How to Live in the Present Moment and Stop Worrying So Much

World events can elicit distress. Living in the present moment is an antidote.

Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

Key points

• Our brains experience uncertainty as a threat.
• Learning to live in the present reduces worry and stress and enhances resilience.
• Living in the present means intentionally maintaining well-being while feeling empowered to take action.

In times of environmental, social, and political upheaval, there is chaos that provokes a sense of uncertainty about what might happen next. Misinformation and disinformation further amplify the uncertainty. Uncertainty is naturally experienced in our brains as a threat, evoking anxiety (Grupe & Nitschke, 2013). It can be overwhelming.

When world events create anxiety, some people respond by retreating entirely, sticking their heads in the sand, and, thus, potentially missing useful information. Others ruminate on worst-case scenarios and doomscroll, constantly scanning headlines, which brings even more distressing content. Doomscrolling can cause headaches, muscle tension, elevated blood pressure, and difficulty sleeping (George et al., 2024).

People tend to live nostalgically in the past or look ahead and worry about the future. This can make it difficult to enjoy the good things that exist in your life right now. Maintaining a balanced approach while addressing underlying anxiety is essential. Living in the present moment reduces negativity and stress while increasing mental resilience (Jentsch & Hoferichter, 2024) but must be balanced so as not to become a means for escapism, or ignoring consequences and accountability. Living in the present moment is about maintaining emotional well-being while feeling empowered to take thoughtful, impactful action.

Gaining Perspective

We tend to think of time as linear, flowing from past to present to future. Einstein’s theory of relativity, however, suggests that what we perceive as "now" is a relative construct, depending on a range of factors. Time is less absolute than it seems. As Einstein stated, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen all at once.” Time is a way of helping us organize the things that happen in our lives. Events appear to happen sequentially, but the past is a bygone and the future is yet to happen. Even the things we experience as happening in the present are actually processed by our brains slightly after their occurrence—the present becomes the past before we can process it. There is freedom in understanding this illusion. While we cannot live precisely in the present, we can make efforts to live "intentionally," becoming aware of the way our brains pull us toward the future and the past. We can strive to remain grounded in the present moment.

How to Live in the Present

Grounding yourself in the present involves mindfulness and mental reframing. Mindfulness practices can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and promote well-being (Moammed & Yadav, 2024). Mindfulness encourages us to focus on breath, bodily sensations, and nonjudgmental task engagement. Mental reframing means validating what you are feeling while learning to identify unhelpful thinking patterns that promote perseveration on the past or the future. Fixation on the past can lead to regret, guilt, and resentment; preoccupation with the future can incite fear, impatience, and anxiety. Challenging your negative thoughts and replacing them with opportunities for growth and change can help anchor your mind in the present moment and build resilience against chaos.

Positive psychology defines complete absorption in an activity, where the usual sense of space and time disintegrate, as "flow." When you enter a state of flow, your mind is worry-free as it synchronizes with the activity in which you are engaged. Your mind becomes still. Time slows down. Your senses are heightened. Thought and action become perfectly aligned. When you are passionately immersed in a challenging but doable activity, you are in the zone and feel energized and balanced. Sometimes flow happens spontaneously like when you are listening to music, dancing, making art, having sex, or walking in nature. To coax flow, define your peak time of day and set a specific, enjoyable task that you are good at but that is also demanding. A task that is too hard will create stress, and one that is too easy engenders boredom. The sweet spot between the two creates an enabling environment for flow.

There are other things that facilitate grounding yourself in the present. Physical activity regulates stress hormones and releases endorphins, from the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, that foster feelings of well-being. Gratitude practices, including mindful reflection, breathwork, and journaling, can shift your attention to the present, especially the positive aspects. Activities that focus on the senses, such as being in nature or savoring a meal, also bring attention clearly to the present.

Grounding in the Present Moment, Step by Step

• Step 1: Pause and Acknowledge. Awareness is the first step to grounding in the present. When feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to stop and reflect. Acknowledge that you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and/or disconnected.
• Step 2: Breathe Deeply. The box breathing method is a breath-counting exercise for slowing yourself down. The basic technique is to inhale through your nose for a count of 4—hold your breath for a count of 4—and exhale through your nose or mouth for a count of 6. Focus your attention on a specific object, sound, or image to free your mind from distractions.
• Step 3: Engage Your Senses. Use your five senses to connect to what is around you. After slowing yourself down with deep breathing, bring yourself into harmony with your environment. Identify five things you can see, four things you can feel or touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This countdown method further slows down your thinking and grounds you, pulling your thoughts away from worries and returning you to the present moment.
• Step 4: Name the Moment. Either silently, to yourself, or out loud, state what you are doing, such as, I am walking by the lake. By labeling the moment, you are strengthening your awareness of the present.
• Step 5: Scan Your Body. Notice areas in your body where you are holding tension or feel discomfort. Take a moment to consciously relax those muscles. By letting go of tension, you become calmer and more present.
• Step 6: Ground With Gratitude. Simply think of one thing that you are grateful for in the present moment or say a positive affirmation such as, "I am safe right now."
• Step 7: Anchor Through Movement. Engage in a small but intentional physical action such as walking or stretching to heighten your connection to your body and present environment.
• Step 8: Reflect. Take a moment to notice you are grounded in the present by becoming aware of changes in your mood or thoughts. By reflecting, you are building self-awareness and reinforcing the positive nature of living in the present moment.

Living in the present moment, during times of environmental, social, and political upheaval, requires balancing mindfulness with an awareness of larger systems and action. Mindfulness can provide emotional energy and help you stop becoming overwhelmed by crises. Grounding in the present allows you to make more thoughtful decisions rather than responding to the chaos with knee-jerk impulses. Further, being present enhances empathy, allowing deeper listening and connections with others. Empathy, deep listening, and connecting to others enable you to build a strong community for addressing social and political disruption. Mindful activism means that rather than ignoring the past and the future, you approach reality with awareness, intention, and focus to find ways to sustain emotional health while taking impactful action. It is by living in the present moment that change begins.