When people think of mindfulness, they often don’t realise how much it can impact their own daily life. It is worth looking into. Read on to learn why.
Practice
People often say that they don’t have enough time in the day to practise mindfulness and meditation, which couldn't be further from the truth! Sure, it would be nice to set aside hours of time for meditation but for most of us, that isn’t realistic. That's where mindfulness comes in. Mindfulness can be practised at any time of the day, during any task, as long as you are aware of it. Try practising mindfulness while eating, washing your hands, reading a book or watching TV. Simply be present in the moment without letting your mind wander. It may be hard to do at first, but every time it gets much easier and it will eventually become a habit to practise anytime, anywhere.
How to Practice Mindfulness
The term practising mindfulness often gets thrown around a lot. But how do you do it? Well if you think about it, in today's times, we do a lot of multi-tasking. Things such as being on your phone while eating or watching TV while you complete boring tasks is a form of multitasking. These habits can be destructive in many ways, but it's especially destructive to an individual's mental health, focus, and sense of self. It’s hard to concentrate when your thoughts are scattered.
Mindfulness isn't just as simple as focusing on one task at a time, but it's retraining your brain to be present in the present moment. The next time you go to drink or eat something, stop. Think about how the object feels in your hand. Is there a smell to the food or drink? What reaction is your body having to these thoughts? Is your mouth starting to water? What does the food or drink taste like? What is the texture? How does it feel in your mouth? Simply just stop and take a second to experience the experience as if it were for the first time.
Once you start doing things like this every day, you will see a big change in your life. You will find more appreciation for the little things that make up your day. How the sunrise looks, how interesting a book is, how funny a post is on social media, how good something tastes – and how you feel about enjoying the world around you.
In conclusion, though it may seem daunting, mindfulness is actually a fairly easy thing to practise every day. Give it a try and see how it impacts you in positive ways.
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