The Master Key to Enjoying Every Moment

Where do you live?

Wait…I’m not asking about your home address.

To be more precise, let me rephrase my question: Where in time do you live?

Your answer to this question holds one of the major keys to finding joy in your life.

Most people live in one of two time zones. Many live in the past amid the pain, grief, anger, and regret of missed opportunities and bad life experiences.

Still others live amid the illusions of the future, believing that they will never find happiness unless a particular set of circumstances are fulfilled.

You might think that losing a certain job is the end of the world, that you’ll enter a dark side of your life and never see the light again. Or you might think that unless you get promoted to a certain position, you’ll never rise to the top of your profession.

But when you allow yourself to live in these two time zones, you are literally dead!

Yes, that’s right—living in the past or the future means that you’re not living at all. You take your thoughts, your emotions, and your soul to a place that you have no control over and that you cannot change.

You lose your life simply because you do not live in the only time zone available to you—the PRESENT. What a tragedy it is to witness so many people surrender their precious present to their past (which can no longer be changed) or their future (which doesn’t even exist)!

The present is all you have. Of course the past can provide you with valuable lessons and the future can give you hope—but living your life with full joy can only be accomplished in the present…in the NOW.

It has been said that the present is a present, a gift that you can use to create your future. If you lose it, then there’s no way that you can have a bright future. The present is the bridge that you must cross in order to arrive in your future. If you don’t proactively pass over it with your own choices, then you will find yourself living in a disappointing future.

If you really want to find true joy and happiness, then living in the present is a key thought control tactic you need to employ.

The ancient Egyptian Ptah-Hotep has a great piece of advice that will help you apply this concept.

Ptah-Hotep was the first minister during the reign of the Pharaoh Djedkare (Jed-Ka-Ra) in the Fifth Dynasty. He is credited with authoring “The Instruction of Ptahhotep,” an early piece of Egyptian wisdom literature meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior.

In his instructions, Ptah-Hotep wrote: “Be active during the time of your existence; do no more than is commanded. Do not spoil the time of your activity; he is a blameworthy person who makes a bad use of his moments. Do not lose the daily opportunity of increasing that which your house possesses. Activity produces riches, and riches do not endure when it slackens.”

Brilliant piece of ancient wisdom!

The first step to living in the present is to become aware of where your mind is traveling now. Does it dwell in the past or jump to the future? Whenever you catch yourself living in another time zone, stop and get yourself back to the present moment!

Awareness is key. You might consider setting an alarm that rings every hour; each time it rings, examine where you are living in that moment—and then, if you find yourself in another time zone, do whatever it takes to get back to the present moment! Do this for a month and you’ll get used to controlling your thoughts and living in the moment.

Get involved in the present with all your senses. Feel the taste of the food, the drop of water, the beauty of the scenery, and the sound of the music. Engage in the present activity and give it all you’ve got. If you suffer from a past experience, sit quietly and learn the lessons that will help you move forward. If you’re impatient and can’t wait to live a better future, then sit down and plan for it—but be aware that all of your actions for the future can only take place in the present. Live it fully!

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.”

The present is the bridge we all live on between the past and the future. You have no control over anything else and, therefore, you cannot fully live anywhere else.

Remember, your future is not determined by the quality of your past, but by the mastery of your present.

I created The Success Avalanche to help you master your present, learn proven success strategies and continuously feed your mind with positive empowering thoughts. For this project, I interviewed over one hundred top success and business experts who revealed their secrets of success. As a result, you can now access an avalanche of success ideas that can instantly transform your life from making a living to making a difference.

I strongly urge you to take advantage of this great tool and start leveraging the wisdom of these gurus to master your present, accelerate your professional growth and live your ultimate lifestyle.

Find out more at: http://www.Success-Avalanche.com

Live in the present and love your PRESENT!

To be continued…


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© Copyright 2009 - Mohamed Tohami

Mohamed Tohami is the author of "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps corporate professionals, who are dissatisfied at work and uncertain about their future, transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. For more information please visit: www.Tohami.com