We hear more and more about Mindful Lifestyle, or being Mindful in our everyday life. It is almost like a trend that everyone is talking about. But what does Mindful really mean? I personally think that as we are all different, there is not just one definition. I believe that there are (small) variations for each one of us, and we should all be able to define for our self what mindful means.

For me personally mindful means two main things. First, it simply means being present in the moment. What I mean by present is to give my full attention to what I am doing in that particular moment. For example, when I am playing with our kids I want to be 100% present and not let any distraction get my attention away from my time with the kids. I feel that because we are so busy, often times we try to do a few things at one time……which results in us being frustrated sooner or later because nothing was done 100%.

The second, is simply acknowledging and being aware at all times of everything that I have…….starting with health! I think that because we are living in such a fast paced society, we are forced to constantly think of “what’s next”! We are always hungry for more, and never satisfied with what we have. Don’t get me wrong, it is not about not having any goals in life! In contrary, I think that we should all have our goals and go after them, but I also think that this all could be done with more appreciation of the things that we have already achieved, and not take the simple things for granted……such as our own health and wellbeing!

Because of the environment that we are living in, I think that it is very difficult to live a mindful lifestyle…….unless you have this as a priority and make an effort to live this lifestyle every single day! There are many ways in which you can include mindfulness in your everyday life,  which I will get into next week. But for now, I want to focus on why living a mindful life is so beneficial.

When we run from goal to goal, and from achievement to achievement without stopping to appreciate the success, we end up being satisfied with nothing……or may be for couple of days, but then we feel empty. At all times we are so focus on success, and achieving our goals that we forget all the things that we have already achieved, or the things we are privileged to have. Our whole life experience will be so much more positive and enjoyable if:

• we start focusing on all the things that we have rather then what we don’t
• we choose to take each situation as is
• we choose to look at the positive in every situation rather than the negative
• we choose to learn from each negative situation, so we can grow

Once we slow down, once we start appreciating all the things that we take for granted, once we start being 100% present in the moment, that’s when all of a sudden we start focusing on the big picture. We start to let go of insignificant things and things that we can’t control. That’s when we also start focusing more on taking care of the most important thing – our own health and wellbeing!

The beauty of being mindful, is not about being perfect at all times. Instead it is about having a tool that will bring you back to the basics when you have had a bad argument, day, or week. A tool that will keep you aware of what is truly important to you, and what matters most to you. A tool that will help and support you with your personal growth. I believe very strongly that only if we are willing to listen, we will be able to grow!

Now I challenge you to go ahead and define what a Mindful Lifestyle means to you personally, and see if you can implement such a lifestyle in your every day life.

Stay healthy

Anna

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