The “Present Moment” or the “Here and Now” is our true reality because the past has gone and the future has not happened. It is the only reality we have.
To live in the present moment we must be completely submerged into what we are doing at that time. When you are concentrating on what you are doing at the moment time you are living authentically.
When we think too much about the future or the past, we can cause ourselves to be unhealthily anxious, but when we are able to live in the present moment, focusing on just what we are doing, we detach from the past and future and become free. Present moment anxiety can and will occur of course, but we need this to function properly as it is built-in protection that helps and guides us. This is very different from anxiety disorder issues caused by overthinking and over analysing.
Notice how young children live in the present moment and as a result live without perceived fear and recover very quickly from situations. They deal with things on a moment-to-moment basis.
We all have to look ahead and make decisions about the future but we can still do this in the present moment. The key is not to use fantasised fear or negative imaginary outcomes. Past memories tend to influence our future and so when we are thinking of the future, bring your attention back to the present moment, remembering that the future hasn’t happened and therefore we do not know what any outcome will or can be. All we can do is our best to ensure a positive outcome by making decisions based on truth and fact and not core belief alone as previous learning can be often wrong.
To help learn to be in the present moment you can use mindfulness to train your focus, so as an exercise gaze or stare at an object for a period of time, just focusing on the object itself, looking at it in detail, touching. smelling and listening if applicable. Also, try tuning in to your own heartbeat and listen for a while then switch it and tune into your pulse in your wrist and back to your heartbeat and again back to your pulse.