If you haven’t heard about mindfulness yet, you’re missing out on a beautiful, completely free and easy way to improve your mental health and mood.

Learning to be mindful was one of the most important things that helped me to beat anxiety, recurring feelings of disappointment and general laziness that used to prevent me from reaching my goals.

I can confidently say that this is one of the most important skills to learn for a good life!

 

Daily Mindfulness 101

 

What Does It Mean To Be Mindful?

 

Being mindful means being fully aware of everything that you’re doing + consciously paying attention to the present moment and what is happening now.

Our minds get so cluttered with everyday struggles, routines and responsibilities that eventually we start to feel tired, unhappy, without a purpose and even lost… Mindfulness brings your awareness to the present and helps you fully experience life, and everything that is happening around.

Simple things start to get more meaning when you allow yourself to fully experience them.

Simply speaking, it’s an easy way to get yourself out of your head and bring yourself back to the real present, where life is actually happening.

 

How To Be Mindful?

 

To be mindful, all you need to do is concentrate your attention on what you’re doing at the moment.

No matter what you do, fully tuning into your senses and experiencing what you see, feel, taste and hear is what brings you to the present moment and helps you “soak it in”.

 

How Exactly Being Mindful Helps?

 

If you learn to be mindful, you can experience these wonderful benefits:

• You stop overthinking because you know how to stop unhelpful thoughts and rather focus on what is happening at the moment.

 

• Even if the present moment is unpleasant, it allows you to fully feel and notice the emotions, instead of trying to push them in (which can ultimately result in various psychological and physical problems).

 

• You learn to enjoy working because you stop focusing on the big bunch of tasks you have to do and rather focus on a single step you have to do at the moment.

 

• You learn to control your anxiety / anger / disappointment because, at any moment, you can stop thinking about sad situations or catastrophic scenarios and get back to the present, which is usually not that bad.

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What Are Important Things To Know About Mindfulness?

 

It’s important to know a few things that help you reap the most benefits of mindfulness:

• Try to separate yourself from the emotions you feel at the moment.

  Instead, become a watcher of your emotions, like it’s not really a part of you, but rather just something that floats around.

 

• Try not to judge anything that is happening at the moment, just observe.

  Judgment creates emotions, but what you’re trying to do with mindfulness is to be free of overwhelming emotions.

  Therefore, trying not to judge is very helpful in the whole mindfulness practice.

 

How Can You Practice Mindfulness Every Day?

 

So, as you can see, the main principle of mindfulness is to fully pay your attention to what you’re doing at the present moment.

You can do that by tuning into your senses: notice what you can see, hear, smell, taste, feel.

Do not judge what you’re noticing, just be the observer.

You can even observe your emotions, as if they were something around you, but not essentially a part of you.

Now, let’s see some practical ways to apply that in your life!

 

10 Calming Ways To Practice Mindfulness Every Day

 

1.

When you wake up, instead of jumping out of bed quickly, get up slowly.

Look around, stretch a little, and notice how rested or still tired you feel.

2.

When you wash your hands, notice how the soap feels on your hands.

Notice the smell, and feel the warmth of the water.

3.

When you put on makeup, notice how brushes feel on your skin.

Notice sparkling particles in your eyeshadows and glossiness in your lipstick.

4.

On any part of the day, open the window and breathe in some fresh air.

Notice how cool or warm it feels, feel it entering and leaving your lungs.

5.

When you sit and wait for someone in a public place, notice people around.

Observe their faces, and clothes, how happy or sad they look, and how they move and interact with each other.

6.

When you work on your computer, try to regularly stop for a second and notice things around your desk.

Having pretty items on your desk (like pretty pencils, a burning candle, or photos) help to do that a lot.

7.

When you’re in nature, try to tune into all of your senses and “soak in” nature around you: what can you see, smell, hear, touch, or even taste?

Nature is just a perfect place to be mindful!

8.

A mindful game you can play with your loved ones while taking a walk: everyone has to name an object they see around them, one by one.

You can be surprised by how many objects are actually around us!

This game allows you to fully immerse yourself in your surroundings and clear your mind of everything else.

9.

When you eat, put your phone away.

Put all of your attention on the food and your senses.

How does the food taste, smell, and feel in your mouth?

When do you start to feel full?

10.

Before going to sleep, do mindfulness meditation.

Focus on your breath and the way your body feels.

Don’t make any judgments, just notice.

These are just a few ways but I bet you get the idea… Try mindfulness out and if you find it hard to do on your own, you can always try guided mindfulness meditations on Youtube that help you do it right.

I personally learned the most about mindfulness and the best ways to apply it in my life from these wonderful books:

Peace Is Every Step by T. N. Hanh

 

The Power Of Now by E. Tolle

The Untethered Soul – The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer

Just remember that any moment you try to be mindful, you’re getting yourself to the present.

Present means NOW and your life is happening NOW.

Don’t waste these precious moments, experience them.

They happen only once.

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