Have you ever noticed how when you see the word mindful in a headline, it’s usually accompanied by a photo of someone sitting yoga-style, eyes closed, embodying the very essence of calm? It’s a catchy hook, for sure—who wouldn’t want to feel Zen all the time?—but it’s also, in our opinion, totally misleading.
Why? Because the way we see it, being mindful has nothing to do with exuding calm 24/7, and it’s certainly not about achieving nirvana. To us, mindfulness is more about being aware of what’s happening in the moment and being conscious of how you’re feeling and responding to that moment.
What, exactly, does that mean? Say you wake up late and need to get to an early-morning meeting. A typical response might be to rush around in a panicked frenzy, a state that almost always causes more problems than it solves (spilled coffee, misplaced keys, frenetic driving—you know the drill). You arrive at the meeting frazzled and annoyed, replaying the morning mess in your head instead of being present with your colleagues.
A mindful response, however, would look like this: After you realize you’ve woken up late, you take a moment to assess. You acknowledge the situation and the feelings around it (“I’m late, and so I’m panicked”), and then you act deliberately instead of reactively. Maybe you go through a mental list of everything you need to do before you leave the house, and then instead of scurrying around like a madwoman, you do each thing quickly but not frantically. You spill nothing, you find your keys exactly where they should be, you drive like a sane person, and you arrive at the meeting ready to dive in.
You can use mindfulness in virtually any situation. In relationships it can mean opting for a few deep breaths and a moment alone instead of exploding at your partner or kids. With workouts, it can mean going deeper into a posture when your body is ready instead of taking the less challenging option. When it comes to eating, it might mean waiting an extra beat before reaching for the second cookie to ask yourself if (and why) you really want it.
Here are six small, simple habits you can start right now:
- Immediately after you wake up, take two minutes to be with yourself. Use this time however you’d like: set your intention for the day, practice gratitude, make plans. Do the same thing just before bed.
- Make a list of your “trigger” situations. Maybe it’s getting your family out the door in the morning, or interacting with a difficult colleague. Simply writing these down will help you recognize them next time they arise—and that’s the first step to responding to them in a mindful way.
- Breathe. Simple as that. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly, repeat.
- Anytime you’re rushed, force yourself to stop for 30 seconds. Pausing will help you get your bearings, and you’ll come back feeling less frenzied.
- Before you do anything that makes you anxious, visualize the situation. Visualization will help you both before the event (your focus will be on intention rather than nerves) and during (you’ll feel more confident having imagined the situation.
- Put down your phone. Period.
Mindfulness takes practice. It takes patience. It takes a lot of getting halfway into a reactive state, realizing what’s happening, and doing your best to reset. But it’s worth it. When you approach life mindfully, you begin to live deliberately—and that opens up a whole new world.
Journal exercise: Think back to a situation when you reacted defensively instead of mindfully. Describe the situation and your reaction. What would have been different if you had responded in a mindful way?
We’re celebrating mindfulness this week in our #B3Anywhere Summer Challenge! Sign up here to join the fun. You’ll get our easy-to-follow weekly workout and meal plan, and you’ll be entered to win our weekly prizes!
