As the name of my websites suggests, I value mindfulness. If you’ve ever read self-help books or personal growth blogs or books, I am sure you’ve heard this term before. In this blog, I will provide you with tricks, tips, and ways to practice mindfulness in your everyday routine and activities.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the quality of being present and fully engaged in whatever task we are doing — being aware of our thoughts, emotions, and feelings without getting stuck in them, free of judgement and distraction.
Why Practicing Mindfulness is Important
In modern day life, we tend to neglect taking care of ourselves because life is so fast paced. Practicing mindfulness encourages us to focus on our thoughts and our emotions so that we can understand how we’re feeling. Not only can this help us feel more grounded, but it also allows us to communicate more openly and effectively with others because we have had time to process what we think and how we feel properly.
People who suffer from anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress often find mindfulness a very useful and helpful practice. Mindfulness helps those who suffer from anxiety and stress reduce their symptoms, while also improving their focus by removing distractions.
Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness
- Mindfulness improves well-being.
- Mindfulness improves physical health
- Mindfulness improves mental health
Ways to Incorporate Mindfulness
Practice Gratitude
During my journey into becoming a better me and improving myself, I started bullet journaling. One of my favorite pages I make every month is my gratitude page. Humans are jealous. It’s a natural emotion that we tend to feel when we think about what others have and what we’re lacking. We compare ourselves to each other and start to measure our self-worth by what someone else has or is doing.
Practicing gratitude for what you do have instead of constantly worrying about what you don’t have, wil not only increase your mindfulness, but also your happiness.
For example, if you’re always thinking they have everything or they’re so much happier than I am, you’re training your brain to be negative. You are focusing on all of the things you think are negative about you and your life. If you change your prospective and start to focus on the positive in your life and change your mindset, you will notice a happier you. Instead, you would start thinking about and writing the things that you’re grateful for, ex. I am grateful to have…. Or I am grateful for….
Focusing on the good in your life will bring more happiness and joy into your life. It will allow your brain to start shifting from negative thoughts to positive thoughts, which will give you a happier, healthier mind set and look on life.
I use a gratitude log in my bullet journal to keep track of something I am grateful for everyday. I do a new log for each month and I also tell myself 3 positive affirmations every morning or evening after I write in my bullet journal.
Stay Present
Staying present is something I have been working on the last few months and it has helped me tremendously. As an anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia sufferer, my brain is constantly running. My biggest worry has always been looking into the past because of what happened to me,and the future, wondering if I will ever be okay.
Since I started practicing mindfulness and learning to be in the present, I have noticed my thoughts not being as negative, and my anxiety over what did or could happen being drastically lowered.
If you find yourself struggling with stress, depression, or anxiety, practice mindfulness by focusing on what’s around you when you feel yourself thinking about the past or the future. Focus on what you’re feeling at that moment and take an inventory of what is around you to bring you back to the present moment.
Spend Time Outside
Do you remember when you were a kid and you would spend time outside all day until the street lights came on? I remember following the creek with my friends in the backyard, riding our bikes to the local garden, and playing kick ball with my friends in the neighborhood.
In a world full of phones, tablets, televisions and video game systems, people don’t spend time outside much anymore. Spending time outside in the fresh air has been proven to decrease anxiety, stress, and depression. It also also been proven to increase happiness.
I like to sit in my backyard and enjoy the scenery everyday for at least 30 minutes with a great book and a cup of decaf coffee or decaf tea. I don’t bring my phone with me or any other electronics for that matter.
If you have a backyard, garden, or access to a public area where you can enjoy the fresh air, I suggest visiting it daily. You can bring a good book, the newspaper, something to drink, and even a snack if you want to be there for a while. If you do not have any access to being outdoors or suffer from severe anxiety or agoraphobia, open your windows. Take that same time and sit by your open window with a good book, magazine, or newspaper.
Take It Slow
When we have what feels like a million things to do each week, multitasking can be an awesome way to get through it all. However, such a fast-paced lifestyle without a break can leave us feeling empty and drained before the work is even done.
Instead of multitasking on so many things at once, take it slower. Only focus on the most important things you need to do, and push the rest to the following week. Focus on one task at a time and start to practice the art of time management. This will allow you to get done what you need to get done, without feeling like you have more to do than you can handle at a time.
Listen When Being Spoken To
Listening to others is a great way to practice mindfulness because your sole attention should be focused on that person and what they’re saying.
More often than not, when someone is talking we tend to half listen because we’re consumed with our own thoughts and feelings. Instead of letting yourself get distracted in your own head, practice giving the person talking your full attention.
Read More
I love to read. Reading is absolutely one of my favorite hobbies. I have books on my nightstand that I read before bed, and a book in my bag for when I want to go outside and enjoy the weather.
However, with so much content being available via social media, tv,and news apps, most people consume their content that way. It’s easy to just grab your phone and scroll through snippets of text and content, but it’s not a healthy way to consume information. It does, however, shorten one’s attention span.
Practicing mindfulness in the form of reading can increase and improve concentration, focus, and creativity. While it’s great to read any time of day, I suggest reading at least 30 minutes before bed.
This keeps your eyes in the book and away from your phone, which can interrupt your sleep cycle. Reading will help increase your focus and concentration, while also helping you relax and get sleepy before bed.
I like to enjoy a cup of chamomile or sleepy time tea with my book before bed to help me sleep better at night. If you’re not a big fan of reading, you can try Audible. They’re the largest provider of audio books and have a wide range of genres that you can browse through. This will allow you to listen to a good book before you fall asleep.
I do, however, recommend reading as it’s a great way to practice mindfulness because you focus on the words and view the scenes in your head. It also helps increase your focus and concentration.