Tap Into The Power Of Mindfulness To Win Your Day
If we stopped to analyze our lives daily, we’d discover that most of our days are almost ‘carbon copies’ of each other.
We engage in the same activities over and over giving scant regard as to whether what we’re doing is helping us or hurting us.
This is why we gain weight, overspend, get addicted to social media and so on. These problems didn’t occur overnight. They’re the result of repeated behaviours over a prolonged period.
Since human beings are creatures of habit, it’s normal to go through our day on autopilot and we only stop to think about something if it’s not the norm. Even our diets don’t have as much variety as we think.
If you kept an hourly journal where you recorded everything you did every hour, you’d be amazed at how similar your day to day life is.
Similarly, if you kept a food journal for a month, you’d see eating patterns – and the list of foods you consume are the usually the same.
Isn’t that amazing?
Yet, we don’t realize it because our life patterns have become second nature to us.
Why change is necessary
Now that you’re aware of your ‘pattern’, you’ll understand that most of the results in your life are because of your daily patterns.
If one is overweight, they most probably have a less than desirable eating pattern. If they’re unfit, their daily life is probably sedentary.
Those who wish to earn more may be stuck at a job they go to daily that doesn’t pay much. If their marital life is uninspiring, very often, there’s neglect and a lack of communication.
As the days pass, these daily actions become more ‘cemented’ in their lives and the adverse effects become more visible.
The ONLY way to change these results and do better will be to change their daily actions – and the best way to do that is with mindfulness.
How to use mindfulness
Mindfulness is a simple concept and all it requires you to do is to step out of ‘autopilot’ mode and be AWARE of what you’re doing daily.
If you want to effect change in your life, you must change.
But when will you change…and how?
Plan what you’ll do differently each day and be mindful of following through on your plan.
For example, if you decide to clean up your diet, being mindful will mean asking yourself if the food on your plate is helping or hurting your goal.
Just this one simple step of asking yourself if you’re eating the right foods will stop you from mindlessly eating.
You’ll analyze your food decisions better and will be aware of how your current decisions will impact your future results.
This mindfulness principle applies to every area of your life that you wish to change. Ideally, you should only aim to change 1-2 habits at a time. This will require less mental energy from you to stay mindful.
Other pointers to bear in mind
Initially, it’s inevitable to slip up. Mindfulness is a skill. You’ll need to practice it often to get better at it. So be patient with yourself.
You may want to keep a journal or a tracker to help you stay accountable. If you have a food journal, you’ll want to write in it every single time you’re about to eat something. This will force you to be mindful.
Similarly, if you decide to spend an hour with your kids daily, you’ll want to have a tracker for that too. You can check off the box every time you do it.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with work and forget this special hour with your children. With a tracker, you’ll be more aware of what needs to be done daily.
The key to making mindfulness work is to not strive too hard. The process should be one of self-love and non-judgmental in nature. You’re mindful to help yourself achieve your goals and dreams.
By practicing it daily, you’ll win the day, and when you win days…then weeks…then months and years… ultimately, you’ll have a winning life.
