Often we spend so much time staring at what’s coming next, that we miss what’s happening right in front of our face. Sometimes it takes a big or tragic event to bring us back. Other times it’s the pressure we feel at a given moment. Whatever the reason, it happens. Learning to snap back to reality on our own terms is a valuable skill to explore. Snap Back To Reality, Oh There Goes Gravity…. “…You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime…” – Eminem, Lose Yourself Sage advice from Eminem. Who would’ve thought? But he makes a good point. All we’ve got is right now, this moment. This particular opportunity only comes once. Whether we choose to believe it or not. Think of our awareness like a rubber band – flexible, continually expanding. We stretch our view, our focus, and our perception. This is a wonderful ability to have – to not only see what is, but also what can be. But just like a rubber band, there is only so far it can stretch – and how long we can hold it – then snap! If we don’t take the time to snap back to reality on our own terms, it will happen unexpectedly. Stress, life changing events, and pain are often triggers of the snap. Say you’re driving along, daydreaming about an upcoming meeting, when suddenly you ram into a stopped car – snap! – you’re back to reality. When you witness the birth of your baby, you snap back. When you slam your finger in the door, you snap back. All of these things take the stretched band of your perception and snap it back to its original state, leaving it loose and exhausted. If a rubber band stays stretched too long, when it does snap back, it begins to lose its elasticity. The same happens with us. By constantly living in a future, imagined time we begin to reach the point of breaking, and lose the potential to stretch effortlessly each time. The key is learning to take this “snap back” into your own hands and regularly return to reality – the true reality of what happening right now. Wow…Trippy… This may all sound like kooky, New Agey stuff. Actually it’s more like Old Agey stuff. But it’s really just a mindset. Being focused on the future is important, but so is snapping back to right now. There are lots of ways to do this. One of the most common is to focus on your breathing. Really notice the breath come in and flow out. Or take a few minutes to just listen to the sounds around you. It’s not important how you do it, just that you take some time throughout the day to snap back on your own terms – no crashes, no pain, no stress. Just the act of wanting to, makes it happen. It doesn’t require any big rituals, or beliefs. Just ask “what’s happening right now?” Then listen. You’ll get it. You’ll snap back. And it’s a good thing, because you only get one shot, this moment only comes once in a lifetime. Tony D. Clark writes, draws cartoons, designs software and websites, and spends a lot of time talking others into working from home, being creative, and doing what they love. His blog Success from the Nest focuses on helping parents who want to do meaningful work from home and have more time for their families, and their dreams.
