Living in the Moment: Getting Unstuck

The true reality of living in the moment came when I found out my dog, Jess was blind.

Jess is a beautiful, black lab-mix with a heart of gold who just loves her belly rubbed and a pat on the head. When she first started bumping into things and tripping over the kids toys I thought she was just clumsy. But when I finally took her to an optometrist, he told me she was blind.

He also told me that she was okay with that. Dogs live in the moment. They don’t worry about what happened yesterday or what’s coming around tomorrow. They just live for the happiness they can find in today.

Hearing that was a real reminder for me that sometimes we spend too much time and energy worrying about what we should have done yesterday; I should have made that phone call, I should have sent that thank you note, I should have done that pop-by.

As Realtors and mortgage loan officers and really, as marketers, we sometimes also spend a lot of time and effort fretting about tomorrow; will I get that new client, will that house sell, will that mortgage application go through?

Both worrying about the past and the future can make us feel like we are at a dead end – just sitting in the corner looking at the empty wall.

Sometimes, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed, you have to try to live in the moment. Accept that yesterday is over. If you have something really important that you didn’t get done, do it today or schedule it for the end of the week.

And tomorrow, well tomorrow hasn’t happened yet. Setup a plan to make it happen and get yourself unstuck.

If you are really stuck in that negative, self-talk rut try this right now:

• Take a break. Eat a banana. Take a walk, call a friend or call your Mom. Just take 10-20 minutes to separate from your frustration.

• Make a list of 5 things you have accomplished in the last week? (You can also read our post about Celebrating the Wins.) Spend a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done! And remember how many people you have helped along the way.

• Find that place in your heart where you can be grateful for all that you have (wonderful family, happy home, good friends, good clients and lots of opportunities to come – or even just be thankful for that banana!). Check out our blog post titled ‘I’m Never Behind’ for inspiration.

• Reach down deep to find the optimism you had when you started this business (or this position). What did you love? What were you excited about?

• Now, set a realistic goal for the future: ie: I will acquire 5 new clients by the end of the next quarter. Or something simple like, I will finish this next step by the end of the day. (Here’s a blog with Time Management tips that may help)

• Plan step by step how you can accomplish that goal.

• Take a deep breath. Then get your nose to the grindstone and make it happen!

And remember, for right now, just live in the moment. And know that Jess is right there living in the moment with you!