Better attention span. Focus. Concentration. Living in the present time. These are some of the words that can be associated with mindfulness. A practice that helps us focus, live in the now and to be truly present. I have been trying to understand why the world is becoming so “mindless”? Do you find that people are physically present but mentally absent? Here are some of my observations as to why this is happening.
The need to multitask.
Daily pressures that demand that we respond instantaneously to emails, messages and social media, together with the pressure of performing work related tasks. People are constantly streaming multiple messages through their minds, leading to loss of attention and focus. Funnily, this actually results in a loss of productivity as quality suffers when we multitask.
The need to be ever connected to the social web.
To post statuses, take pictures and send tweets. The enjoyment of the moment disappears when our minds are actually connected to the web rather than to the people around us. The famous FOMO – fear of missing out wreaks havoc in daily living with a pressure to check in and out of the virtual networks that we find ourselves immersed in.
Information accessibility and overload
People “mindlessly” scroll down their timelines to see what they have missed in the day, without truly connecting with any one person or one article to read. The accessibility of information at our finger tips have led to us being lazy – at reading, at having conversations that matter because we know that it or they will always be there – on my smart phone.
How can we be cured?
It’s quite strange, that in a world with technological advances at arm’s length, we need to be retaught the simple task of how to connect and commit to the present moment in time. Becoming mindful means acknowledging the present time and giving it full attention. No matter who or what is in that moment – seize it. Live in that space and that time – forsake all else and accept the moment for what it is. As human beings, we are sometimes trapped by our pasts and obsessed with our futures, yet the present is all we truly have! It will lead to richer conversations, greater productivity and creativity and a more meaningful life.
So let’s not go so far as to seize the day, let’s start by seizing the moment!