Thinking About Thinking

Are you paying attention or are you browsing inattentively? If you are in the latter camp then.PINK ELEPHANTS.

I'm glad I have your attention. Always get their attention, so I've been told.

That brings me nicely on to the subject of this article: mindfulness.

In the digital age, more than any other, we are bombarded constantly with distractions. Something always takes our attention away from what we're supposed to be doing. It has gotten to the stage now that we are even distracted by the expectation of being distracted. We check our phones constantly - whether we are popular or not. We are talking to someone, even loved ones, and our mind is on an email we have to send or a reply we are expecting.

This is not living. This is life passing you by.

The best advice anyone has ever given me had the profound impact of transforming my life. For one piece of advice, that's not a bad return. I now present it to you in the hope it has the same effect on you. Here it is, four simple words that will change your life:

Live in the moment.

As simple a statement as that is, it is not simply put into action. It requires you letting everything go. The worries, the anticipation, the expectation - let it all go.

Do not live in the past or the future; live in the present. Everything has its time and place. There is a time to ponder the past and reflect on the future. However, these things become a problem when you are no longer in control of when you choose to do them.

3 Steps to Being in the Present (Achieving Mindfulness)

1) Pay attention. Are you really listening to what you're being told or are you thinking about how you're going to reply? Do you really see what you think you're seeing or is your mind actually a million miles away? If you do not pay proper attention to the things around you then you cannot comprehend or grow. You will miss opportunities and you will let down those around you. PINK ELEPHANTS.

2) Do not pre-empt or pre-judge. Sometimes we have preconceived notions of things and they impact how we experience those things. If you expect something to be boring, your mind will do its utmost to fulfil that prophecy. As a result, we miss out on a lot of special moments. Don't turn life into a self-fulfilling prophecy of limited understanding.

3) Experience. Move away from instantly interpreting events and actually experience them. When you are having fun you don't think to yourself 'I have assessed the situation and conclude that this is fun'. Fun is just had, it is not a conclusion you draw. It is an experience. You will have a much more fulfilling life if you experience moments instead of judging them. When you see a beautiful sunset and it uplifts you or when you hear a poem and your heart rages with passion - you are experiencing. You are living in the moment.

As a final note, we are conditioned to be critical and to analyse which tends to inhibit our ability to live in the moment. For example, at school we are taught to assess the tools a poet uses to create a certain impression - instead of enjoying the poem itself. This serves our ability to think for ourselves well and it is necessary. However, it ends up permeating every single aspect of our lives.

This is something humanity should guard against.

Anyway, regardless of what the title of this article would have you believe, you do not need PINK ELEPHANTS to be in the present moment. Just follow the 3 simple steps to mindfulness.