6 highly effective and easy ways to practice mindfulness

There is no shortage of things to be stressed about these days, which makes it more important than ever that we stay grounded and mindful as we go about our lives. 

Mindfulness will look different for each and every one of us. Based on our environment, job, and home life, removing distractions and taking more time for ourselves will be a unique challenge. 

But for most of us, it will involve several crucial mindfulness elements that will help us feel good, look good, and avoid the mental strain that eats away at our minds each day. 

When we don’t slow down and be mindful of our life, our stress level elevates. Many of us feel anxious or aimless, not sure where to turn.  

We may even feel depressed. And, this study suggests that a feeling of depression is directly linked with “emotional eating” habits we take in an effort to make us feel better. The study found that acting with awareness and mindfulness helped to control our eating habits and waistlines. 

To master your mindfulness, try these six techniques. 

6 ways to be more mindful

First, avoid the 24-hour news cycle. The news is built around negativity and fear, and the more we watch the news, the more we expose ourselves to negativity. 

Avoid the news and especially the 24-hour news channels that are built around rehashing the same content over and over again. It’s information warfare. Remember, news outlets need to make money, and they do that by making news content “irresistible”. 

Next, eat as healthy as possible. Sugar and processed foods wreak havoc on our energy levels and digestive systems. Instead, eat these 6 basic foods to maintain steady and balanced energy throughout the day and avoid packing additional pounds onto your waistline. You may be surprised at the impact that food has on your stress level, body, mind, and mood. 

Then, take some time for yourself. Stop and smell the roses. When we move too fast throughout the day, we tend to feel lost or behind, like we are playing catch up. 

There is always something else to do. But when we slow down and spend some time in peace and quiet with our thoughts, we give ourselves the opportunity to reflect and think. To process the day. And, to make better decisions about what in life makes us happy. 

Avoid electronics. Avoiding electronics is especially true during mealtime. When our faces are buried in our phones, we avoid eye contact with those around us. We lose a sense of our surroundings. And, we might lose an emotional connection with our families. 

Don’t be that person who walks into a telephone pole because they were distracted by their text conversation. Fewer stimuli mean more time to be ourselves. 

Stay off social media. Social media has a way of making us feel inferior. Why? Because everybody is posting about the amazing things they are doing. Or when our news feed is consumed by politics, complaints, and negativity, we begin to absorb those vibes, and that process makes us feel more stressed and less mindful of our lives. Less appreciative. 

Instead, limit your time on social media. Remove friends that don’t add value to your life. Don’t follow profiles that are consistently negative. Or, remove yourself from social media entirely. 

Lastly, ditch judgments. Especially with ourselves. Avoid beating yourself up over mistakes or things you could have done better. The fact is nobody is perfect. Not me. Not you. We all fail sometimes. And, we learn the most about ourselves when we fail, not when we succeed. Instead of judging yourself, be honest instead. Learn from your mistakes and move on. 

Mindfulness takes practice. Start incorporating some of these tactics into your everyday life and you may start to feel happier and more content with, well, everything.