We spend a lot of time thinking about the past and the future. Both can be useful. The past is what makes up our memories. Thinking about the past allows us to assess our choices. We can reflect on what has gone well and what has not. This reflection helps us make choices in the here and now. On the other hand, the future is full of our hopes and dreams. Thinking about the future allows us to plan and prepare.
But there can be costs to thinking about the past and future. We may focus on things that have gone badly—for example, thinking about harm experienced in health care. Perhaps we spend a lot of time wishing things did not happen or wishing we could have done something differently. Sometimes we may even blame ourselves for things that have gone wrong. Spending time focused on our past may make us feel sad or down.
On the other hand, we can get caught focusing on things that might go wrong when we think about the future. We worry about things that might happen or are likely to be painful. For example, if you worry about visiting a specific hospital or doctor’s office. Spending time focused on the future may make you anxious or worried.
Spending time focusing on the past or the future can be useful sometimes, and other times not. You might find that it is not useful when it impacts your ability to be present in your everyday life. Maybe you spend a lot of your time worrying about things that might happen or feeling sad about things that have happened. During those times,it can be more useful to spend time paying attention to the present moment instead. Some people call this mindfulness. It is about paying attention to what we are experiencing now, usually with our five senses.
Let’s try a mindfulness exercise together. Right this minute, what do you see? If you look carefully, are there things that you did not notice before? Now turn your attention to what you hear. Can you find at least five different sounds? What does your body feel like right now? Notice the sensation of your clothes touching your skin, of your body touching your chair or your feet touching the floor. Right this minute, is there a taste in your mouth? What about smells? Do you smell anything right now?
Mindfulness is something that you can bring into your everyday activities. When eating, washing dishes, or showering, you can notice all the sensations you experience. You can try to notice things that you have not seen before. You can turn your attention to the things you feel with your body. For example, what your clothes feel like against your skin, what it feels like sitting in the chair you are in. You may also notice sensations in your body like pain, hunger, your heartbeat, or your breathing.
Sometimes you might notice what is happening in the here and now and judge it. You might decide something is good or bad, right or wrong. You can notice that too. See if you can notice what is happening without judging it. It is not good or bad, right or wrong, it just is. Just like spending time thinking about the past and the future, noticing what your five senses are experiencing in the present is also not always helpful. What is important is that you do have a choice. You can choose to think about the past, the future, or you can notice the present, whatever is most helpful for you in the moment.