5 ways to enjoy the present moment

Imagine you want to eat a peach. But you decide to wash the dishes before you reward yourself with the peach. As you wash the dishes, you will be thinking about the peach. But what will you be thinking about when you eat the peach?

The concept of enjoying the present moment is contained in all traditional philosophies, as well as modern psychoanalysis. There's a simple reason for enjoying the present moment. You can't exactly enjoy the past or the future. Vividly imagined or remembered events are good stuff. They're nice. But they totally fade in comparison with really enjoying the present moment.

Enjoy the peach. And worry about later when later becomes now.

5. Smell it, buddy, smell it

Richard Feynman told of how he came upon the subject of smelling. He heard from a friend that people are a lot better at it than they think. So he proposed his wife a little experiment. In her room, there was a shelf with old books she hadn't touched in a while. Feynman would go out for two minutes, she would take a book off the shelf, hold it in her hands and then put it back. Feynman would then come back in and try to figure out which book she took by smelling them.

He got it right.

He then later got three of his friends to try a similar experiment. Each of the friends would touch a book, and Feynman would try which friend handled which book. He got it right again.

Of course, after hearing this story, I had to try it myself. I got a friend to try it with. We both took turns going out of the room as the other held one book in their hands. We both got it right on our first try.

As Feynman said, the books that haven't been handled in a while have a dry, uninterested smell. But the one that has been touched, it has a sort of moist smell. More alive.

I definitely encourage you to try the same experiment. It's silly, it's fun, and at the same time it's quite amazing.

I also sometimes thoroughly smell other things when I feel like it. Ever tried smelling your computer screen? A glass of mineral water? A fresh newspaper? An old newspaper? Try it, it's fun.

4. Look around you. No, really look.

Have you ever seen a child completely absorbed in observing things around them? Like looking at ants scurry around with their big-ass white eggs. Children can watch such simple things for hours on end. Children are naturally very present-minded. It's only later, as adult worries set in, that we forget how to.

Look around you now. Notice every little thing. The little dents and scratches on your desk. The smudges on your computer screen. Every little detail.

I don't recommend checking out everything all-day long with such thoroughness. But you can allow yourself a couple of minutes each day.

3. Listen to your surroundings

Take a moment to listen to all the little noises in your environment. Your computer fan whirring. Sounds of people talking. The distant sound of traffic. The little squeaks and groans of your chair as you shift your weight.

Listening to everything around you is especially beneficial when you're out in nature. You can really enjoy the sounds there (singing birds sound better than honking cars).

2. Use your peripheral vision

It's amazing how much you can see while looking straight ahead. It's almost a full hemisphere. Of course you can't quite see things that aren't directly in front. Try picking some object right at the edge of your vision, and then guess its colour.

Your colour vision stops past a certain point. After that, your brain adds in the colour based on educated guessing. Even further than that, you can only see objects if they move. If they stay still, you have no idea they're there.

Try finding the edge of your peripheral vision. Put your hand at the side of your head where you can't see it. Wiggle your forefinger. Now slowly move it forward, until the moment you just start to see it. That's where you eyesight starts.

I also heard that focusing on your peripheral vision helps if a song gets stuck in your head. Definitely worth trying.

1. Use your senses in unusual ways

I've already discussed this in one of my articles. So check it out for more detail. The short explanation is - do common routine things in uncommon ways. Like brushing your teeth with your other hand. Or taking a shower with your eyes closed (during the whole process).

There are restaurants where you eat in complete darkness. It has an amazing effect. With your eyesight short-circuited, you notice sensory input you never noticed before. Even simple white yogurt becomes a symphony of great tastes. It also helps they name the foods like "blue sky". It's a lot of fun to eat that way.

You can use the same effect. Just tie a piece of cloth around your eyes as you do your normal daily tasks. You wouldn't believe how much fun such simple things as walking around can become.

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Week at a glance

This week I read a great article called 4 Powerful reasons to up your enthusiasm, and how to do it. I personally know a few extremely enthusiastic people. They're a joy to be around.

