Stay Present Focused

STAY PRESENT FOCUSED: PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
Notice when thoughts or feelings of the past or future intrude on the present; remind yourself as often as necessary that it is here and now, and gently but firmly return your attention to the moment and activities at hand. Dismiss thoughts (barking dog, leaves flowing down the river...)

PRACTICE
Observe your thoughts and feelings as they arise and fall away. Acknowledge and accept whatever thoughts and feelings arise, without analysis or judgment. Release the thoughts and feelings that arise, knowing that others will certainly follow. Stop struggling— allow your thoughts and feelings to rise and fall, and come and go without resistance or struggle.

Mindfulness meditation involves allowing your thoughts, feelings, and images to float through your mind without reacting. In mindfulness, you are simply observing the thoughts and feelings in a detached perspective as "mental events" rather than as aspects of yourself or as necessarily accurate reflections of reality. Through practice, you become more skilled at stepping back and observing without reacting. Mindfulness meditation helps to cultivate a nonjudging self-acceptance, and helps us to recognize that we are not defined by our emotions.