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All I Do Is WIN, WIN, WIN….

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You may be thinking, “Of course I know how to win.  I have won lots of things.”  That is not the winning I am talking about.  I am talking about WIN:  What’s Important Now?  This is the best question you can ask yourself if you want to experience joy, happiness, and success.  “What’s Important Now?” can be used to bring you into the present moment.  And the key to happiness is living in the present moment.

The Present Moment

The present moment is the exact second right now.  It’s your ability to focus and experience each second of your life as you experience it.  You may be thinking that you do this already, but do you really?  Do you take this exact moment and appreciate what you are doing or are you using this current moment to harp on something in the past or worry about something in the future?  If you spend any moments thinking about the past or the future, without a specific purpose, then you are not living in the present moment.

They say the present moment is a gift, that is why it is called the “present.”  Some even refer to it as The Now.  However you refer to it, ask yourself are you really in the present moment, experiencing everything that is happening now?

I have a challenge for you…

The Challenge

The challenge is to pay close attention to your thoughts throughout the day.  How many times does your mind get away from what you are currently doing and think about the past?  Or how many times is it thinking about the future?  True, there are times we should think about the past and the future.  This is good for reminiscing the good times, reflection, and planning the future.  But that is purposefully focusing on the past or the future.  I am challenging you to pay attention to how many times a day your mind drifts, without your control, to the past or future instead of being focused on what you are doing right now.  I challenged myself with this and was astounded by my inability to live in the moment.

But why should you live in the present moment?

Why Live In The Present Moment???

Living in the present moment is freedom.  We all have life problems, no one is immune.  These problems can take a toll on you physically and mentally.  But do you know what problems need to survive?  They need TIME.  Here is an example of what I mean.

Let’s say you know you have a rent payment coming up and you don’t have the money, so you start to worry about not being able to make rent at the end of the month.  The end of the month is two weeks away.  For the next two weeks, you stress over the money.  Maybe not 24/7, but quite often each day.  But ask yourself, “What problem do I have right NOW?”  You may be sitting having a nice lunch, watching TV.  You may be reading a book.  The bill is not a problem right NOW so why give it power?  Why give it the time?  The time you give it steals your focus from what you are doing now.  And that can steal your happiness.

If you can let future issues be in the future, and past things stay in the past, you can enjoy the present moment and what you are doing.  That is where you find joy.  Yeah, I know, “What about my rent problem?”  You need to learn how to WIN!!!

How to WIN???

Ask yourself, “What’s Important Now?”  It may be that the rent is so bothersome that you have to do something.  Well the most important thing now is to come up with a plan.  So sit down and draw up a plan.  Figure out how to deal with this problem and put a plan into action.  Once you have a plan and start executing, you can move on to the next thing, which is the present moment. 

Learning how to WIN is incredibly important to your happiness and your success.  For example, if you are at work, but find yourself surfing social media…is that really what is important now?  Sure, it’s on the boss’ dime and why should you care?  You should care because these are the exact things that build your character.  It sets the default choices that you automatically revert to when you are out of willpower.  Practice WIN so that you are always doing what is most important.  This can change your life.

Final Thoughts

A big secret to happiness is living in the present moment.  We can do that by asking ourselves, “What’s Important Now?”  This will force us into the present moment and with that the joy and happiness we are seeking.  The goal of WIN is to help you figure out what you should be doing right now.  It could be that paper you need to write, the book you need to read, or the nap you need to take. 

Honestly ask yourself this question and get to it.  Don’t let your mind carelessly drift between the past and future, thereby losing the present moment.  Don’t be so caught up in the past that you let it bother you or distract you from the current thing you are doing.  Don’t be so caught up in the future that the present moment is just a means of getting there.  If you lose the present moment because you are too focused on where you want to be, then you miss the whole point of the journey. 

Start now with the challenge I gave you above.  Pay attention to how often you are not thinking in the present moment.  When you realize you are wandering, bring your mind back to the thing you are currently doing.  Focus intensely on it.  The thing you are doing should be the answer to your WIN.  If it is not, you’re surely NOT WINNING!!!

Eckhart Tolle wrote a great book titled The Power Of Now which talks about how to live in the present moment.  It is one of my favorite books and one that I read at least once a year.  If you want to pick it up, use this link:

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