Tenacity and determination… they’re things we often have, even if we don’t always realise we have them! Think about habits you have that don’t really serve you. You know they don’t serve you and yet, somehow, you still keep managing to do them! Somewhere within you is the sheer and absolute bloody-mindedness to keep on going despite things being against you, and despite the fact that part of you wants to change it!!

So if, within you somewhere, there is this determination and willpower to keep going, that is not serving you – imagine how great it would be if you could channel that determination to things that DO serve you. It would be great wouldn’t it! And you know what? Often all it takes is being aware of where you are in the present moment and what you’re doing.

“Being Present” is a phrase you may well have heard and perhaps not quite sure what it means? If you do know what it means… great! Next question – how present are you?! If you don’t know what it means here’s my (very brief) explanation of it:

“Being present means being aware of where you are right now, and what you’re doing. It means not worrying over the past, or stressing about the future. It means being aware of what you’re thinking and doing, and how and where you’re focusing your energy”.

All too often we do things under automatic pilot… take brushing your teeth for instance. Or even going to the loo! We often do these things automatically, without paying attention to what we’re doing, while focusing upon something that has happened, or something that might happen. This is often why you get toothpaste down your top, or… well I won’t dwell on the other activity! But you get my meaning I think. When we do things on automatic pilot, we are not challenging our tenacity and determination in the most helpful and effective way.

A good way to learn to be more present, is to focus upon your breath. If you find yourself stressing about the past or future, don’t be cross with yourself, just bring your attention back to your breathing. Notice how you’re breathing. Are you breathing shallowly or deeply? Loudly or Softly? Quickly or Slowly? What does it sound like? How does it feel? Whenever you notice yourself no “being present” come back to your breathing to remind you. The more often you do this, the more “Present” you’ll become… and the more easily it will be for you to channel all that strength and determination more effectively and helpfully in your life.

But, you see, there’s something else here too. About determination I mean. You might have a fear that you won’t have the determination tomorrow that you have today to continue doing something. Where do you think your focus is when you’re thinking thoughts like that? Certainly isn’t in the present moment! Deal with the present. When tomorrow comes, it’ll be the present moment and you can deal with your determination then.

If you ever watch a bird in the garden, it diligently, and purposefully hops and flies around collecting seeds and insects to eat. It appears to have a quiet, and often fun, determination aura about it. It doesn’t look particularly stressed about whether it will have the energy to and motivation to get up tomorrow and collect food. Of course we don’t really know what a bird is thinking, but I’m convinced that the robins in our garden don’t stress about whether they’ll have the determination to get up on the following morning and visit our garden! They’re always there at around 5/6am bobbing about collecting food to eat. They’re totally present and aware of their surroundings. And they need to be! Let’s face it, if the robin was stressing about whether it would be determined to find breakfast tomorrow, it’d probably become breakfast for the cats next door today!!

Let me summarise this for you about your determination and strength. It is only in the present moment that you can draw upon them. Be present. Be aware of where you are, what you’re doing, and how you’re focusing your energy. If you’re feeling fear about the future or stressing over the past – you’re not being present. And that’s the time to bring your attention to your breath.

Breathe. Focus. Be Present.