So I figured I'd do a 7-day trial of being totally enthusiastic myself. And I mean really enthusiastic. As in Lil-Jon-enthusiastic or FPS_Doug-enthusiastic. I'll post in a week, next saturday, on how it went.

5 simple ways to increase your happiness

There are a thousand and one takes on how to achieve happiness. Below, I share with you 5 simple ways to quickly increase your happiness. I use most of them myself every day (except point 4, I use that one every two days).

1. Breathe

If you don't breathe, you won't be happy. Really. In fact, studies show that 100% of all happy people breathe.

Ok, now for real. Breathing properly is a lot more important than most people think. Good breathing is deep and very, very sloo-o-o-ow.

Try it right now. First exhale all the air in your lungs. Do it slowly, we're in no hurry.

Now breathe in very slowly. Start filling your lungs from the bottom up. At the beginning, your stomach should bulge out a bit (this shows you're breathing with your diaphragm). Try shifting your position in your chair a bit. Maybe pull your shoulders back. See what lets you breathe in more air.

And then exhale. Ideally, you would exhale for twice as long as you inhale. It allows proper gas exchange in your lungs.

Take 5 deep breaths now. Take your time, I can wait.

2. Express gratitude

I say thanks for all the good things in my life every evening. I don't believe in God, but I found that saying thanks still works. It doesn't matter who you thank. You could thank the God, or your life, or Linus Torvalds, or real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.

Gratitude focuses you on the positive things in your life. Then you not only get more happiness out of them, you also get more positive things in your life. What you focus on you get more of. I'm not sure why it works, but it does.

Try it right now. Find 10 things in your life you can say thanks for. Depending on your surroundings and comfort level, you can think it silently in your head, whisper it, or say it out loud. For extra happiness points, you can sing the thanks out loud to the tune of your favorite italian opera (what do you mean you don't have a favorite italian opera?).

I'll start you off: Thanks for having a broadband internet connection. Thanks for having all ten fingers. Thanks for...

3. Express gratitude to other people

It's incredible how a small action or a few words can make somebody's day.

I remember one memory back from my childhood. I was sitting down in a tram. An old grandma came in, so I stood up to let her sit. She was so happy she almost started crying.

You too can do small things to make people happy. For example you can send money to your favorite blogger (wink wink). (I only accept checks mailed by pigeon post. Or alternately, you can give me your credit card number - using smoke signals)

You can also simply use words. The art of saying thanks or complimenting someone is quite simple. Be honest and sincere.

4. Exercise

You probably hear this one all the time. If you already exercise, you can skip to the next point. If you don't, I'll share with you the simplest yet quite effective way to exercise.

All you need is a watch. Now, do push-ups for thirty seconds. Then rest for thirty seconds. Then do push-ups for thirty seconds and so on, until you can't continue.

Once you can't do any more push-ups (it might even be during the first thirty seconds), substitute a different exercise. It can be sit-ups, or squats.

The point is to really get your heart pumping. That will help you achieve most of the benefits of exercising.
Of course, exercising is hard simply because it's not fun. That's why I prefer to combine exercising with the next point. I get most of my exercise in fun ways - like basketball, parkour, or rock-climbing.

5. Do fun things - just because

I repeatedly find that I have the most fun when I stop taking myself seriously. Whether it's getting up to sing karaoke or trying to balance walking on the edge of a curb.

Sometimes we get caught up in being too serious in our lives. We feel we should be doing things because they're useful. Anything that isn't useful isn't worth doing. Of course this state of mind leads to depression and workaholism.

"An ideal day consists of 8 hours work, 8 hours play and 8 hours rest."
- Benjamin Franklin

Do you get 8 hours of play each day? Play is basically anything you do for its own sake. You do it because you feel like it - just because.

I wrote a blog post about a related topic - The REAL reason we use Linux - it's about the fact that we geeks use Linux for the fun of it. We don't really use it because it's secure, or free, or all the other commonly cited reasons. We mainly use it simply because we enjoy tinkering with our system - just because.

Give yourself permission to do fun things. You don't need anyone's approval. Just do fun useless things. Just because.

