As you’re blow-drying a client’s hair, what’s going through your mind? Good for you if the answer is that you’re thinking about how to keep that hair smooth and keep the client comfortable. But it’s easy to let our minds go into worry mode. Maybe you’re preparing yourself for the next client who’s a chronic complainer, or you’re concerned that you may be late to pick up your son from soccer practice or you’re daydreaming about what to make for dinner that night. 

 

“I think we’ve all had this experience, which often has us psychically living 30 minutes into the future—no matter how great the present circumstances might be,” says author and speaker Steve Gilliland. “Are we doomed to this torrent of noise that distracts us from enjoying our life? We don’t have to be.”

 

Many times, we worry for no reason. “Don’t put up your umbrella until it rains,” Gilliland cautions. “Worry restricts your ability to think and act effectively, and it forces you to mortgage fear and anxiety about something that may never occur.”

 

Gilliland, the author of Enjoy The Ride and the soon-to-released Detour, Developing the Mindset to Navigate Life’s Turns, offers strategies for staying in the moment rather than putting your head into the next task of the day.

  • Laugh more! “When you laugh, you’re living almost completely in the moment, and it’s one of the best feelings you can have,” Gilliland says. 
  • Take accountability for your outlook. “No one can ruin your day without your permission,” Gilliland observes. “Understand that life picks on everyone. When we take misfortune personally, we tend to obsess, giving a legacy to something that may make you a day ‘poorer’ in life.”
  • Live for today—less for tomorrow, and never about yesterday. “Remind yourself that yesterday is gone forever, so why not live in the now?” Gilliland asks. “And what if tomorrow never occurs? There is a difference between working toward the future, which is inherently enjoyable in light of hope, and living in an unrealistic future that remains perpetually elusive. If tomorrow never comes, would you be satisfied with the way today ended?”

It’s great to have goals, but we have to enjoy the process of pursuing them. “It is not how you start in life and it is not how you finish,” Gilliland says. “The true joy of life is in the trip, so enjoy the ride!”

 

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