Be Here Now

There are so many things which demand your attention that being present to "be here now" can be a challenge.  Even right now, as you are reading this blog post, chances are you have other emails awaiting your attention, notifications popping up about social media posts, reminders, or messages you're receiving.  Life never seems to slow down.

Yet we each have the same 24 hours in our days.  How we choose to spend that time is our decision.  But each choice we make comes with consequences.  Some of those consequences are positive (I study for a test and I get a good grade) and some of the consequences are negative (I didn't study for the test and I got a bad grade).  But here is the interesting thing I have noticed... it is all too common for students (and adults for that matter) to fake it.  We fake studying.  We fake working on a paper.  We fake being fine.  We fake paying attention.  We fake a lot, but why?  Is it because you are fooling yourself or someone else?  Is it because you want to impress someone for how much time you spent studying? (Even if the reality was you weren't really studying because you were spending most of your time finding music, responding to messages, or daydreaming.)

So stop.  Be all in.  Wherever you are, be all there.  This is your life - your one chance to do things fully, completely and as meaningfully as possible.

You can get more studying done in 30 minutes when you are intensely focused than you can over 3 hours of a half-focused study session.  Be present with your friends or family when you are spending time together - put your phone away and actually listen.  If you're not in the mood to write your paper, find a different approach to get yourself into the mindset to be fully focused on the task at hand rather than sitting in one place for hours on end growing more frustrated by how long it is taking you to complete the assignment.  But that is just part of it... remember, if you normally spend 3 hours half-way studying and are now just spending 30 minutes of focused work, you have the added benefit of gaining 2.5 hours of extra time to spend being fully invested in yourself and the activities you enjoy like spending time with friends, watching a show or even scrolling on social media.

For yourself, for your future, and for your overall well-being, please try to build the habit of being present and being all in with your time and your commitments.  It will serve you well in high school and beyond!