Overwhelmed by your day-to-day activities? Responsibilities, commitments, obligations causing stress? So busy that it seems you no longer have control of your life?
There is a way out of this imbalance.
You can view your life through a new lens and perceive your experiences in a different light. You can reset your internal compass and regain your balance. Here are three simple steps to finding your center again.
1. Awareness
The first step is to become aware that you are off balance. Awareness is one of the greatest tools for creating change. Notice the choices you are making moment to moment. Where are the choices you make taking you? In your mind’s eye, see yourself moving through every situation with calm, clarity and purpose. Notice how your body feels as you envision your life through this lens. Feel what it is like to have your days be in balance, to have peace, to feel centered. Let this vision of your life be the anchor for how you want to move consciously through your days.
2. Attention to Action
The second step is to notice where you are putting your attention. What are you focusing on? What is capturing your mind at the moment? Being attentive is noticing what you are drawn to in the moment. Are you noticing the gifts around you or their absence? Are you focusing on the present or on the past? Being in the present-moment is critical to taking right action. Observe yourself and how you relate to your environment. Understanding the relationship you have with your surroundings is important to be able to take right action.
Start by focusing on your breathing. It is the most present-moment of experiences. By focusing on your breath, you can leave behind the chatter in your head and the chaos of the moment. Next, notice your feelings. Notice where in your body you feel these feelings. Imagine a different feeling and notice how your body feels. What actions open up for you by imagining a different feeling? How do these actions generate a different reality? All change is created in the present moment. Cultivate and nourish this new present moment.
3. Intention
The third step is to set your intention for how you want to respond to the challenges in your life. When you set an intention you are focused on what you want to create in the future with the actions you take in the present. Intentions act as your internal north star of your life’s journey. Your intention guides you in creating your present and future. What do you want to experience in your life? What choices do you have to make in the moment to create the life you want? Your intention may be to carve out some personal time for relaxation or reflection. It may be to simplify the commitments or obligations you have. Your intention may be to respond to challenges with serenity and calm. Whatever your intention, when you feel it is compromised, take a moment, close your eyes and bring your awareness to the moment. Notice how you feel, shift your awareness to your intention and allow yourself to feel relaxed, present and focused.
With practice, these three simple steps will become natural and effortless, allowing you to return to your center every time.
You can’t change what you don’t notice. Wayne Dyer
What we think, we become. Buddha