4 Simple Ways to be Mindful During Your Day

If you could find some simple ways to be mindful during your day, everything could be better.

I used to spend far too much time worrying about past issues and possible future failures. I never took time to appreciate the things I could actually influence… things in this moment.

Mindfulness, is all about appreciating what you’re experiencing right now. It’s about making the most of every moment.

And there are several simple ways to be mindful during your day, that only take a few minutes.

If you don’t meditate (or even if you do), spending a few minutes being mindful can help.

 

Why is it important to find simple ways to be mindful?

Adding mindful practices into your day, is like giving your mind a big, warm hug. It’s all about taking a moment to slow down, breathe, and really pay attention to what’s happening right now.

Imagine your brain is like a busy highway with lots of thoughts zooming by. Mindfulness is like pulling over to the side of the road, taking a break, and watching the traffic go by without getting caught up in it.

Here’s why it’s so beneficial:

• Reduced Stress: Mindfulness helps to calm your mind and body, like a gentle wave washing over you, reducing the stress that can build up from your busy life.
• Improved Focus: It’s like giving your brain a little workout at the gym. By practicing mindfulness, you can train your brain to concentrate better and stay focused on the task at hand.
• Better Relationships: When you’re mindful, you’re more present in your interactions with others. It’s like really listening when someone is talking to you, instead of planning what you’re going to say next.
• Increased Happiness: Mindfulness can help you appreciate the little things in life, like the taste of your morning coffee, or the warmth of the sun on your face.
• Enhanced Well-being: Taking time for mindfulness is like giving yourself a little gift every day. It can improve your overall well-being, like watering a plant to help it grow and thrive.

So, adding mindful practices into your day helps to press pause on the chaos of life. Just take a deep breath, and give yourself the gift of being fully present in each moment. It’s a simple, yet powerful way to bring more calm, focus, and happiness into your daily routine.

 

Simple ways to be mindful

There’s unlimited ways to be mindful. In fact, everything you do, can be done mindfully. The 4 simple ways we’ll look at today are:

• Mindful Awareness
• Mindful Breathing
• Mindful Eating
• Mindful Walking

Although, the list goes on and on.

 

Mindful Awareness

Let’s start with an easy mindful awareness exercise. Take some time right now, to notice your thoughts and feelings.

Just be aware of them. Don’t try to understand them or judge them. Don’t make decisions about them, or wonder why you’re thinking, or feeling them. Just notice them and let them pass.

A lot of the stress and anxiety in our lives is caused because we tend to identify with these thoughts and feelings.

For example, we feel anger, act angrily and tell ourselves we ARE angry, rather than we were FEELING angry. Or we think we’ll fail, so don’t bother to try, telling ourselves we ARE a failure, instead of we HAD a failure.

Once we identify as a feeling, we start to act that way much more often.

But, by mindfully noticing our thoughts and feelings, without judgement, we can act using logical decisions, rather than emotional ones. It’s just one of the simple ways to be mindful during your day

 

Mindful Breathing

Get yourself into a relaxed position and just concentrate on what’s happening in your body right now.

Take a few deep, relaxing breaths.

Then, as you’re breathing, focus on the feeling of the air as it enters your nostrils as you inhale. And the slight temperature change of the exhaled air as you breathe out.

Picture in your minds-eye, the breath as it travels through your nose, down your windpipe and into your lungs. You can place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Then, you can feel the rise and fall as you breathe in and out.

You could take this mindfulness breathing exercise a stage further and focus on each part of your body in turn. For example, start by focusing on the pressure between your feet and the floor. The sensation of your fingers resting on your thighs. Maybe the slight movement of the hairs on your arms, from the breeze from the open window.

Whatever the situation is for you, focus on those sensations mindfully, without judgement.

 

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating involves paying full attention to the experience of eating. It means being present in the moment while you eat.

Take the time to enjoy every aspect of the food. Focus on the taste, texture, and smells of your food. Think about how those things make you feel.

Mindful eating helps you fully experience and savor your meals.

As an added bonus, it also helps you better recognize when you’re getting full, which in turn, prevents overeating and feeling lethargic afterwards.

To practice mindful eating is very easy.

1. Chew each small mouthful of food slowly and thoroughly before swallowing.
2. Concentrate on actually experiencing each bite, focusing on taste, texture, smell, etc.

In fact, Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, starts his courses by introducing a mindful eating exercise with a raisin. You can watch a video of the exercise, from ‘The Will to Heal Project’, below.

 

Mindful Walking

This isn’t something that you have to prepare for. You can do it whenever you have to walk somewhere, even if it’s just to grab a coffee 🙂

As you walk, simply pay close attention to every step you take.

It’s again, about being fully present, noticing how your feet feel as they touch the ground, how you breathe, and what you see, hear, and smell around you.

For example: feel the lightness of your feel each time to lift them off the ground, or the pressure you feel as you place them back down again in their new position. Feel the almost imperceptible tightness of the shoe, wrapping itself around your foot, etc.

Smell the slight aromas in the air if you’re walking outside, or the gentle breeze from the open window if you’re inside, etc.

It’s a brilliant way to relax, de-stress, and appreciate the world around you.

 

Final thoughts

The more you practice being mindful, the easier and more beneficial mindfulness becomes. And remember, there are so many simple ways to be mindful, you really can be mindful about anything.

Give it a try, it’s quite eye-opening how such simple exercises can help so much.

If you have any questions, or want to share an experience, I’d love for you to share it in the comments 🙂

Until next time, stay mindful.