How to Practice Mindfulness Every Day

Learning how to practice mindfulness every day can help you bring more joy and understanding to your life.

Matt Cutts shares his story on Ted about how he tries something new for 30 days. He went from just being an IT Desk Jockey to being someone who enjoys biking to work, taking photos, and he even wrote a novel. His biggest takeaway was that by doing these little 30 day challenges, he learned to stop and enjoy the daily joys of life.

In other words, he became mindful.

Disclaimer: The below article is for informational use only. I am not a licensed psychologist. Check with a licensed psychologist before practicing the below tips to ensure they can work with your unique situation.

What is Mindfulness?

To learn how to practice mindfulness, we first have to know what it means.

The Oxford Dictionary describes mindfulness as

“a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

Oxford Dictionary

Even though this a good definition, I initially felt it lacked a certain aspect of pervasiveness needed with mindfulness. That’s why I prefer a definition I heard on the Savvy Psychologist,

“A philosophy about being fully focused on whatever you are doing. Being 100% with it and learning to see your discomfort without judgment.”

Dr. Jade Wu

I prefer Dr. Wu’s definition because it shows that mindfulness is something beyond just a meditation technique. Mindfulness isn’t always therapeutic. When you try to be entirely focused on the here and now, sometimes the here and now sucks. Work could be taxing, the food you are eating is dry, and you don’t have the motivation to exercise in the afternoon.

All that is okay. Being mindful is about accepting life for what it is without judgment.

Why Practice Mindfulness

Why learn how to practice mindfulness is sometimes it can cause our feelings to become apartment? When people feel something unpleasant, we tend to suppress those feelings. However, your body will manifest the symptoms anyways. Have you ever been nervous and feel like your throat is closing up and you have butterflies in your stomach? Your body reacts anyway. Regardless of what you are feeling, being mindful lets, you experience the emotions, and then move on. Returning to a relaxed neutral state instead of carrying that feeling with you all day.

The Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness has become a hot topic and for good reasons.

• Mindfulness reduces stress and increases empathy
• Promotes Healthier eating habits
• Improves Resilience
• Increases Productivity
• Improves Self-awareness
• And improves overall mental health

Mindfulness helps people overall feel better, be more resilient, and be more aware of their life. Now, mindfulness is not a panacea that will cure all of people’s ailments. Medicine and counseling are still required to treat larger issues.

Why Mindfulness Works

The reason why mindfulness works is that we live in a hyper-connected society. On the blog, we’ve researched why life is such a fast-paced lifestyle. See the findings and how to slow down life here.

Mindfulness is simply a philosophy based around being in the here and now. Living in the moment.  For living life in all its glory like sipping coffee to a sunrise over the Grand Canyon, or landing your dream job. To the neutrals of life like driving to work or working through that spreadsheet that is due by noon. To even the worst experiences of life on the toughest days.

Mindfulness works because it teaches us to appreciate life and to be entirely present at the moment, without judgment and letting ourselves feel the experience.

Why Do People Practice Mindfulness?

Studies show that most people turn to learn how to practice mindfulness because they want to alleviation emotional distress. They want to shed the anxiety, worries, and fears they have. In studying those who kept with a Mindfulness practice, researchers found that participants stuck with mindfulness because it alleviates emotional distress and enhances emotional regulation.

Mindfulness teaches people to be in the present moment, regulate their emotions, and overall helps them feel better through the course of their day.

How to Practice Mindfulness Every Day

Practicing mindfulness means grounding yourself in life through your five senses and being in the present moment. Like Matt Cutts, try mindfulness for 30 days. It doesn’t have to mean you spend an hour a day sitting in a quiet room. Practicing mindfulness can be done in little sprints through-out the entire day.

1. Pay Attention When You Eat

I used to inhale my sandwich while working at my desk at lunch. Not even noticing what the food tastes like. Not the most mindful practice. Instead, pick one meal a day where you will be present with your food. Notice what it smells like, the heat, and the weight of your food. It doesn’t matter if it’s a quick bite from a burger joint or a gourmet steak dinner. Take the time to notice the textures and flavors of the food. Slowing down helps you enjoy the food and be more mindful in your day.

2. Dedicate 5 Minutes to Mindfulness

What is something you do every day? Is it driving, making meals for the family, cleaning, or exercising? Pick an activity and start to pay attention to it for just 5 minutes each time you do it. Chances are when you begin the task, you flip into autopilot. Fight that urge and stick with the activity Notice how your body feels, the sensations you are experiencing or feeling, and be in the moment. You might even notice a new way to do your work!

3. Try something new

Studies show that practicing mindfulness increases people’s grit – their tendency to stick with a difficult task. Mindfulness teaches us to be in the moment, with non-judgment. What is a hobby you’ve always wanted to do? Drawing, playing guitar, gardening, – maybe even juggling? To practice this non-judgment piece, let yourself practice this new hobby for just a handful of minutes each day. It doesn’t matter if your drawing looks like something a seven-year-old could produce or you drop every juggling ball – let yourself enjoy life and developing a new hobby you’ve always wanted.

Need help coming up with a hobby? Check-out our practice of developing 12 hobbies over a year!

4. Experience Happiness

Studies show that it takes five positive comments to cancel out every negative one. The same kind of logic applies to most of life. People have a negativity bias where we tend to see the negative over the positive. By this logic, it takes five positive experiences to cancel out one bad one. The good news, mostly good things happen each day!

Train yourself to see the positive and be mindful when those positive emotions are going on. Learning to be positive is a great way to learn how to practice mindfulness every day.

See this guide on 8 little ways to be happier each day!

6. Limit Distractions

There is research going into how Virtual Reality (VR) can improve mindfulness. The findings are that by being in a virtual environment, people are better able to focus on the digital experience in-front of them. In short, VR technology is teaching people to be mindful because the early-stage VR worlds are often simpler than reality.

To help with your practice, limit distractions in day-to-day life. Turn off notifications for the apps that cause you anxiety, declutter your desk, and limit the noise when you can. See how having less can help you pay attention to experiencing life more.

7. Find Support from Others

A study on practicing mindfulness found that those who had support from others were 85% more likely to make mindfulness an everyday habit. Find one of your friends, family members, or even an online community to commit to practicing mindfulness with. Having their support will make everyone more likely to stick with the practice!

8. Accept your Feelings

Living in the present moment isn’t always easy. Like we saw above, we tend to suppress negative emotions and those feelings manifest in the body. When you get those feelings, be mindful and tune into them if it feels safe to do so.

For instance, you are about to give an important presentation. You get nervous and want to shut out those feelings. Instead, check-in with yourself. See the butterflies in your stomach and beating heart. Then, take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and remind yourself you got this! Suddenly, the emotion fades in intensity and you walk out on the stage confident and ready to go.

Emotions come up without our control. What we can control is our emotional regulation and the response to those emotions. Being mindful of them is the first step.

Key Take-Aways

• Learning how to practice mindfulness begins with recognizing living in the here and now.
• Mindfulness means tuning into the grind of day to day life and extracting the meaning behind everyday life!

Action Item

Commit to practicing mindfulness for the next 30 days. Keep a journal of your experience with mindfulness. At the end of the 30 days, see if you are more in-tune with your day to day life.