Outro

You all lived happily ever after.

The REAL reason we use Linux

We tell people we use Linux because it's secure. Or because it's free, because it's customizable, because it's free (the other meaning), because it has excellent community support...

But all of that is just marketing bullshit. We tell that to non-Linuxers because they wouldn't understand the real reason. And when we say those false reasons enough, we might even start to believe them ourselves.

But deep underneath, the real reason remains.

We use Linux because it's fun!

It's fun to tinker with your system. It's fun to change all the settings, break the system, then have to go to recovery mode to repair it. It's fun to have over a hundred distros to choose from. It's fun to use the command line.

Let me say that again. It's fun to use the command line.

No wonder non-Linuxers wouldn't understand.

The point with us Linux fans is - we use Linux for its own sake. Sure, we like to get work done. Sure, we like to be secure from viruses. Sure, we like to save money. But those are only the side-effects. What we really like is playing with the system, poking around, and discovering completely pointless yet fascinating facts about the OS.

There are three main reasons Linux is so much fun:

1. Linux gives you complete control

Ever tried stopping a process in Windows and the OS wouldn't let you? Ever tried deleting a file - and you couldn't? Even though you had admin rights?

Linux lets you do anything. That's the great benefit of usually logging in as user. If you login as the root, the OS assumes you know what you're doing. Once you become root, everything is allowed.

2. Linux isn't widely used

This is a paradox. We often complain Linux isn't more widely used. But that's one of the reasons we use it. It gives us a feeling of being a special clique. Like we're better than "those ignorant masses".

If Linux becomes widely used, we'll probably switch to something else. Or at least develop an obscure distro that only we will use. Because, let's face it, we want to feel special.

3. Linux is free (as-in-speech)

We can get the source code for all our applications. If we want to know how a certain part of the OS works, we can. This lets us tweak and play with our systems. And we absolutely loo-o-o-ve tweaking our system.

Of course we can't tell non-Linuxers we use Linux because it's fun - they'd stick us into a mental asylum quicker than you can say "antidisestablishmentarianism". So we'll keep telling them the false yet plausible reasons for using Linux. But deep inside, we'll know the real reason we use Linux.

And maybe, just maybe, next time someone asks me why I use Linux, I'll flash a huge smile and answer: "Because using Linux is FUN!"

Free Your Mind - Reducing Clutter

Image courtesy of stilldavid

Clutter is very sneaky. It grows slowly, and therefore usually passes under the radar. And before you know it, it's draining your mental energy and concentration.

Mental clutter is often worse than physical clutter. You don't even realize it's there, but it drains you just as much. Getting rid of mental clutter will truly "free your mind".

Physical clutter

This is simply stuff you never or rarely use. It can be old magazines, books, clothes and a number of other things.

If you can't find an important document because it's lost among heaps of old magazines, useless printouts and things you meant to read but never did, you probably need some decluttering. If you can't find your toothbrush because it's lost among dirty clothes, moldy bread and gardening equipment, you REALLY need some decluttering.

Getting rid of physical clutter is pretty easy once you get going. The first few steps, though, are really tough. You need to break the emotional bonds to your useless stuff.

We usually form emotional bonds to things because we invested in them. This investment can be time or energy, although it's usually money. At first I also found it very hard to throw out things I had paid for (but never used anymore). It's almost like an inner voice was shouting at me - look at you! Children in Africa are starving and you're throwing out expensive junk! Shame on you!

To quote Dr. Paul:

Your Sunk Costs are the resources you have poured into the WRONG PATH in life over the weeks, months and years. As a human, you will feel a need to recover those costs and in many cases, CONTINUE TO PURSUE THIS WRONG PATH just because you have invested so much in it.

Being invested in something is a very powerful feeling. I got an interesting reader comment regarding this on my article Why Linux doesn't spread (regarding the free office suite OpenOffice):

Had this same issue with OpenOffice.org, all the converts I told the URL to so they could download it has bought Microsoft Office within 2 weeks because they "didn't like OOo".

