About 9-10 months ago I wrote a post about balancing life, but recently I have moved further and have been putting a lot of thought into “enjoying the present”.
Am I starting to show my age? Most of my friends or people that I mix with are 10 years my senior so they probably think I am very young still, however all this deep analysis gets me thinking that I am getting old ;)
I have been frustrated over the past few years that often I am not really particularly happy (or as happy as I would like) and often feel exhausted. Is it too much work? the kids? diet? my weight? not enough sleep? not enough work? don’t have ‘x’ item? not enough balance? not enough holidays? too many holidays? not enough money? too much money?…
Over the last few months I started to research ‘positive thinking’… which in turn lead to information about ‘living in the present’. Now of course I have heard and read about these topics in the past, but they always seemed so obvious or a bit ‘airy fairy’… anyway they seem to make so much sense to me right now, it must just be the stage of my life.
I decided to list down a few key points to remind myself. Below is what I have so far. I have them printed and stuck to the bathroom mirror… I must say that since doing this I am so much happier far more often, like right now ;)
Anyway, enjoy, you may learn something, then again you may just think its all just a crock of shit. Whatever, it really doesn’t bother me, the exercise of typing this blog post has been another opportunity to think about them again, which is beneficial to me regardless.
However, before you dive into the information below, here are a couple important points…
  1. Point #1 below is the ‘major one’. In my mind it makes up about 90% of the positive effect.
  2. Yes, there are more than 10, this is a ‘work in progress’.
–<snip>–


Clay’s 10 COMMANDMENTS
live life by
    1.  Slow down and enjoy every moment. Life is not to be “endured”. Live life in the present, don’t worry about the past or the future. If you are not enjoying ‘now’… when will you? Life is not a race, are you trying to get through what you are doing now, as it feels in the way of the next thing? Be grateful for everything happening around you now.
    What does it mean to live fully in the present moment? It means that your awareness is completely centered on the here and now. You are not worrying about the future or thinking about the past. When you live in the present, you are living where life is happening. The past and future are illusions, they don’t exist. As the saying goes “tomorrow never comes”. Tomorrow is only a concept, tomorrow is always waiting to come around the corner, but around that corner are shadows, never to have light shed upon, because time is always now.

    People are always convincing themselves that they will be happy ‘when they have a bigger house, or a new car, or a holiday’. Haven’t you noticed once you have these things, you start convincing yourself you will be happier when you have ‘x’. Think – their are people less fortunate than me that think “I would be happier if I had all the stuff Clay has”…

    Hurrying and being ultra-efficient are very often enemies to true enjoyment in life. Enjoy ‘the process, enjoy the journey’. Why be in such a hurry to get onto the next ‘job’? There is always a lot to do, if you keep rushing from job to job, you will never enjoy any period of time.

    Why are kids so happy? = because they live in the present… they dont worry about the past, or things coming up in the future.

    Have you ever been to a 3rd world country? If so, you may have noticed how happy the general population is. In my experience they are generally far happier than most communities I have spent my time living around, yet they have far less personal items and wealth. Why is this? I am convinced one of the reasons is due to them living in the present far more often than most. They don’t seem to worry about the past, or what is coming up in the future, they are just living the moment, whatever it may be.

    2.  Positive Thinking. Always use only positive words while thinking and while talking. Use words such as, ‘I can’, ‘I am able’, ‘it is possible’, ‘it can be done’, etc. Think positive and expect only favorable results and situations, even if your current circumstances are not as you wish them to be. In time, your mental attitude will affect your life and circumstances and change them accordingly.

    3.  Stop beating yourself up. Stop the negative thoughts. Stop being so hard on yourself. Massively decrease the pressure, 90% of the pressure you feel is self induced!

    4.  Think “What’s it like being me?”. If someone were me for 24 hrs… would they go away saying… “wow that guy loves life and has a great life”… or would they go away saying things like… “how stressful”, how boring… etc

    5.  Money is not the end game. Should never be the key focus.
    6.  Keep your body fit and healthy. It is your ownly body you have, take care of it, don’t let it get run down… it can’t be replaced and you will pay in the long run BIG TIME.
    7.  Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh at yourself. Why so serious?
    8.  Be grateful. We all have so much to be grateful for, yet we take it for granted the vast majority of the time.
    9.  Spend more time with HAPPY people, and less with unhappy people. Happiness is contagious.
    10.  Laugh a lot every day. Listen to music every day. Don’t watch much TV. Read a book regularly. Cook often.
    11.  Get outdoors as often as possible, soak in the sun’s rays.
    12.  Help others regularly. Making a difference in other’s lives is very rewarding.
    I am Grateful for…
    • A loving beautiful wife
    • Loving amazing children
    • a fortunate life
    • being born in Australia
    • living in an amazing house and suburb
    • Living in a safe suburb
    • my health – good body weight and fit body.
    • my top quality education
    • having an interesting business
    • surrounded by good shops and resources
    • surrounded by water – river and sea
    Self Affirmations…
    • I am the best husband
    • I am the best father
    • My wife loves and appreciates me
    • My kids love and appreciate me
    • My wife and I make a great team
    • I have the most amazing wife and children
    • Today is a wonderful day.
    • I deserve to be very happy
    • I am flexible and open to change
    • I always think positively