Ep 157: Present Moment Awareness
In this second part of our series on how to develop your psychological flexibility, we look at the importance of being in the present moment, and minimising ‘mental time-travel’.
Richard and Ross look at some of the unhelpful ways our attention and focus are pulled from the here and now, along with some simple ways you can start to develop your capacity to just notice. We make the distinction between day-dreaming and all the benefits this can bring, and unwanted mental time-travel, where we can get taken to worrying imagined futures. It’s the unwanted mental time-travel that takes us away from the present moment, and the opportunities for action it offers us.
Don’t forget, you can join us for a free online Q&A session on April 30th. Simply sign up for the WorkLifePsych online community to find all the details and RSVP for the event. It’s free to join!
Thanks for listening.
Resources mentioned in this episode
You can find out lots more about Psychological Flexibility by visiting our dedicated page at worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility. We’ll be updating it as the series progresses.
Other relevant resources
- Buddify app – https://buddhify.com
- Balance app – https://balanceapp.com
- Headspace app – https://www.headspace.com
- Killingsworth and Gilbert 2010 – A wandering mind is an unhappy mind: https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/KILLINGSWORTH%20&%20GILBERT%20%282010%29.pdf
Youtube videos:
- Are you planing, predicting or playwriting? https://youtu.be/9F53bsXmzb4
My Pocket Psych episodes
- Ep 075: Mindfulness interventions at work – https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-075-mindfulness-interventions-at-work-with-antonia-dietmann/
- Ep 126: first steps in mindfulness – https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/126/
Blog posts
- Five common myths about mindfulness: debunked – https://www.worklifepsych.com/five-common-myths-about-mindfulness-debunked/
- Mindfulness: how to avoid mental time-travel – https://www.worklifepsych.com/mindfulness-how-to-avoid-mental-time-travel/
- Date April 5, 2024
- Tags Psychological Flexibility