5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Everyday Mindfulness

Ever tried being more mindful by going the extra mile?

Haven’t you seen any success?

Was it too exhausting to make it a habit?

Then you tried too hard. Mindfulness doesn’t need to be difficult if you’re smart about it in your everyday life.

Here’s how.

Meditation

You don’t need to go to a monastery to meditate. In fact, you don’t even need to sit upright.

You can lie down.

You can sit on a chair.

You can even meditate while walking.

Before you ask how, let me get something straight:

Meditation is all about being present.

No matter where you are, what you do, and if your mind is already cramped with thoughts.

In his book “10% Happier,” Dan Harris says that most people don’t understand the concept of meditation.

Meditation isn’t something spiritual or religious, you can only do it when being part of a secret cult, where you have to drink a child’s blood. Instead, meditation is something everyone can practice anywhere and at any time, just like my workout routine.

What does that mean?

It means you have no excuse left not to start it today. Don’t overcomplicate meditating.

Just start doing it.

Mindful breathing

How do you breathe?

No, seriously.

Are you breathing slowly? Or quickly?

Do you breathe with your mouth open or closed? And how long do you inhale air for a breath?

This year, I read “Breathe: The New Science of A Lost Art” by James Nestor, which changed my life.

Before, I was breathing like an idiot. I had no idea what I did.

“Why?” you might ask now because every single kid knows how to breathe, right?

You’re as wrong as I was.

Breathing is so much more than just getting air in your lungs. Did you know that:

breathing correctly can enlarge your jaw? (which is a good thing)
deep breathing can improve respiratory function?
overbreathing increases carbon dioxide in your body, which leads to health problems?

You probably didn’t (otherwise, cheers!).

Now, shocking news: Mindful breathing increases mindfulness.

Mindful breathing means you actually feel, what goes inside your body (not what you think). You feel where the air is flowing.

Try it, it’s incredible.

Sit still, focus on your breathing, and count to 5, when inhaling. Now, do the same, when exhaling.

Repeat for another 3 minutes (don’t overdo it in the beginning).

Feel alive again.

Mindful breathing is stupid simple, yet so effective.

Mindful movement

Mindful movement is like sex, but usually, you’re dressed.

The first time, I moved mindfully was, when I started doing calisthenics. It was a huge change, to my workout routine.

Before, I’ve been an avid gym goer. 5 times a week, you’d find me hitting the gym, doing my compound exercises, or whatever other plan I had.

And although I’ve spent so much time in the gym, I had no idea, how my body worked.

I couldn’t feel myself.

Then I started calisthenics and it changed everything. Not because I looked better naked (I surely did), but because I learned to feel every bit of it.

Suddenly, I wasn’t a stranger to my body anymore.

I finally felt at home.

The good news? You can achieve that by only walking, too!

How, you might ask?

Put your phone away. Stop listening to music. Go to a quiet place, to start.

Then, move.

When moving, focus on the muscles you flex, the ligaments that move with you, and your mind orchestrating your ensemble of bones and flesh.

Hold on.

Repeat. Develop a feeling for your body. Appreciate the movement.

When in doubt, start simply with walking or doing push-ups.

Thank me later.

Journaling

Hopefully, this isn’t news to you.

By now, you should have seen plenty of people advertising the power of journaling and its profound impact on mindfulness.

Tim Denning wrote about it.

Ayodeji Awosika, too.

These two alone should be two reasons to finally start doing it.

If they haven’t here’s a list of its other benefits:

stress reduction
clarity
self-reflection
goal setting and achievement (writing down your goals increases the chance of achieving them by 42 %)
dumping your brain
creative expression

Journaling is the easiest way to get your head straight. Seriously.

When I started journaling, I only took a pen and a paper. I just dumped my brain. I wrote about my insecurities, my negative mood, and my dissatisfaction with working 9 to 5.

I just vomited my thoughts on paper.

I felt so relieved. It was incredible.

Because paper doesn’t judge. It just listens. Always eager to learn more about you.

I heard of people single-handedly therapizing themselves with a pen and paper. And you probably read people (like me) doing the same, with a laptop and Wi-Fi.

Journaling is therapy. In its cheapest form.

And now, before you say, you don’t need therapy. You likely do. Especially, if you think you definitely don’t.

If you haven’t started doing it already, start doing it now.

Seriously, take a pen and paper.

Start writing.

Self-Compassion

Do you yell at people in the street?

Calling them names because you’re dissatisfied with yourself and life in general?

There are such people. Just this morning, I saw a guy yelling at the bakery lady for giving small change, instead of a 5 Euro note.

Probably you don’t. Which is good.

But chances are, your inner voice is doing it to you. Which is bad.

A couple of years ago, I had no control of my inner voice.

As soon as a glass of marmalade slipped out of my hand, I’d call myself an idiot. Then, I wondered why I always felt so insecure.

Only when I started understanding that your thoughts are what shapes you the most (yes, even more than the 5 persons you spend the most time with), I understood that I’m hurting myself.

We go nuts, when people cut themselves, but we don’t do enough to avoid people calling themselves bad things.

My best friend still struggles with that.

She’ll even loudly name herself an idiot when something breaks. And that breaks me. Now, it’s my mission to make her stop saying it.

She deserves better.

You deserve better, too.

Turn up the volume and listen to your inner voice. Hear, what it’ll call you.

When something good happens. And when something bad happens. Become mindful of your self-compassion.

That’s how you can make yourself change for the better.

The best? You can implement ALL of them in your everyday life. Spending as little as 5 minutes on each of them.