So, I instead started selling OOo (as is the right with the GPL from what I understand) as half the cost of MS Office, burnt onto nice shiny CD-Roms with glossy inlays and well presented. ALL people who have currently bought it are still using it, this has been going on for 7 months now :-)

You can see the failed logic in that. In both cases the people have a copy of OpenOffice. In both cases they would have to pay the exact same amount of money to replace it with Microsoft Office. Yet if they paid something for OpenOffice in the past, they decide to keep it, simply because they have become invested.

Getting rid of physical clutter

The most common place to have clutter is you desk. I used to have a cluttered desk myself. Whenever I'd come to the computer, I would just waste my time browsing the web, doing nothing useful. Only when I really needed to do something productive, I would clean some of the clutter. Apparently, I subconsciously knew it's impossible to do any work while having a highly cluttered desk. Once I decluttered my desk, I actually started doing useful thing at my computer. This blog would be an example.

If you can't decide on how to declutter your desk, I would suggest the following. Clear away everything and only put something back if you need it. That way you could easily see what you rarely use (since it would stay off the desk).

But removing physical clutter isn't just about moving stuff from where it shouldn't be (your desk). The larger part of decluttering is throwing out things you don't use. If they're hiding on a shelf or in a drawer, they drain your mental energy, without you even realizing it.

The first step in getting rid of physical clutter is realizing the past doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you paid three thousand dollars for a blue-LED blinking buddha doll. All that matters is the future usefulness (in the doll's case, the usefulness is how much you enjoy looking at it). If you don't use something, throw it out (or optionally sell it).

Start small

If you've never decluttered in the past, you need to start off with baby steps. The best place I found to start is your sock drawer.

Do you see any single socks? Throw them out.

Simplicio: But what if another sock to a pair turns up in future washing?

Salviati: Just throw it out too. It's not worth it to keep seven or eight single socks just in case one or two get completed to a pair.

Once you've throws out the single socks, start throwing out underwear you don't wear any longer. After that come old T-shirts, then magazines and books and anything else. Once you start decluttering your life, sky is the limit.

Mental clutter

Mental clutter is much more sneaky and subtle than physical clutter. But it drains your energy just as much. It's not tangible, yet it's just as real as physical clutter.

Is mental clutter real?

Imagine you're in the US, traveling south. You reach the border with Mexico, and find you have lost your passport. You decide to cross the border to Mexico without a passport, and get caught.

A border of a country is like mental clutter. It's not something tangible you can put your hand on. You don't see a dotted line down on the ground, separating the two countries. Yet if you try crossing it without a passport, something very real will happen. Similarly, even though you can't see mental clutter, it drains your energy and willpower in a very real way.

Common places for mental clutter

I found that almost everyone has clutter in the following places. That's especially true if you haven't cleaned out the clutter in some time.

1. Computer desktop and start menu

One of my friends has to delete icons off his desktop... because he's ran out of new space for them! That's one extreme. I would be pretty close to the other extreme. Right now, I have only 5 things on my desktop. A link to my home folder, two eBooks I'm in the middle of reading, one text file with notes for an article I'm writing and the folder with my blog posts.

I keep everything else off my desktop. I launch Firefox and my e-mail client with keyboard shortcuts, and I keep the most important programs in my quick-launch bar (there's only 4 of them).

Another place that gets cluttered is the start menu. If you're like my past self, if you go to the "All programs" tab, you'll get a huge thing that spans across the whole screen. (by the way, nowadays I'm using Ubuntu linux, and the start menu there is much better organized. No more worries with that huge "all programs" monstrosity)

Cleaning up your desktop and start menu, and uninstalling useless programs does a good deal for reducing your mental clutter.

2. In your head

Yet the biggest source of mental clutter is keeping things in your head that should be kept somewhere else. Those of you practicing GTD (Getting Things Done) know what I'm talking about. I'm a recent adopter, and the peace of mind is amazing.

The reason your mind gets cluttered if you don't write things down is that it's trying to make sure you don't forget. Unfortunately your mind doesn't know when you will need the information. If it did, it would remind you that you need new batteries when you're in a supermarket. Instead, it reminds you when you're at home and notice your remote is dead.

