Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally paying attention to the present moment, without judgment.
It involves being fully present and aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and surroundings, without getting lost in distractions or the past and future.
Mindfulness is often associated with meditation and can be cultivated through a variety of practices, such as breath awareness, body scan, and mindful movement.
The goal of mindfulness is to:
- increase awareness
- reduce stress
- improve well-being by learning to observe one’s experience with curiosity and compassion
It has been shown to have many benefits, including reducing anxiety and depression, improving sleep, increasing resilience, and enhancing cognitive function.
So with all of these benefits, you may wonder, “How do I start to practice mindfulness habits?”
Let’s dig in!
8 Mindfulness Habits to Help You Live a More Thoughtful Life
1. Practice gratitude.
Life is not always rosy, and it is easy to get caught up in focusing on the things that we are unhappy about.
Make it a point to practice gratitude daily. This will help you become increasingly more aware of the things that you should be grateful for.
2. Pay attention to your senses.
How many times do you meet someone and have a chat but once they are gone you don’t even remember what they were wearing? This happens to me a lot.
Take a minute to stop and pay attention to your five senses.
Look around and remind yourself of:
- the things you’re seeing
- pay close attention to the smells hitting your nose
- the texture of the chair you’re sitting on
- the taste of your morning beverage
- the sound coming from the road close to your office
3. Work on one habit at a time.
It is easy to get caught up in the many things about yourself that you might want to change or improve.
Trying to work on everything at once can be exhausting and frustrating, especially when you don’t see the results when you expect them.
A more effective mindfulness habit is to take the journey a bit slower and work on one habit at a time. This allows you to focus and also gives you confidence that you are capable of achieving what you want.
4. Give more than you take.
As humans, we can be selfish and believe that everything and everyone around us is there to serve us.
That is not the case, we should strive to give more than we take. Not only will this attract abundance in our lives, but it will also improve our self-perception.
5. Take some time to relax.
There is always a lot going on, and it’s easy to get caught up in all of it, leaving you with no time for yourself.
In between trying to achieve the career of my dreams, maintaining good social relationships, and being able to afford the necessities I need now, I don’t always find time to relax. I am always telling myself that I will relax once I get this thing done.
The sad thing is after getting that thing done, something new will come up. This cycle will never end. Therefore, another one of your mindfulness habits you need to practice is to actively choose to relax.
Putting some time aside to relax does not mean that you are ignoring all your other responsibilities. It simply means you’re giving yourself some time to reset so that you can effectively handle your responsibilities.
6. Clarify your goals.
In almost all aspects of your life, you want change and growth.
Clarify the trajectory that you want your life to take and write it down. Clarifying your goals means every time there is some level of confusion, you can look back and remind yourself of where you want to go and then work towards getting there.
Moreover, clarifying your goals means the chances of you being distracted and easily influenced by the people around you also decrease, thereby keeping you grounded.
7. Practice self-compassion.
Most of us can easily show compassion to the people around us.
But when it comes to ourselves, we see the need to be ‘tough’. We over-criticize ourselves and in some cases, this ‘tough love’ can be more damaging than helpful.
Always be kind to yourself and just as you understand that mistakes happen to others, remember they can also happen to you. There is no need for you to constantly beat yourself up about things that are in the past or those that are beyond your control.
8. Speak positively.
I’m sure we all know that one person we try to avoid because they are always complaining and nothing ever seems to go well for them. They probably don’t know that everything that comes out of their mouth is laced with negativity, simply because they don’t pay attention.
When talking about a situation or about yourself, try to have a positive outlook and focus on that.
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Mindfulness Habits: Take One Day at a Time
Living a mindful life is not something you do overnight. It takes time and patience. Every day you get to learn and unlearn something new.
Just because you haven’t reached where you want to be does not mean that you won’t get there. You will, but you need to be patient and kind with yourself. Moreover, one person’s journey should not shape how you perceive your journey.
Take one day at a time and you will get to where you want to be!
Photo by Lisa Fotios
