There have always been competing demands on your time and attention. But now that many of us are working from home, it’s more difficult than ever to field distractions and focus on what’s important.
Meditation can help, but you may find that concentration is in short supply. Fortunately, Jon Kabat-Zinn says that you don’t need a full-scale meditation practice to benefit from its principles. Instead, you can practice mindfulness, which is developing your awareness and appreciation of whatever is happening in the present moment.
The key to mindfulness is the realization that the present moment is the only thing we can try to control.
Regrets, scattered thoughts, and anxiety about the future are all distractions from whatever needs your attention right now. It’s far more productive to observe how your life unfolds moment by moment than to fixate on events over which you have no control.
Focusing too much on the past or the future may lead you to miss out some of the most important moments of your life. For more guidelines on how to start a mindfulness meditation practice, check out our Instaread on WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE, by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