Most people won't go as far as to adopt full-blown GTD. That's ok. Here are three things to do that will hugely reduce your mental clutter:

a) Always carry around a pen and a notepad

I often have some of my best ideas while traveling somewhere. A notepad lets you capture the ideas. That way you don't worry that you might forget. If you get a great idea without a notepad, there are two possible bad outcomes. Either you will forget. Or you will keep focused on not forgetting the great idea, and in the process completely stop enjoying the present moment.

Also, if you don't capture your idea in a notepad, it will keep recurring. If you capture it, you will free up mental space for new ideas.

QUOTE You should never have to think the same thought twice. /QUOTE

b) Write down the big rocks each week

The term big rocks comes from Leo Babauta's article at Zenhabits. Basically it refers to the most important tasks. If you write down the few most important tasks for the week ahead, and then do them, you will be incredibly more productive.

The interesting thing is that this separates the important from the merely urgent. Returning a movie might be urgent, but not important. Just do the important thing, then return the movie a day late and pay the $5 fine. Your life will thank you.

c) Write down the next concrete, physical step

This means keeping a To-Do list. It will keep things of your mind. You won't have to worry Interestingly, most people don't know how to make a good To-Do list.

A good To-Do list consists of concrete, physical actions.

Let me show you an example. A bad To-Do list would read "study". This is not specific enough. Instead of writing "study", you might want to write "Read through my chemistry notes on saccharides and try answering one past exam question."

This is concrete, physical, and it includes a specific end. Generally, open-ended tasks are not for your to-do list.

Sure you can write down your projects somewhere. Like "have a succesful blog". But your To-Do list should contain only concrete, physical actions.

A final word

Simplicio: That sounds interesting. But I don't think I'm up to the effort of cleaning up all the clutter.

Salviati: You don't have to clean up all the clutter at once. Start with small steps. Just move all the desktop shortcuts you rarely use in a separate folder.

Simplicio: But I'm too tired to clean up my clutter. I barely have enough energy to work, yet alone clean up clutter.

Salviati: You've got that the wrong way around. Decluttering leaves you with more energy, not less.

The same is true about exercising, but I'll tackle that in another blog post.

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Random happenings from the past week

Scientists have found that expensive placebo works better than a cheap one. Some of my readers might think - duh. But most of the public aren't aware of the effect I discuss in my article on why Linux doesn't spread. People simply think expensive is better than cheap. And since placebo is all about perception, it makes sense expensive placebo works better than a cheap one.

Read Minds and Lift Your Mood - Body Language Basics

I was sitting with two friends at a dinner table. The talk turned to body language, and how it affects your mood. I proposed a simple experiment, which the others accepted.

So I put that cheesy-ass American grin on my face. One of my friends put a frown on his face. And the third one simply behaved normally.

Over the next couple of minutes, the wildest thing happened. I started having the time of my life. I was joking around, laughing, enjoying myself. The friend with the frown became grumpy and pissed. He eventually left early.

The only downside for me was that after holding that cheesy American grin for about 15 minutes, my mouth kinda hurt. But I was laughing anyway.

Everybody knows your mental state affects the way you hold your body. An unhappy depressed person will slouch and look at the ground. But some people don't realize the opposite is also true. It's a feedback mechanism. Putting your a smile on your face will make you feel happier.

Good news! You can consciously change your body language. Which means you can indirectly change your mood too.

Lift Your Mood

Try the following experiment:

1. Think of a thought or situation that mildly worries you.

2. Notice your body language. (Slouched shoulders? Maybe a frown? Shallow breathing? Anything else?)

3. Stop right there! Pull your shoulders back. Lean back. Lift your head. Now take three deep slooo..o...oow breaths. One..... Twoo..... Threeee. Now put a huge teeth-flashing smile on your face.

4. Keeping this posture, think the same worrying thought as before. The chances are, it doesn't seem so bad anymore. You simply can't feel too worried if you're holding your body confidently and grinning at the world.

