Have you ever wanted to bring more mindfulness into your life, but struggle to make time in your chaotic schedule? Or do you set the intention to go about your day more mindfully, only to fall into the trap of scrolling unconsciously or responding to emails on autopilot? We have a million things coming at us all the time and simply being present is so, so darn hard for many of us.
Get off autopilot and be mindful. What are you filling your home with to hide or distract from your feelings? are you stuffing things away in a closet or purchasing new shinny things to try to avoid pain and get away from the present? Are you filling your life with distractions to drowned out the present?
I need to remind myself often that mindfulness is not......
a special added thing we do.
obscure or complicated.
in our “heads”, and it certainly does not require help from a professional.
Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses. The practices of mindfulness go way back, thousands of years and learning to focus your attention on the present moment can have a wide variety of benefits.
With that being said, I still need to remind myself of a few things before practicing mindfulness to help me stay focused.
3 Key Things to Know Before Practicing Mindfulness:
Being mindful is a choice and does require action. It totally seems like our minds are wired to get carried away in thought. That’s why mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the breath. We use the sensation of the breath as an anchor to the present moment. And every time we return to the breath, we reinforce our ability to do it again. We are training our minds - call it a bicep curl for your brain.
You don’t need to buy anything. You can practice anywhere, there’s no need to go out and buy anything special—all you need is to devote a bit time and space to practice.
Your mind will wander. There’s no bliss Zen state or otherworldly communion. As you practice paying attention to what’s going on in your mind and body at the present moment, you’ll find that many random thoughts may arise. Your mind might drift to something that happened yesterday, meander to your to-do list—your mind will test you and try to be anywhere but where you are. Don't worry, the wandering mind isn’t something to fear, it’s part of human nature and it provides the magic moment for the essential piece of mindfulness practice—the piece that researchers believe leads to healthier, more agile brains: the moment when you recognize that your mind has wandered. Because if you can notice that your mind has wandered, then you can consciously bring it back to the present moment. The more you do this, the more likely you are to be able to do it again, again, and again. And that beat walking around on autopilot any day (ie: getting to your destination without remembering the drive, finding yourself sitting on the coach scrolling for a minute and when you look at the clock it has been over an hour, coming home from Target with bags of things you don't really need. etc.).
'Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and acceptance - it is about developing the ability to be fully attentive to the present, reducing the amount of time you spend worrying about the future or fretting about the past.
This month, focus on the present. Find a minute a day to be mindful.
Schedule time daily - for me it is when I have my first coffee in the morning. Set a timer for 1- minute and just simply be. If your mind drifts - let it. Just bring in back to the present.
Before my organization session we offer Mindful Minutes to all our clients. It is amazing what sitting and just being present can do. And yes, it is literally a 1-minute app on my phone. Where we...
Sit comfortable and breath deeply, slowly, and quietly.
We close our eyes or watch the screen
Listen for the bell after one minute
Remember, habits are often the default response we revert to unless we have a strong desire to act differently. Your life today is the sum of your habits - what habits are distracting and which ones are helping your goals?
Remove distractions in your life - clutter, bad habits and take small little steps toward your goal. Take a minute to be mindful.
Leah Morris
Founder & Chief Organizer @Mindfully Minimized
Mindfully Minimized is a holistic organizational solution company committed to helping people clear the clutter from their lives. Based in Minneapolis, Mindfully Minimized was founded by owner and chief organizer Leah Morris who works alongside her clients to help them with their challenging spaces to create a beautifully organized home focused around their intention. Leah is a professional organizer, decluttering expert, speaker & coach. She is committed to helping people declutter their lives to focus on what they love. With her passion for providing solutions to problems and serving others she is able to transform spaces to be more clam, purposeful, sustainable, and joyously livable. Check out her website or you can also follow her on Instagram or on facebook.