Choosing To Live In The Now

To live in the now. I’m envious of those folks living in places that don’t do the time shuffle dance twice a year. Seems silly to me to cling onto actions that are no longer relevant to society. I see it as a “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. In a professional context that way of thinking drives me crazy.

One aspect I do appreciate when the end of the year time change rolls around is the holidays. More so what the holidays signify to me. They are a form of closure. A time to look back and reminisce on the year. The good, not so good, and everything in between.

While I annoyingly adjust to the clocks dictating the schedule of my life, I am also winding down and looking forward to the downtime. I want to live in the now, but there is value to end of year rejuvenation. Taking a deep breath, a step back. Appreciating all the good in your life. Focusing on what is important. Getting your head right. Gratitude. Rejuvenation. These are all positive actions that can help reset your clock to hit the ground running in the new year.

Live In The Now Versus The Pace Of Life

The older I get I swear the faster time goes. I cannot believe I made my return to small town Texas almost four years ago. It feels as though the time has literally flown by. Mrs. Country Exec and I celebrated fourteen years together this year and our ten-year wedding anniversary. Those are two distinctive dates in my house and yes, acknowledgement, gifts, and dinner dates are expected for each.

It’s been ten years since I finished my undergrad degree. Six for my graduate. It feels as though it was just recently I was writing papers and struggling to juggle work, home, and my pursuit of professional credentials. Time flies. It has been long enough for me to dismiss the thought of going back for a doctorate immediately. I seriously considered carrying on with my education up until about halfway through my graduate program. I still like the idea of it, but I just don’t see value to making that commitment today.

As a kid, I can recall a semester felt like an eternity when I would start a new school year. I roll my eyes thinking about it now. The entire year can be a blur, let alone September through December. Crazy the varying perspectives life will provide you.

Live In The Now Versus Distractions

Today’s society is chock full of distractions. Amazingly so. They are both incredible, and highly problematic in my simplistic approach to life. I consider myself fortunate to have lived in the world prior to the proliferation of technology. Life was much simpler even as recent as the 90’s. The big technology thing from my youth was the Nintendo.

We were amazed by it. I didn’t have one, but I would play the games at friends’ homes. I know I enjoyed playing video games, but it never consumed me. Even as I graduated into adulthood alongside the explosion of video game technology it just never registered with me. I will be the first to raise my hand and say the technology is incredible, I was never into it on a personal level.

Today our fascination with gaming has coincided with social media and smart phone technology. We’re all walking around with devices on our person substantially more powerful than the video games of my youth. The advancement is staggering, but so is the holistic distraction to our lives.

To live in the now today is a difficult proposition with so much being thrown our way. I am no conspiracy theorist, but part of me does wonder if this onslaught of attention-grabbing entertainment constantly draining our focus is intentional.

 Live In The Now Versus Social Media

Social media is a particular pain point for me. I borderline despise it and the negative impact it has had on society. Several weeks back I deleted all the social media apps from my phone. I quickly discovered without the apps readily available a major distraction was removed from my immediate life. I found I have the ability to live in the now more without social media since it is not constantly omnipresent for me.

To be fair I appreciate the idea of social media. Staying connected with friends from years past. As someone that has lived all over the world that aspect is particularly appealing. I want to stay in contact with the people that helped shape me for the better.

Social media is a time capsule of sorts as well. I have years of memories on Facebook, to the extent I don’t want to delete my account so I can hold onto those happy reminders of the good times. I’m not thrilled with my train of thought on this, but it is a true statement for me.

That said, I have zero regrets about removing social media from my phone. My smartphone feels more utilitarian without social media. That is what a smartphone should be to me. A means to productivity. A communication instrument. Not a device to replace human interaction. Your smartphone is not a friend.

Live In The Now Versus The Country Exec

There is one aspect of reducing my interaction on social media that I do not like. In my efforts to live in the now, I have reduced my presence on social media for this site. Social media is definitively the medium I have had the most success with spreading my rural inspired message of positivity. Thanks to all of you The Country Executive has well over 2400 followers online. It bothers me to feel as though I am turning my back on the time invested. I had to reconcile that mindset and find a happy medium.

I removed the links to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest from countryexec.com in October, but I purposefully left the site’s integration with Facebook alone. Intentionally I left it as the middle ground. With over two thousand of the site’s followers via the platform, I decided that was the obvious choice to continue on with in a reduced capacity. In my attempt to live in the now I haven’t been posting as much these past couple of months. Here and there mostly.

Live In The Now Aftermath

I have lost quite a few followers as a result of my reduced social media presence and I totally understand and accept that fact. To allow myself to focus and live in the now and prioritize my life accordingly I willingly accept the tradeoff. Bottom line I believe it was the right decision for me. As I have long believed, we get one shot at this so we may as well live life how we see fit.

I find value to live in the now. Reduce the distractions society has and continues to create for us. The beauty of getting older is that I know myself exceedingly well. I dislike the constant media barrage synonymous with today’s society. That’s me though, I want to live in the now. To be aware and engage on the aspects of life that matter to me. Not what social and other forms of media believes I want to ingest.

Live In The Now Conclusion

At the end of the day, I say to each their own. Admittedly I may be one step closer to standing in front of that screen door so I can yell at the kids to slow down and get off my lawn. I’m a country guy that chose to carve out a life in small town Texas. Simplicity is the name of my game.

By choosing to remove distractions and live in the now I believe I have further simplified my existence. No regrets there! If you’re looking for a methodology to streamline and simplify your life I recommend removing some of today’s distractions. It’s worth a shot if you feel it may be negatively impacting your focus as to what is important in life. Until next time thank you for reading, and please take care of yourself and the ones you love.