This Moment is Good

I thought today we could once again return to simple ideas. This moment, right now, is good. It's a simple phrase but a powerful reminder.

We all know that much of the time our brains get caught in these loops of lamenting the past or worrying about the future. Both of those actions take us out of the present. And I know the argument will be, "yes Joy but what if this moment now isn't good?" That may be the case. But I would argue that if we are honest most of our now moments are actually good, if we are truly present. If you are stuck in a current moment that isn't good then I offer a different phrase: this next moment can be better.

I've often harped on about our brains and how they work (again, I'm a self-proclaimed nerd so things like this will happen). But we know from science that one of the things our brains do well is look for and identify patterns. And if you create a running pattern of recognizing when things are good, your brain will start to highlight those moments more often. It will naturally, and somewhat sneakily, turn the volume up on the good aspects of your life and turn down the volume of the bad aspects. This takes time of course. And sometimes, yes, the bad will seem really loud to you. But you can make the good even louder.

I challenge you to start today. This phrase is great as a mantra for a short meditation. It's also a good way to start each meal. If you decided, as you were taking your first bites of a meal, to pause and think "this moment is good" you would be programming your brain for better pattern recognition. If you could be with friends or family and say, "you know what, this moment is good," you'd be reinforcing that idea. And soon you'll be searching and finding more good and more good and... 

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