Being More Mindful In Life, Blogging & Everything Else
This beautiful journal from Kikki.K* is not only a stunning piece of stationery, but it's also really helped with my journey to be more mindful. It's been on my mental to-do list for a long time but how often do we get a chance to sit down and properly think about the process? Rarely. 2016 is the year that I want to purposely be more self-aware in a lot of ways and this is something that we all probably want to achieve in some areas of our lives. Today I wanted to share a total beginners guide to being a little more mindful.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS TO YOU?
This differs from each and every one of us. To me, mindfulness is not doing things on autopilot and considering what I'm doing and feeling. So this goes for work, blogging, friendships, money, relationships, diet, fitness and just general day to day living. I feel like I've got so many habits, not all of them good ones that I rarely give what I'm doing a proper think. As a chronic worrier, I spend a lot of time in my mind but it's not always positive.
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. {source}.
HOW TO PRACTICE IT
Here is how I want to practice being mindful in some of the areas that I mentioned above;
Work: When opportunities get presented to me, am I going to accept them because I really want them or just because they are there? Would I still want those things if they weren't being offered to me?
Friendships: Make more of an effort and stop putting work before checking in with my loved ones. I don't want to become a person who has no-one left around her because she focused far too much on other things.
Money: Think about the purchases that I'm making, even the small ones. It's all too easy to waste money when you're not really thinking about what you're spending.
Diet: This is such a tricky area for me but I want to be more aware of the what I'm lacking in, especially in terms of nutrients. In March, I want to try living a plant based diet and seeing if that it makes a large difference in my overall health. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
STOP LIVING ON AUTOPILOT & BEING PRESENT
Sometimes life feels far too hectic to stop and think about what we're doing. I have the time, I just need to make it mine and get into the practice of doing it. As well as being more mindful I want to be more present in the moment, my mind is always off elsewhere and that's not where it needs to be. If I'm constantly living in other parts of my mind and off into the future, I'm not being the best person to myself or to the people I'm with.
MINDFULNESS MEETS EXERCISE
This is something that is probably prevalent to all of us right now. Seen as it's the season that everyone goes on a fitness kick. There is no wonder when every other advert on tv is about losing that Christmas weight. Fitness is always painted in the same way, someone on a cross trainer who is smiling like she's just seen a million puppies or something equally joy inducing. But it's not like that for everyone, not everyone finds it easy or remotely pleasurable. I'm a big advocate of getting your fitness in where you can and being more mindful of it. Why are you exercising? Are you trying to lose weight or just generally look after yourself a bit more? Or do you feel the pressure to hit the treadmill by society? I think these are important questions to ask yourself and in turn, it will help you focus so much more.
STOP, AT LEAST ONCE A DAY
Whether it's for 5 minutes or 15 I want to get in the habit of stopping at least once a day and think. Think about the things that I'm incredibly grateful for and the things that I want to work on. By doing this, I hope that it will give me more perspective when I'm starting to spiral into a pit of worry or self-doubt. Being a chronic worrier and over thinker is something I really want to leave behind this year. As well as hopefully helping me overcome the prison of worry I often find myself trapped in I also want to become more of a humble person. I don't want to take anything I have for granted as I don't think it's an attractive quality in a person.
What are your thoughts on being more mindful?
R x
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