It’s April, and that means another emotional intelligence strategy to work on! I’m on the last month of my Social Awareness quarter, and this month’s strategy is: “Live in the Moment.” For this strategy, “If you catch yourself being somewhere else mentally, refocus and return to the present. Look at the people around you and listen to the words they use.”

This is such a great time to be focusing on this strategy. Try as I might, I do find myself distracted during the day when I am with Little Man: wondering what is going on in the world (I have not watched the news since Tuesday!), thinking about checking in to FaceBook or MeWe to see what everyone is up to, trying to see who is driving down the street. He gets upset when I’m not 100% focused on him, so I try my hardest to be completely present for Little Man as often as I can be.

I can tell when I’m successful in being with him when I can walk away and make dinner, or run to the bathroom, or even take a moment to respond to a text message from Squatch. If I’ve been too distracted and my mind has wandered from what Little Man and I are doing, he turns extra clingy and whiny.

When I notice that I’m not 100% in the present, I physically stop myself; I stop moving, I put the phone away, I stand up from where I’m sitting down; and then I take a breath, smile at Little Man, and grab his hand, asking “What do you want to do with Mummy right now?” This works for us, and my goal for this week is to be less reliant on my phone.

I do have podcasts playing on the phone while we are walking or playing in the yard, but I do not need to have it in my pocket at all times. When we’re at home, I am going to leave the phone in the kitchen, or on the table on the porch if we’re outside. When we are on walks or trail rides, I will keep the phone in a pocket, but I don’t need to pick it up to check on it all the time. If there is a moment I want to capture, then I will use the phone to take the picture, but I don’t need it constantly in my hand.

With everything going on in the world, it is so easy to become distracted from what is happening right in front of us. How are you being distracted, and what can you do to truly live in the moment?