Easy Steps to Mindful Living

Mindfulness has been a bit of a buzzword for a while now, hasn’t it? But it’s a lot more than a trend. Done properly, it’s a way of being in the world and moving through life that can dramatically boost your sense of wellbeing! It’s all about being focused on the present, learning to flow with the Universe, and learning to accept life and others just as they are. Here’s some easy steps how to introduce it into your life…

Mindfulness isn’t always on your mind

Even when we’re trying to live mindfully and move through the world with more purpose, it’s easy to be distracted. Particularly when we have a mini-computer in our hand, constantly flashing, bleeping and demanding our attention.

And sometimes we just forget to do it!

Sometimes we can’t help but worry about the latest ‘fire’ at work, or all the things we have to get done at the weekend. We have to do the shopping, take the kids swimming, catch up on emails, visit family members, fix the doorbell… there are so many things just waiting to steal our focus.

And if you ever fixate a bit over the things you’ve already done - what you said at the meeting you were just at, or how you acted at that party last week after a few glasses of wine - well, you’re not alone!

Forgive yourself for your ‘slip ups’

The truth is, living mindfully is all about bringing yourself back into the moment. So don’t worry if you ‘fail’... there’s no such thing as ‘failure’ on this blog!

When you notice yourself being distracted, when you start focusing on the future or the past…

Just close your eyes…

Take a deep breath in…

Let it out…

And relax.

Bring yourself back into the present and focus on your surroundings. Acknowledge the way you’re feeling right now. Think about the task you’re trying to accomplish. Put everything else out of your mind, and focus on the now.

Is that all there is to mindfulness?

The answer to that question is, no! As important as it is to pause every now and then and bring yourself back to the present, there’s actually a lot more to it than that.

Here are four key concepts to get to grips with as you start to live more mindfully:

Meditation

This is the foundation of mindful living. Just being still and focusing on something simple like your breath, can feel very uncomfortable at first - we are so used to having our mind flit from one thing to another! Meditation is all about focus, quieting your mind and your thoughts and being completely present in the moment. (If you need some tips, we do regular meditations in our Facebook group, The Soul System - we’d love to see you there!)

Accept things and people just as they are

This one can be tricky! We get it. But there’s no doubt we’re happier when we accept people and situations as they are. When we ditch the judgement, we can sit back and enjoy the ride!

Learn to accept discomfort

You may not know it, but fear of discomfort is holding you back. It will keep you from starting your own business. It will keep you in a job you don’t like. It will kill your dreams. It’s easy to stick with familiar environments and habits, however bad they are for us. But living mindfully means being aware of what you really want and need to do… and sometimes that means doing things that scare us.

Let go of your need to control

It’s hard to accept, but you have less control over your life than you think you do! Just when we think everything is on track, something crops up to throw everything out of alignment again. A family member might fall ill, or you might get an unexpected tax bill, or you miss out on a promotion at work. That’s life, right?

There will always be something. But when we live mindfully, we learn to let go of control and flow with events instead of fighting them.

The most important part of ‘practising mindfulness’ - is the practise!

It’s so important that you don’t get too hung up on how often you’re checking in with yourself. Whenever you feel yourself drifting away from the moment, just calmly bring yourself back and focus on the now. It’s not about being perfect and never being distracted, it’s about how quickly you bring yourself back. Keep practising, and you’ll soon notice the difference in your emotions.

This is huge area of growth and learning for many of us. If you want to learn more, join us in The Soul System or if you would like to talk to us about a coaching programme that incorporates mindfulness, contact us by clicking here - we’ll be happy to talk you through mindfulness and how it can help you!

Love and hugs,

Donna & Cheryl xx