My day on the PAHM: 27 October 2026

One moment from a morning session with Ayu, in my own words. Where it sat on the map is at the end.

Monday morning, on the way to the office. Another habit I have is a habit of fantasising: a luxury life, having money, that sort of thing. It comes on the drive in, when there is nothing to do but drive.

In that moment it looks so fun, but it is also adding to the layer of craving. And suddenly it can turn into a dissatisfaction with the current situation, when you are facing the reality again.

What we are trying to do is condition the mind in a different way from how it used to be. If I am fantasising and encouraging that, it is helping to condition the mind the way it used to be. So one thing I need to be aware of is that whenever I get into the fantasising mode, I quickly need to recognise it and switch it off. It does not help with conditioning the mind the way I want it to be: present, without the cravings.

Ayu's line on it: the fantasy gives a moment of pleasure and then makes the present feel smaller by comparison. Notice the moment it shifts.

Where it sat

Which of these does your mind visit most? See your mind score - free.

Future + Likes (anticipation): a pleasant picture of later, visited from a car on a Monday. The book's claim is that the pleasant positions cost the present as surely as the unpleasant ones, and that this one is harder to catch because nothing in it feels like a problem while it is running. The cost shows up a second after it ends, when the real morning is compared with the picture. The catch is the practice; the shift is where to put it.

One thing to try

What this does not do

This post uses the Present Attention and Happiness Matrix, the author's own model from The Return of Attention. It describes experience, not a diagnosis. How the matrix works.

This is one person's morning, not advice. The map says where the thought sat; it does not say what anyone else should do about theirs.

If low mood or a sense that nothing is enough has lasted two weeks or more, please talk to a doctor or a crisis line.