Hip hip hooray!...for Newsweek producing a special edition on Mindfulness. This list was highlighted and I couldn't agree more with each tip. It's so easy to get distracted with the everyday demands of life, I thought a mid year tune in would be helpful...
MINDFULNESS TIP 1
ACT AT YOUR OWN PACE, WITH DECISIVENESS
Especially in a world whose pace is dictated by the lightning speed of the internet, it's important to take things at your natural speed.
MINDFULNESS TIP 2
ACTIVELY NOTICE YOUR SENSES
You don't have to stop and actually smell any roses, but a big part of mindfulness is focusing on what our senses are telling us.
MINDFULNESS TIP 3
DON'T ACCEPT YOUR OWN EXCUSES
There's a part of all of us that can be counted on to say "just take the day off," but real change comes only from real action.
MINDFULNESS TIP 4
FIND THING TO ENJOY
It's difficult to be focused and mindful when performing a stressful action, which is why most people find it easier to use a hobby as mindfulness practice, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the feeling.
MINDFULNESS TIP 5
FOCUS ON DEVELOPING FOCUS
Being an expert at concentration, whether it's on your own breath, a task or a visualization is essential to being able to enter a calm, observant, mindful state.
MINDFULNESS TIP 6
KEEP TRACK OF WHEN YOU ZONE OUT AND WHY
Everybody daydreams, and if it helps you relieve stress and is done mindfully, daydreaming can be a great thing. But if you're just slipping into a reverie, it's good to keep track of exactly which situations cause you to daydream so you can be more aware of this likelihood in the future.
MINDFULNESS TIP 7
SINGLE TASK, DON'T MULTI-TASK
Our fast-paced and digitally dominated society reveres multitaskers as heroes of the workplace, but it's much better for mindfulness, focus, quality of product and frankly, mental health, to give your absolute attention to one thing at a time.
MINDFULNESS TIP 8
SIT DOWN
A more physical version of the "take your time" school of mindfulness, sitting down and forcing yourself to be still and focused can be a simple trick to building a more present, mindful life.
MINDFULNESS TIP 9
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH EVERYTHING - ESPECIALLY EATING AND DRINKING
Not only does mealtime give us a built-in activity to take our minds off stress, it's also the time of day we're most in touch with our sensory input - in the form of taste. Savoring your meals with real intent could be the first step toward being able to focus on meditation.
MINDFULNESS TIP 10
SPEND A FEW MINUTE DOING NOTHING
When responsibilities, tasks and worries seem to be piling up at a rate you can't handle, the worst thing you can do is jump in at maximum stress. Take a breather first. Clear your mind any way you can and do nothing at all for a moment. Then return to the tasks at hand.
Have a great week incorporating some of these simple ideas to bring more peace and balance to your life.
Patricia
Patricia Cimino is a certified Life Coach who's passionately driven to help people
discover the next chapter of themselves.
She teaches a bullet proof self coaching model that radically changes how her clients think, feel and behave, so they can do what they're passionate about with clarity, confidence and optimism. When she's not coaching, speaking, leading workshops and retreats you can find her sweating it out on her mat or taking advantage of being the only female in a house full of a lot of testosterone..