4 Ways You Can Stay Present in a Crowd…

1. Notice the tiniest details around you. When your mind starts to wander and you cannot possibly believe that you’re going to be able to spend an entire night living in the present moment, take a deep breath and look around you. Don’t look at the big picture of what’s happening but, instead, focus on the tiniest details. What does the floor beneath your feet look like? Who are the people closest to you? What are they wearing? What are you wearing? What does the cloth feel like on your skin? Use your five senses to really take in all of the things happening around you and you’ll be instantly be brought back to the present moment.

2. Acknowledge thoughts of the past and future. Okay, so your mind has made it’s way back down the winding paths of the past and the future and you can’t seem to bring it back to the now. Everyone around you is talking about what happened over the past year or sharing their stories with you and staying in the present seems next to impossible. Here’s what you need to do: acknowledge the past and future thoughts in your head. Give them a moment to shine in your mind. Then imagine them floating away from you, like fast-moving clouds in a summer sky. Having given your mind a chance to process these thoughts briefly and imagine them leaving, you’ll be much more able to focus on living in the now.

3. Find a staying present partner-in-crime. If you’re surrounded by tons of people talking about what they hope for next year or what they went through this year, it’s going to be really hard to get through an evening where you keep your own mind in the present. So, what you need to do is find a staying present partner-in-crime, someone who, like you, wants to stay focused on the now. Having this person by your side will help you both make the most of the moment. When you find your mind wandering, you can ask for reinforcement from your partner and, likewise, you can offer support to him or her. No matter what the goal, doing anything difficult is often best done with a partner. Knowing you have someone else who wants to stay present too will help you both make it through the evening.

4. Partake in enjoyable activities with loved ones. Staying present is hard enough, but imagine trying to stay present while you’re doing something you don’t want to be doing! For that reason, it’s imperative that you plan a social activity that will bring you joy and make you happy to be in the moment. Give some thought to what you’d really, really like to be doing when the clock strikes midnight — and make plans to do it! Also, do what you can to surround yourself with people you love. Nothing pushes your mind to the past or the future more than being around people you don’t like. Do what you love with who you love and your goal to stay present on NYE will be a success!

 

4 Tips are attributed to DANI:  http://www.positivelypresent.com/about-positively-present.html

 

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