Are You Thinking Your Life Away? Study Shows Most Of Us Are.

Do you ever find yourself in the car arriving at your destination with no memory of the actual drive there? Or maybe you notice you are on your phone having been scrolling on social media for a while, but don’t even remember picking up the phone and opening the app? So many of us get lost in our heads thinking about the past or future, so much so that we often aren't taking in what's actually going on around us. And this can have adverse effects on our life.

Half A Life Wasted?

A study out of Harvard in 2010 (Killingsworth & Gilbert) decided to investigate just how often people are in the present moment (not lost in their thoughts), and how happy they are because of it. What they found was that on average, 46.9% of the time we are NOT in the present moment. These are all the times you are doing one thing and thinking (worrying, planning, etc.) about another. That is almost half of our lives that we spend lost in thought! Furthermore, the data showed that people were happiest when they were present. Conversely, when people were lost in thought it was usually with a negative or at least neutral thought. Even if you are doing something that you don’t like, if you can remain present while doing it, it was shown that you’d be happier with that task.

The researchers Killingsworth and Gilbert write,

“A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost...In fact, how often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.”

Mind Travelling

I know that this data has proven to be true in my own life. I’ve heard it said that depression exists when we are "living" in the past and anxiety exists when we are "living" in the future. I have a lot of experience with both of these types of mind travel and know it's a very unpleasant way to live. Being lost in the endless cycle of fear and worry over the past and/or future was making me deeply unhappy. So, when I came across this idea that trying to live more in the present moment could be a way to leave behind the anxiety and depression and become happier, I was curious.

Of course, it’s not just as simple as be present and you’ll be fine! But I have noticed after many years of applying myself to the practice of coming out of my head and into the present moment, that my anxiety and depression have lessened, and I feel more joy and contentment in my life.

There are many ways you can practice becoming present. While a traditional (and my personal favorite) way would be to meditate, you can also do your best to become present in your everyday life! One of the best ways to do this is to bring your attention to your senses. What can you hear, feel, see, smell, or taste right now?

Come To Your Senses

If you are eating dinner, what textures and flavors do you notice in your mouth? How full do you feel after each bite you take? If you are washing the dishes after dinner, can you notice the temperature of the water? The feeling of soap on your hands? If you are out walking the dog, what sounds can you hear in your neighborhood? What plants can you notice around you? Is there a breeze or sunlight on your skin? Coming to your senses will help you jump out of the thinking mind (and any rumination it may be doing currently) and just be present. How often can you let yourself come to the present moment and just enjoy? And do you notice you feel happier when you do? Worth a shot, right?

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