Carl Rogers, the author of On Becoming A Person, was always fully present when listening to a person. “He made you feel as if you were the centre of the world,” said one person. A founder of the humanistic psychology movement, Carl showed great respect for a person by giving them 100% attention. They felt important - as if they had something valuable to give to the world.

Peak performers are fully present in the activity they perform brilliantly. The mountaineer respects the mountain by concentrating on the moment - because anything less will lead to disaster. The golfer enters a cocoon when putting on the green. The surgeon concentrates completely on the task in hand. Here are three ideas you can consider for being fully present in your personal or professional life.

1) You can clarify when you are fully present.

When do you feel fully engaged? “This happens for me when I am giving a keynote speech,” said one person. “My best work comes when, paradoxically, I ‘forget myself’. Previously I tried hard to ‘persuade’ audiences, but that led to me striving too hard. Nowadays I have learned to rehearse properly - then relax. My style becomes almost conversational and - providing I have done the background research - I am more able to connect with the audience.” When does this happen for you? There may be many occasions, but focus on just one. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific situation in which I feel fully present is:

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2) You can clarify what you do right when you are fully present.

“First, I really want to be there’,” explained one person. “The reverse is also true. There are some situations where I am not engaged because I can’t see the purpose. Second, I have a clear goal and know the results I want to achieve. Third, I have done lots of anticipation and scenario planning. Fourth, I then go into the situation, give 100% and keep working to reach the goal. Sounds obvious - but the first step is the most important, I must want to be there.”

What happens when you are 100% engaged? You may, for example, be skiing, painting, cooking, writing, fixing a problem or whatever. Try completing the following sentence.

The things I do right to be fully present in the situation are:

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3) You can clarify how you can be fully present in the future.

“I chose to focus on ‘going home’ at night,” said one person. “Previously I briefly said hello to my partner, then rushed to my computer to do emails. My partner accepted it, but I set aside 10 minutes for catching-up with them when I reached home. Getting the evening off to a good start was really enjoyable and meant we seldom got into arguments. So being fully present really paid off!”

Looking to the future, choose a specific situation in which you want to give 100% attention. You can relax, rehearse and then be real. People find that being fully engaged increases the chances of success. Try completing the following sentences.

The specific situation in which I want to be fully present in the future is:

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The specific things I can do to be fully present then are:

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The benefits of doing this will be:

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