A few months ago, I came to a sudden realization that I wasn\u2019t really living my life. I \u00a0realized that i was just trying to get through each day instead of actually experiencing it. When I thought back on my daily life the kinds of memories I would tell my future kids about, I realized I had almost nothing. Of course, I have memories from trips or special events, but in my everyday life, I couldn\u2019t remember much at all. It\u2019s not that I expect something big or exciting to happen every day, but I felt like I was just letting time pass, moving along like a clock instead of actually being present. And that’s why i ahve decided to make some small changes in my life. I started by setting New Year\u2019s resolutions, along with monthly goals at the start of the year. My goal wasn\u2019t to completely change my life overnight, but to do things that would help me feel more present and actually live my life. To be honest, it hasn\u2019t been easy. There have been many times when I didn\u2019t follow through with my goals, and that feeling of failure has been holding me back. Even though I made progress, there has also been times I have stopped for a while. Recently, though, something shifted again. I watched a video that talked about how most of us think of \u201cliving\u201d as big moments like a trip, a concert, or a special event, while ignoring the fact that real life is made up of ordinary days. Living isn\u2019t just those highlights, it\u2019s also a random Tuesday, folding laundry, or doing something simple. That idea really stuck with me, and it has since pushed me to start trying harder to complete my monthly goals and to try to be more consistent than before. Since then, I\u2019ve been focusing on small, simple habits that help me feel more present in my life. One of my biggest struggles is procrastination. Normally, when I clean my room or organize something, I\u2019ll put on a show or scroll on my phone. But I\u2019ve started turning everything off instead. At first, it felt strange, but I realized it actually helps me focus more and finish faster. Even having something in the background, like music, was distracting me more than I thought I also decided to do this while I eat. Every time I have dinner, I usually watch a show, so recently I\u2019ve started eating in silence instead. At first, it felt a bit strange, but I have realized it actually has helped me slow down and pay more attention to what I\u2019m doing. It\u2019s a simple change, but it makes me feel more present, even during something i do every day. Another habit I\u2019ve been building is setting aside time each week to learn something new. Once a week, I\u2019ll watch a video or listen to a podcast about an interesting topic like ancient Mesopotamia or the history of something random. It\u2019s a small thing, but it makes me feel like I\u2019m actually adding something to my life. Sometimes I even replace background noise with a podcast so I can learn while doing other tasks. This has been helpful as it not only has helped me learn new things, but it’s useful for conversation because now i have random facts I can tell people! I\u2019ve also been trying to pick up new hobbies. Recently, I started doing yoga again. I tried it before but couldn\u2019t stay consistent. Now, I\u2019m making more of an effort to stick with it, and it\u2019s been really beneficial. Not just physically, but mentally too. When I combine it with meditation, it forces me to slow down and really be in the moment! Another habit I\u2019ve added is cooking a new recipe once a week. It doesn\u2019t have to be anything complicated; sometimes it\u2019s just a simple dinner or snack, but I try to make something I\u2019ve never made before. Since I already love cooking, this helps me grow that hobby and again learn something new! I also try to do it without watching anything, so I can fully focus on the process which again helps me be more present. Something smaller, but surprisingly impactful, is how I listen to music. I used to always have music playing while doing something else. Now, sometimes I just sit and listen to music on its own. No distractions. It\u2019s just me, my thoughts, and the music. It\u2019s made me appreciate the lyrics more, and it actually feels really calming. I\u2019ve also been trying to give five compliments a day. This habit has helped me notice small things I would usually ignore. Especially with strangers, it can feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but it\u2019s always worth it. i realized that I often think nice things about people, but don\u2019t say them. So now ive tried to live by the phrase think a compliment, say a compliment. Every time I notice something or like something about someone’s hair, I’m forced to tell them. For example, once I saw a woman at dinner wearing a really nice scarf, and as I was leaving, I told her. It felt a little awkward, but also really nice, and It made both of us feel good! I like this habit bevasue its something small that most of us already do, and it helps me be more present by noticing small details. One habit I\u2019ve struggled with a lot is journaling. I\u2019ve wanted to start for years, and I even bought a journal two months ago but it\u2019s just been sitting on my bedside table, empty. At first, I felt embarrassed about that. But then I realized it\u2019s more embarrassing to never start at all than to start late. I\u2019ve decided that this month, I\u2019m finally going to commit to it. I hope it will help me become more present with my thoughts and myself. Another thing I\u2019ve noticed is how distracted I can be when people are talking to me. Recently, my friend Sofia would often ask if I was actually listening every time she was telling me a story, and I realized she was right. Even when I think I\u2019m paying attention, I\u2019m often on my phone or lost in my thoughts. So now, I\u2019m trying to fully put everything away and focus completely on the person in front of me whether the conversation is big or small. This is really great because I can fully take in what the person is saying and put my full attention to the moment! Overall, these are just small habits, but they\u2019ve made a big difference. They\u2019ve helped me feel like I\u2019m actually living my life instead of just going through it. And I think that\u2019s what makes them so effective, they\u2019re simple, realistic, and something I can do anywhere. I know some of these habits might sound kind of dumb or too easy, and I\u2019m aware of that. But for me, actually acknowledging them as habits has made a difference. It helps me stay consistent and pushes me to follow through. I also think there\u2019s this pressure to make big, dramatic changes in order to improve your life. But honestly, I\u2019ve realized that small changes can be just as important. Even if it\u2019s something simple or something people already do, it still matters. At the end of the day, I\u2019m the one living my life, so it doesn\u2019t really matter what anyone else thinks or does. I\u2019ve realized that focusing on what others are doing doesn\u2019t add anything to my life, so what good does it do me? Nothing. So yeah, overall I think this mindset and these habits have really helped me become more present with myself and more aware of how I choose to live each day and the choices I make!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few months ago, I came to a sudden realization that I wasn\u2019t really living my life. I \u00a0realized that i was just trying to get through each day instead of actually experiencing it. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18590,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18589\/revisions\/18590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericmacknight.com\/english10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}