Each moment, each task, counts. The amount of attention you pay to now determines the quality of your tomorrow.

Quantum Learning Network president, Bobbi DePorter, calls making the most of every moment "This is IT!" Over 25 years ago, Bobbi developed the 8 Keys of Excellence, which students who attend SuperCamp, a worldwide learning and life skills summer camp program, are exposed to. "This is IT!" is one of the Keys.

This is IT! means focusing your attention on the present and giving each task your best effort. Making the most of each moment can make each day exciting, productive and fulfilling, but it takes some effort. Life is full of distractions. When they come, sweep them away and jump back into the present moment with a This is IT! attitude. When you have this attitude, you make the present IT—and you often discover joyful moments you missed before.

Don't miss "the best time of your life"

Bobbi cites the case of a friend who told her that she used to have trouble living in the now. She was always focused on what was down the road or around the corner. When she was in college, she couldn't wait to graduate and tackle the "real world." When she was starting her career, she couldn't stop obsessing about getting married and starting her family. Then when the kids came, she was forever daydreaming about life after runny noses and Little League games. Her kids couldn't grow up quick enough to suit her.

Then one day she was standing in line at the grocery store thinking about some future plan and nearly oblivious to her two grade-school children bantering cutely beside her. She half noticed an elderly woman standing in line behind them, smiling at the children's antics. As my friend finished checking out, the elderly woman stepped toward her and, with a twinkle in her eye, whispered, "You know this is the best time of your life, don't you?"

Bobbi's friend felt a tug at her heart. She knew she'd been told something valuable. She thought, "My kids are with me now, but they won't always be. I'm wishing away these wonderful years—some are already gone and I'll never get them back."

Are you like my friend, always looking toward next week, next month, or next year—and while you're looking ahead, letting the present moment slip away unnoticed?

We all struggle with this tendency. We get bored, distracted, anxious. We fall victim to the "grass is greener" syndrome, thinking what's coming has to be better than what's here. We're always looking ahead for something more exciting. But when we do this, we pay a price. We miss out on the only part of our lives where we can actually make a difference, the only part of our lives where we actually live—now, this moment.

Each moment contains magical opportunities

The only moment that counts is the one that's already in your hands. This is it! When you're fully engaged in the now, life is more exciting and fulfilling. You'll enjoy what you're doing more—when you put more into each task you'll get more out of it, and others will, too.

Every moment presents a chance that may never come again, whether it's an opportunity to praise, apologize, say thank you, make a friend, or make a difference. These little magical opportunities can come and go in a twinkling. You'll miss most of them if you're not living in the moment. And sometimes, when you take your focus off the future and put it back onto the present, you'll find that the things you were daydreaming about are not in some far-off other time, but right there under your nose.

When you recognize that this moment is IT, you're open to the gifts it has to offer. Some of the best memories you will ever have are about being fully present in simple moments. Little moments contain great magic.

Focus on the NOW, and you'll seize opportunities to learn, love, connect, and transform.

Affirmations for THIS IS IT! — Live in the Now:

- I'm focused on my goals and objectives.

- I make every moment count.

- I acknowledge and accept where I am in good and bad times.

"Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry—all forms of fear—are caused by too much future and not enough present." —Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now