If you are famous for snoozing your alarm a couple of times and are usually late for work; we know how difficult it is to be positive and picture a good start to the day. You just want to get out of the house and make it in time, sometimes wishing that the day could just end already. As you go about your day, if someone happens to say something hurtful or is inconsiderate towards you, then it can just get you all worked up. And because you haven’t had the time to breathe or relax, you might just let those 30 seconds of negativity affect your entire day. Don't worry, there are mindfulness activities that are here to help you.
Negativity is more common than you can imagine, and we put ourselves through too much of turmoil, because we’re not able to look at things from a different perspective. Or because we are so used to these feelings that we think they are normal. Did you know that spending a couple of minutes focusing on the good things in life can completely turn things around? The key is learning how to practice mindfulness.
We’re referring to being mindful, especially during those testing times in your day. And we’re sharing a couple of mindfulness activities that you can open up to and change how you feel about your day.
Morning
Every morning, as you wake up and before you get out of bed, remember to have an intention to conquer. Sit up in your bed, upright and take deep breaths. You can inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Then ask yourself, what is that one key thing you want to succeed in. It could be something as important as feeling good throughout the day, eating well, being positive, helping others, or working on a skill you’ve been meaning to. During the day, you can look back at whether you’ve been able to achieve your goal, and make changes to reach it, if you haven’t already.
Meals
If you believe in gulping meals within seconds or eating on the go, we’d like to suggest something better. Why don’t you eat food and make it a pleasurable experience? This will stop you from over-stuffing yourself; it will help you appreciate your food and nourish your mind as well as body. Breathing before you begin your meal can help you put things in perspective. Then ask yourself how hungry are you on a scale of 1 to 10. Eat peacefully, try to have a conversation with the people you love and avoid Netflix or the television, if you can. These simple mindfulness activities are a sure shot way of feeling good.
Break
Before your day ends, it is important to ask yourself how you are doing today. Instead of trying to run a race against time, take a break and reflect on whether you’ve met your day’s goal. If your brain is going to soon switch to autopilot, change the pattern of what you are doing and surprise yourself. Truly reflect and give yourself the breather you deserve. Choose simple ways to practice mindfulness.
Exercise
One of the best ways to recharge your mind is to exercise. Choose what you like doing best; whether its going for a jog or walk, cycling, swimming or playing a sport! No matter what physical activity you choose to invest in, remember to warm up, challenge yourself, cool down and then rest. Pay attention to your body, it needs that to live a more fruitful and less stressful life.
Once you have mastered these mindfulness activities during these four important tasks, you will see how easy it is to be positive and how simple it is to be mindful in everyday life. You will realize that it doesn’t take much to make the most of your day, all you’ve got to do is push your mind to be a better version of yourself.