It is all in your head

Mindfulness has been a really hot topic as of late, and we have just recently caught the  bug. We are always on the look out for new ways to better ourselves, and so why not start top down? When people make New Year’s resolutions it mainly revolves around the physical, the fiscal, or something habitual but never really mental. Too often, we do things that we have trained ourselves to do, without thinking. This ability to go on auto drive is at times helpful. For instance, when you are driving home from work, and singing along to a song at the same time. However, our days seem to be made up of a series of trained reactions to certain cues. The alarm goes off, you change and go to work. On your way to work, the petrol indicator goes off, so you stop to top off your tank. At work most of the time its all about going through the motions, until you break for lunch. At lunch, you munch through your meal, scroll down your social media feed, and carry a conversation all at the same time. You can see where we are going with this. The issue is that, on your way to work you are so focused on getting there, that you forget to appreciate the journey. At work your dead set on getting things done, that you forget to challenge yourself. It is all about engaging more with the world, by being more intentional and less withdrawn.

Here are a few steps we want to employ on the way to becoming more mindful:

1. Walk outside for at least an hour every day: We find that being outdoors does wonderful things to our mindset. A great way to make use of that hour is to listen to a podcast. Stay tuned for our favorites, on the next blog post.
2. Disconnect: Spend a few hours a day, with your phone stowed away. Take this time to spend quality time with your loved ones.
3. Laugh often, make light of all that is heavy.
4. Be adventurous: Travel or try something new, as often as you can.
5. Don’t multitask: whatever you do, make sure its all that your doing. You will find that you finish the task sooner, and more efficiently.
6. Spend at least five minutes of your day doing absolutely nothing.
7. Eat slowly, savor the flavors and preferably with people who love food. At least once a day
8. Exercise, and exercise acceptance. Don’t let workouts be a brutal end to a mean. Enjoy the process, and love where you are at now
9. Never compare yourself to others, as comparison is the thief of joy.
10. Every morning, take a mental or physical note of what you are grateful for and what you hope to achieve. Personally, we find that pretty planners make this step rather fun. Our current favorite is the Russell and Hazel mini binder