.
5. Try approaching your experience in each moment with the attitude: “Ok that’s just the way things are right now “. If you try to fight off unpleasant thoughts, feelings and body sensations, the upsetting feelings will only distract you from doing anything else. Be aware, be non-striving, be in the moment, accept things as they are. Just do it

Over to you:

If after reading this blog you are still struggling to remain in the here and now, reach decisions and are feeling overwhelmed with distractions and negative thoughts because of this, don’t panic or give up just yet.

Coaching sessions or a personal development or mindfulness course can help you.

So, if you need a bit of extra support and encouragement and a few on line, telephone or face to face coaching or mindfulness sessions why not contact us at You Revolution to arrange an appointment with one of our highly skilled Coach Therapists for a short free introductory chat on 07950 751352 or by emailing us on info@www.you-revolution.com.

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