About this quote

Happiness often comes down to what you give your attention to right now. Stop replaying mistakes or running future scenarios in your head and pick one concrete thing to do in the moment. Try a single action — taste your food, set a ten-minute timer for work, or put your phone away — and notice how the next hour feels different. What can you do in the next hour to be present?

When to use it

• At my performance review I told myself, “Don’t rehash last quarter’s slips — answer the questions in front of me,” and I stayed calm.
• While cramming for finals I put my phone in another room and said aloud, “I won’t worry about the past tests or the ones still ahead; I’ll study this chapter for the next hour.”
• After a worrying checkup I told my partner, “I can’t change what already happened or guess what’s next; I’m going to enjoy our walk tonight instead.”
• When my spouse and I argued about past money mistakes I stopped the list of blame and said, “We can’t fix that now — let’s decide what we do this month.”