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Stay Present and Boost Your Creativity With These 5 Tips

With super busy lives and abundant brain noise, being present and living in the moment can be a challenge. But when we are present, we can focus. We are in our power. And we get stuff done.
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Are you easily distracted, like me? Do you suffer from "Shiny Object Syndrome," like me?

Welcome to the Brain Noise Club!

With super busy lives and abundant brain noise, being present and living in the moment can be a challenge. But when we are present, we can focus. We are in our power. And we get stuff done.

There is a tendency for the human mind to travel into the past or future, rather than staying in the present. The direction -- past or future -- depends on if one is experiencing fear that something negative will happen, which is in the future. Or the mind travels into the past where guilt and resentment cause us to replay events that emotionally felt bad. Or, conversely, we want to hang on to a memory that felt good.

How often do we spend time with loved ones, yet our minds are elsewhere? Or we need to write something, like an article or business plan, and rather than sitting and getting it done, we do laundry, check the Internet, and maybe paint our toenails (guilty). Or make love with our mate and instead of being heart-connected, we are doing our "to-do" list?

There is a lot of value in being present.

I am reminded of the time I visited the Louvre in Paris to enjoy the work of the greatest artists in history. My museum experience was ruined by the throngs of tourists armed with cameras who constantly captured images of everything. They were not being present and truly enjoying the art, but rather going into the future and securing their memories with digital media.

It taught me this: it is best to be present during important events and life experiences "as we are experiencing them." When we do, we can bloom, be more powerful -- and simply be more creative.

Here are five ways that you can stay present. When you are present, your creativity will blossom.

1. Set your intention: prior to spending time with a friend, family member, or business associate, spend a minute reminding yourself to be present. Put it into your consciousness. Remind yourself that the person will feel cared about and you will get far more from the time with them.

2. Meditate: even if it is for a few minutes, meditation is a great way to clear brain noise and listen to the whisper of your heart. Walking is a superb meditation exercise for clearing the mind, as is yoga. Meditation is ideal to do prior to working on a creative project, whether it is writing or painting, or other.

3. Relax : in those times when we are feeling nervous about being in someone's company, the mind tends to travel into the future or past, depending on whether we are in fear or guilt. Just relax and enjoy the moment.

4. Neutralize charged emotions: if you are feeling upset at someone or something, write down all the benefits to you for experiencing it. When we are negatively charged, our mind tends to fixate on it. Once we can rid of negative emotions, we can clear our minds and get on with it.

5. Breathe: remind yourself that all you have is the breath you are taking right now. Nothing beyond that is a guarantee. So breathe.

Signed,

The Queen of Distraction.

If you wish to find out more and get invaluable tips, contact me at ShannonSkinner.com, or pick-up my book, "The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity," where I cover these topics in more detail.What do you do to stay present?

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