{I originally wrote this post some time ago, but it resonated with me this morning so I decided to pull it out and share it now.}

I woke up at my usual time and went to the gym, just like I do every Monday morning.

I was tired from the weekend – standing all day at a wedding on Saturday and then deciding to join friends for a ten mile impromptu hike up Old Rag on 4 hours of sleep at 4:30am the next morning will do that to you I suppose.

At the gym the workout was pretty straightforward.  You were to complete seven rounds of ten cleans, ten shoulders to overhead, and seven toes to bar as quickly as possible.  My mind was on my to do list and all of the things that I didn’t get done this weekend while I was working.  (Typical entrepreneur brain – I can’t get work done because I am busy working.  Ha!)  Instead of approaching the workout with a plan in mind I attacked it full tilt – and paid the price by round two.

As I drove home I was thinking of the things that I needed to do before a client got to the studio to pick up their album.  I need to shower, change, make lunch, eat lunch, write a thank you note, etc.

I returned home and threw myself into getting things done.  Half way through making lunch I was reading a blog post while cooking and, in my preoccupation with busy,  I stuck my fingers in boiling hot water.

A rather literal wake up call that perhaps I was trying to do too much.

When we are preoccupied with either the past (why did I say that, I wish I would have…) or the future (I need to, I should…) several things happen to us.

We make mistakes

We work harder, not smarter

We react rather than participate

We miss out on connection

We stress ourselves the F*(% out.

Coming out of our long weekend and with so much going on with the beginning of the school year it is easy to get lost in the busy and forget the importance of being present.

Do me a favor (I promise to do it too).

Take just 5 minutes today to be fully present in your life at this moment.

Whether that means doing some deep breathing or yoga, savoring your favorite food, or just stopping to feel gratitude for your family.

If you want to zone out while staring at some pretty landscapes you can check out the post that I wrote last week with 10 stunning panos from my trip to Glacier.

Enjoy the rest of your short week!

P.S. I have a very special freebie that will be going out to Mollie Tobias Creative newsletter subscribers very soon…Click here to make sure that you are on the list!