5. Optionally, keep that grin on your face for 3 minutes. It will make your day.

The 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule says you should focus on the 20% of your effort which generates 80% of the results. Body language falls squarely in that category. It's very simple to change, yet it creates a dramatic difference in how you feel.

Change other people's perception of you

Did you know that only 7% of what we communicate is words? 25% is voice tone and a whopping 68% is body language.

It makes sense that changing you body language vastly changes how others perceive you.

There are some things to do, and a couple of things to avoid.

Good body language to do:

1. Keep your legs shoulder-width apart when standing
Keeping you legs too close (like most people do) shows you don't have much confidence. Keeping them too far apart is try-hard. That also communicates lack of inner confidence.

2. Hold your shoulders back
Stand up straight, holding your head high. Now pull your shoulders up around your neck, really tense. Now relax the shoulders, and let them fall in a comfortable relaxed position. That's where you want to keep them.

3. Lift your chest
Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Imagine there's a silver thread running from the front of your chest up into the sky. Now imagine that silver thread starts pulling your chest up. That's what I mean.

4. Lean back
This applies mostly when sitting down. Leaning back communicates you're cool and not needy. Just lean back comfortably and speak a bit louder.

5. Hold your head up high
This was a big one for me personally. I used to walk around looking at the ground. Nowadays I look at the scenery or look people in the eyes when walking. It's amazing, but when you look up at the scenery and horizon, even a simple walk to the grocery store looks like a scene from a movie. Next time you walk somewhere, notice the buildings and the sky. See how that feels different from where you normally look.

Bad body language to avoid:

1. Slouching
This is a really bad one. Not only does it make you look weak and unconfident, it's also bad for your health. It constricts your chest, making your breathing fast and shallow. That alone is enough to make you feel miserable.
2. Fidgeting
Moving the whole time is a sign of nervousness. Others can really feel it.

Read minds

When I first started learning about body language several years ago, I had no idea how the people I was talking to were feeling. I couldn't tell if they were enjoying the conversation or were bored out of their minds.

Now I can tell exactly how the conversation is going by little nuances in the other person's facial expression. Real mind reading to some people.

If you're at a point in your life yourself where you have no clue about body language, that's cool. We've all been there. Below I share some of the most basic and easily noticeable body language cues.

1. Folded arms

This universally means the person is being cold, defensive, and stand-offish. It's why you often see bodyguards standing like this.

Let's say you're standing in a group of people. If someone has folded arms, chances are they're not having fun. You might also see them looking around and if you look at their feet...

2. Feet

Feet are a great body language cue. It's completely unconscious, but very obvious once you look for it. Look which direction the person's feet are pointing. If they're both pointed towards the rest of the group, they're interested in the conversation.

If one of their feet is pointing towards the exit, it means they would rather be somewhere else. People also often point one of their feet at the person in the group they're most interested in.

3. Eye contact / looking around

This one's a little bit more subtle than the previous two, but still pretty easy to notice. If a person is looking around a lot, it means they're looking for something more interesting. If, on the other hand, their eyes seem glued to the person they're talking to, they find the person very interesting.

Changing you body language

You have enough information now to make some basic changes in your body language. Don't worry if you don't get it quite right.

It took me personally about a week until I figured out the natural confident state. During that first week, I held my chest too high and out, my shoulders too far back, I was leaning back too much. In short, I looked completely ridiculous for a week.

I figured a week of looking ridiculous was a small price to pay for subsequent years of good body language. And boy, was I ever right.

Another view of body language

To finish off, I'll present you another school of thought about body language.

This school of thought believes changing your body language isn't enough. Body language is, after all, just a representation of your inner state. You should instead notice your body language, figure out what that means about your inner state and then work on that.

For example, let's say you find yourself fidgeting nervously. Instead of just making yourself stop in the moment, you would ask yourself what you're feeling nervous about. Then you would go and do something about that.

Changing your body language is a quick fix. Taking care of the cause means you don't need to worry about changing your body language. It will become naturally confident once you remove all inner game issues.

Whichever approach you adapt, good luck.