<ul><li>By listening closely to what people have to say, you shift your attention from your thoughts to the person speaking.</li><li>This practice works for social anxiety as well and you can use it to overcome the fear of talking to people. Instead of being entangled in thoughts like "what do I have to say now to impress this person?", or "why did I say that?" which relate to the past or the present, you should focus on what the other person is saying and truly listen to them.</li></ul>

7. Listen Closely To Words 

<ul><li>An effective escape from the immersion in all kinds of thinking patterns is focusing on what's going inside the body. For example, looking at the tightness of the muscles or focusing on the digestive system.</li><li>Keeping your focus on the liveliness keeps you in the now and makes you calmer. This is also a part of Buddhist meditation but can be used as a standalone exercise.</li></ul>

2. Focusing on Inner Body

<ul><li>We spend too much time outside the present moment. </li><li>According to a Harvard study, we spend almost 50% of the time we're awake, not thinking about what we're doing. We either ruminate about things that happened in the past or we worry about things that yet have to come.</li><li>This is not only time consuming; it also evokes emotions that might cause unnecessary pain.</li></ul>

We Aren't In The Present 

If you listen very closely, you'll discover that the world is never truly silent. You will become aware of the more sophisticated sounds of the environment. The mind becomes very curious of what's happening in the distance, and will focus all its attention on discovering silence in subtlety.

6. Awareness of Silence 

<ul><li>Instead of spending time in our mind we can focus on daily ordinary movements like walking to the bathroom, sitting down, standing up, or cleaning. We often don't pay any attention to them because they're a frequent occurrence.</li><li>This takes our focus away from excessive thinking and directs it to what's happening right now.</li></ul>

8. Focusing on Movement 

<ul><li>Ānāpānasati, meaning "mindfulness of breathing", is a form of Buddhist meditation which we can do in several stages.</li><li>The first stage is the contemplation of the body- watching the breath and sensations of different body parts.</li><li>The second stage is the contemplation of feelings, like anger, and how they linger in the mind.</li><li>The third stage is focusing on thoughts and how they come and go.</li></ul>

1. Breath Meditation 

<ul><li>A mantra is a sound, that could be sacred in nature, and could also consist of a word or several words.</li><li>Mantras don't have to be religious and there's no consensus whether a mantra should have meaning or not. But the repetitive nature of engaging in mantras gives the mind something to focus on that happens in the present moment. This quiets the mind.</li></ul>

4. Reciting Mantras 

<ul><li>This is another way to get rid of thoughts. There are many ways to do this-</li><li>One of them is to simply sit on a chair and observe how the buttocks touch the seat.</li><li>Another way is to holding a small object in your hand, like a marble, and focusing on how it feels to your fingers. Or just focusing on the simple acts like washing your hands or brushing your teeth.</li></ul>

3. Touching 

Become conscious of your thoughts. And then ask yourself: what will my next thought be? This will bring you to the present moment."Try a little experiment. Close your eyes and say to yourself: "I wonder what my next thought is going to be." Then become very alert and wait for the next thought." ~Eckhart Tolle

5. Waiting for the Next Thought 

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