Mindfulness Practice. We read a lot about it these days and you might have articles that pop up in your Facebook feed. We often relate hours of meditating with it or some processes that take long time to implement and get used to. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Indeed, you can start today to practice Mindfulness and it will take no longer than 15 minutes for each of these steps.
Check out these 3 Ways to Start Mindfulness Practice Today
1 – PRACTICE AWARENESS
It all starts with awareness. Being aware of the present, our thoughts and our actions. How does it affect us and our surroundings, our reactions and feelings. There is so much to explore – and let me say this is a lot of fun! To actually be aware we need to stop living in the past or think too often about the future. What do I mean by that?
Well if you have a job you probably catch yourself “day dreaming” about your future in 1, 5 or 10 years on your commute. You think about what you will need to do to achieve certain goals or what you might have. Or you might experience the so called “monkey-mind”. That means your mind that keeps talking to you about all things going on. This could be that project that went wrong 5 months ago. You can’t figure out why and how it went wrong. But you don’t move on. Or you keep telling yourself that within the last year you didn’t achieve as much as you wanted. Now your mind is getting up oh-so-many reasons why that could be the case. Stop it! Stop your “monkey-mind” chatting to you about all these things and be aware of what matters: NOW.
Look outside the window and appreciate the landscape or the skyline of your city. Talk to people that share the public transport with you. Or you may want to read that book you always wanted to read!
When you walk outside, use all your senses. Smell the air, taste the fresh coffee, listen to all the sounds around you. Start observing the people, animals and everything going on around you. Take everything in here and now and live in the present.
2 – BE GRATEFUL
Before you go to bed, take 10-15minutes to sit down and review your day. Take a little book and write down at least 3 things (can be more, too) that you are especially grateful for. Imagine even the smallest things! Did someone at work bring you a coffee, when you needed it the most? Have you done something especially well? Did you receive a gift? Write down EVERYTHING that you were grateful for – don’t forget the small things!
I actually love to write down the things as well that we use to take for granted. Our friends that get in touch to ask how we are doing. Our siblings that send a postcard or a GIF that made you laugh out loud ( I do appreciate a fantastic GIF hehe). Whatever it is, look at the things that we otherwise would take for granted.
3 – DO LITTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS FOR STRANGERS
Have you ever helped someone carry there huge shopping bags upstairs? Or someone who just dropped all their stuff, helped them collect it? It’s an amazing feeling to help, isn’t it?!
Exactly, it damn feels good! Now we can implement that easily in our daily lives without even thinking about it, too much. What you will get back? HAPPINESS! SATISFACTION! And a whole lots of Karma points 😉 That’s for sure. Now what can you do? It’s simple. See someone who needs help? Help! Here are a few ideas:
– Help an elder person crossing a busy road
– Help tourists find the place they want to go to (when you can spot them being all confused with the map)
– Help a pregnant woman (or really ANYONE) carrying heavy shopping bags upstairs (and get a little work out on top)
– Buy water and some food for a homeless person (I recommend to ask them first if they like something. But I do prefer to help this way rather than with money)
– Stop at a street artist and give them some love (aka applause, money, loud #wohoo etc.)
– Give a ride to a hitch hiker
These are 3 fantastic ways to start mindfulness practice today. It doesn’t take a lot of time and the benefits will be visible to you quite fast. You will feel more grateful, happier and overall more satisfied. Being more aware also raises your ability to validate situations, actions and reactions. That will empower you to change your behavior or habits accordingly.
Which of these 3 ways do you like the most? Let me know in the comments!
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