Living Mindfully – 10 Top Simple Daily Habits You Can Start Now.
Living mindfully and meaningfully is not about achieving perfection or creating content for your thousands of Instagram followers to adore, but rather, it is about cultivating a daily practice of connecting with ourselves, others, and the world around us.
This practice allows us to live a life with intention, purpose, and gratitude, all which help us to live our best life!
Here are 10 ways to help you live a more mindful and meaningful life.
1. Pay attention to your breath
This may seem vague, or even silly. I mean don’t you just breathe naturally?
But our breath reflects our state of mind and emotions. When we feel anxious or stressed, our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. When we feel relaxed and at ease, our breathing becomes slow and deep.
By paying attention to our breath, being more conscious and tuned into our breathing we can regulate our emotions and reduce stress.
Build time into your daily routines to take a few minutes each day to sit quietly and focus on your breath. Breathe slowly and deeply in through your nose, hold for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly through your mouth. You’ll instantly feel your body relax and your mind clear.
2. Cultivate gratitude
Gratitude is the practice of noticing and appreciating the good things in our lives, steering our thoughts away from the negative and bringing it back to the things that we do have in our lives and which we can be grateful for.
It shifts our focus from what we lack to what we have. By cultivating gratitude, we can increase our feelings of happiness and contentment. Take a few minutes each day to think about something you are grateful for. It could be as simple as a beautiful sunset or a kind gesture from a friend.
Setting up a gratitude board is a great visual reminder of the wonderful things you do have in your life which you are grateful for. Learn how to set up a gratitude board here.
3. Practice self-care
Self-care is the practice of taking care of our physical, emotional, and mental health. So often we get caught up in our day to day lives, focused on others, and forget to nurture the longest and closest relationship we will ever have in our lives, our relationship with ourselves!
Self-care is essential for our overall well-being.
Make self-care a priority by eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and taking time to relax and do things you enjoy.
4. Practice mindful eating
This might seem like another bizarre practice, but having a healthy relationship with food is vital for your overall wellbeing.
Mindful eating is the practice of paying attention to our food and eating habits. It involves listening to our body’s hunger and fullness signals, savouring our food, and being aware of our emotions and thoughts around food.
We’ve probably all been a little guilty of emotional or anxious eating habits, reaching for the snacks and treats that make us feel safe and ok. To practice mindful eating, take time to sit down and eat without distractions. Chew your food slowly, savouring each bite, and notice the flavours and textures, appreciating the nourishment that is helping your body to not just survive, but to thrive.
5. Simplify your life
We often lead busy lives filled with distractions and clutter. Simplify your life by decluttering your living space, streamlining your schedule, and reducing your commitments. This will free up time and mental space to focus on what truly matters.
If your workspace or living area is a mess of knickknacks and mayhem, practice minimalist guru Marie Condo’s mantra, pick up the item and ask – Does this spark joy? Be mindful of how your boy responds when holding the object and make a decision whether it needs to be in your life.
6. Connect with nature
Nature has a calming and healing effect on our body and mind, the most natural healer you will ever get. Spend time in nature by taking a walk, gardening, or simply sitting outside and enjoying the beauty of the natural world.
Take a stroll on the beach, lake or river and mentally toss your troubles into the water and let them be carried away!
7. Practice mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness meditation is the practice of focusing on the present moment and observing our thoughts without judgment. Harder than it sounds!
But don’t be discouraged if you don’t find enlightenment after the very first try, consistently turning up to practice meditation is necessary and as you master it, you’ll become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and to respond to them in a more productive way.
To practice mindfulness meditation, sit quietly and focus on your breath. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath.
If you prefer to follow guided meditations, which I tend to, sign up for an app like Calm or Asana Rebel who have great guided meditations or perhaps follow an audiobook on guided meditation.
8. Connect with others
Meaningful connections with people are essential for our happiness and well-being. Make time to connect with friends and family and participate in activities that involve socializing and meeting new people.
Don’t be scared to get out there and meet new people and expand your social circles. Sports, hobby groups or networking groups can be a great way to meet like-minded people.
9. Volunteer and give back
Giving back to others is a powerful way to cultivate gratitude and meaning in our lives. Volunteer for a cause you are passionate about and give back to your community in any way you can.
There’s so many great ways to help others, if you need ideas check your local government or community websites for volunteer groups.
10. Live with intention
Living with intention is being purposeful and deliberate in our actions and decisions. It involves identifying our values and priorities and aligning our actions and goals with them.
If you were asked today to identify your values, would you know straight up what they were, or would you have to really think about it?
Values are the fabric of who you are and what is important to you in life, something worth spending some time to get clear on.
It’s worth it to actually sit down and make time to reflect on what is important to you and make conscious choices that support your values and goals, and also to extract yourself from people or situations that don’t support or nourish those values.