What is mindfulness?
It’s really about directing attention. Sometimes toward thoughts and feelings so you can really see what they are … simply thoughts and feelings.
Sometimes mindfulness is about reminding yourself during the day about what really matters. This is an exercise aimed at just that, more specifically what you might want to reinforce or change.
It’s a journaling exercise. It should typically take no more than 10-15 minutes. You’ll want to do this in the morning. You will write down five things you want to pay attention to during the day.
What are these five things?
They can be specific actions:
• Getting to bed on time.
• Staying off of phones, computer screens.
• Exercising.
But you should also look at areas that describe how you want to live. This is simply looking at the person you want to be during the course of the day. For example:
• I want to be curious and open during the day.
• I will find moments where I can learn something new.
• I want to plug in more to my family.
When you have those five things, take a moment to describe how you might try to do this. Not a complete plan, just a way to try and engage in this activity. For example:
• Getting to bed on time – I’ll get up about ten minutes before I go to sleep and look out the window as a reminder.
• I want to plug in more to my family – I’ll sit at the table after dinner and ask about their day.
The last part of this exercise is to take five minutes at the end of your day and assess how you did. Don’t berate yourself if you didn’t follow through. Just note it and choose to give that a try tomorrow or maybe change it up so that you can meet the goal.
This gives you a chance to weave mindfulness in your day.
