DanaAtkin

One Day at a Time
This article is inspired by a series of personal curve balls that I, and my family have been thrown over the last three weeks. They are not by any means simple and we are certainly not the only ones to ever have gone through these but I am in a unique position to help those beyond my own circle here through this blog. Here’s what I have learnt first hand over the last few weeks.

When things get crazy and life throws you a constant set of curve balls, it’s often easy to let your imagination run away from you or to let your mind reside in the past. Either way, it doesn’t do us good if we are not living in the present moment.

Yes, our long-term goals may be temporarily set off course and yes, it may mean a readjustment of the best way to get there but ultimately, the point is to take it one day at a time because sometimes, this is the best option. By focusing on the present moment, we give our body permission to relax a little. We let go of the “what if’s” (both past and present) and we get to see the situation from present day perspective.

The past
What is in the past, will remain there. We cannot change it by mulling it over or by going over every detail for how things might have been if we had made other choices. Those choices were already made and they cannot be undone.

What we CAN do however, is look for the lesson, look for the blessing. But looking for these can only be done from the present day perspective. If you living in the past, you’re blessing is out of focus, you need to widen the lens in order to get the clarity of the situation.

Ask Yourself:
Knowing what I know today, what was my gift then?
How has this made me a better person?
How can a I choose for this to make me a stronger, more focused person?

The Future
Looking too far into the future with what if’s, while in some instances can be a good thing, can in times of great stress be detrimental to our health. The what if’s, when you’re under stress, tend to only navigate toward the not so nice possibilities. It’s human nature to think of the worst-case scenario first.

Here’s the thing. The same principle applies to the future what ifs as it does to the past what if’s. You need to look for the lesson and the blessing but this needs to be done from the perspective of the present day.

Ask Yourself:
Knowing what I know today, what is my gift for the future?
How does this information or circumstance change my attitude or actions for a better future, regardless of the outcome?

The Present
The present is inherently the gift. After all, it’s not called the present for nothing. It is the gift of perspective, of clear focus if you choose to look for it.