In 2010, a Harvard study conducted by Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert revealed that the average person spent 47% of their time distracted from the present by a “wandering mind.”

“Wandering mind” describes a mental state in which a person struggles to focus on the present moment or an immediate task due to the intrusion of unrelated thoughts.

For example, some of the following scenarios might be relatable:

• Maybe you’ve found yourself watching a movie with your partner, only to miss 12 minutes of dialogue because you started thinking about work.
  
  
• Maybe you’ve struggled to fall asleep the night before a job interview because you were rehearsing your answers to the top 100 questions a hiring manager might ask.
  
  
• Maybe you’ve gone for a drive and realized that you haven’t checked your mirrors in 15 minutes because you were imagining what it would feel like to get even with someone who recently hurt your feelings.

That’s the thing about our creative brains: they’re optimized to solve problems, including those that aren’t immediately present. Sometimes, we’ll even try to solve problems that don’t actually exist.

As cool as it is that humans are natural-born problem solvers, our complex cognition comes with a price:

When we turn our attention away from the present, we can miss out on significant portions of our lives.

For example, think about all the things that can happen in the 47% of time in which we aren’t focused:

• Our children might take their first steps
  
  
• We might hug a family member for the very last time
  
  
• We might give our friends the impression that they aren’t very important to us
  
  
• We might make minor mistakes at work that can have huge consequences

The above list is certainly not comprehensive. There are amazing experiences, potential threats, and rare opportunities that each of us misses every day simply because we’re lost in thought instead of being focused on the present moment.

So, here’s a quick question for you:

What’s one thing you want to fully focus on today – even if just for a few minutes?

Quote of the Week

“The present moment is all you ever have. There is never a time when your life is not ‘this moment.’” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Mindful Living Tip

If you want to build a habit of being present, try implementing the “5 Senses Approach” at least once per day for 2-5 minutes by asking yourself 5 simple questions:

1. What do you see right in front of you?
   
   
2. What do you smell right now? (Hopefully, it’s one of our candles!)
   
   
3. What do you taste right now? (Hopefully, it's NOT one of our candles!)
   
   
4. What do you hear right now?
   
   
5. What do you feel in the air right now? Is it hot or cool, dry or humid?
   

What’s Happening at Flowering Phoenix

Buy 3 Get 1 FREE: For the rest of the holiday season, you can buy three luxury beeswax candles and get a fourth one FREE!

Give the gift of simple elegance and handmade charm this season! 🎁

Author Bio

This piece was written by Christopher J. Fritz, a writer, podcaster, and musician with a passion for philosophy, mindfulness, and sustainability.