Easy Ways to Develop Mindfulness Every Day
You’ve probably heard about the health benefits of cultivating mindfulness in our everyday life. Mindfulness-based therapies have been shown to help people deal with depression, chronic stress, anxiety and other mental health disorders. Mindfulness is a mental state that is achieved by focusing your awareness on the present moment while acknowledging your feelings, thoughts, and even bodily sensations. When you are being mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distant, without judging them. Frequent practice of mindfulness has scientifically been proven to ease unhappiness.
While easy as it sounds, developing mindfulness may sometimes become challenging for you too, especially if you’ve been accustomed to a ‘mind-full’ way of living. But don’t worry, there are easy ways to cultivate mindfulness in your daily life.
Stop rushing.
The first tip would be to stop rushing. If you ever want to develop mindfulness, you’ve got to learn how to slow down. It is difficult to notice the things around you, including your thoughts and feelings if you are always in a rush. Learning to slow down takes practice. But it begins with determining your priorities. What are the things in your daily life that are most important to you? What are the least important? Maybe you can eliminate them or give less time for them. Make sure you have some time to be by yourself and do nothing. Just because you are doing less doesn’t mean you are not being productive anymore. Less is more.
Make a gratitude journal.
Before you sleep, write down five things that you are most thankful for each day. Just five. This very simple exercise can do amazing wonders to your mental health. Research has shown that people who keep a gratitude journal are happier and healthier than those who are less grateful. Gratitude is a higher level of mindfulness because it allows you to be fully aware of the good things in your life. There might be times that you don’t notice how blessed you are (probably because of the challenges you are currently facing). But if you practice gratitude every single day of your life, you will become more optimistic and so much happier.
Do some breathing exercise.
Meditation and yoga are core exercises to develop mindfulness. Can’t squeeze in time to meditate? Do some breathing exercises. Simply close your eyes and breathe. Focus on your breathing. Picture the negativity leaving your body. This is also a great exercise to calm yourself down during stressful moments. Works well most of the time.
Wander.
Traveling alone can be one of the best experiences in life. It exposes you to many things - scary and exciting at the same time. But at the end of the day, it would feel so rewarding. Traveling also gives you the opportunity to be alone, have a break from the usual things that bring you stress, and self-reflect. Remember the saying - not all those who wander are lost.
Try these easy ways to develop mindfulness and expect to experience the difference!
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