Living a more mindful lifestyle is something we should all strive for, be it for those around us that we care about or for our own mental health.
Embracing this approach to life will help you focus on the things that truly matter instead of spending valuable time and energy dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
Now is what matters, everything else is secondary, and it’s the only thing you can realistically control through your emotions and actions.
On top of this, being more mindful isn’t as complicated as you may have initially thought, and you may already be on a good path to getting your life together with only some minor changes.
The tops below will help you become more mindful and improve the way you live your day-to-day life, so let’s jump in.
Take time to cook
While cooking your own food is both healthier and more economically responsible, it’s an activity that many consider therapeutic, to some degree at least.
It’s been a long time since we’ve established that a healthy mind requires a healthy body, but these two things go hand in hand, and cooking at least a single meal every day may help you understand this.
Take just a bit of time out of your day to make tasty food for yourself and your loved ones and you’ll begin noticing some changes right away.
Even if you’re tired, you may feel like it’s a drag to spend 30 minutes to an hour standing next to a countertop, but it’s an activity that’s highly rewarding.
There are few things that are better than enjoying something you’ve made yourself, and if you’ve put enough effort into that thing to be healthy and nutritious, it takes it to an entirely different level.
Sooner or later, you’ll learn that this food tastes different mainly because you did it yourself, and if you practiced mindfulness while cooking it, you’ll quickly give up on the easy-access fast food you’re used to.
Don’t spend your days inside
Staying indoors all day can be taxing, and while going outside can be tough during wintertime, there are still opportunities to enjoy some fresh air and sunlight.
In fact, activities you perform in nature can have healing qualities and you may even notice that you’re feeling much better even if you took a short walk in the great outdoors.
A study from the early 1990s conducted in Japan found that hikers tend to be in a much better mood after shorter trips through the country’s vast wilderness, despite being extremely tired due to the difficult terrain.
The data that was collected shows that these excursions helped reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels in the human body, a hormone that our body releases to deal with stress.
What this means is that even a short walk after work through a wooded area could make the day much more bearable, and once you’re home you’ll be able to sit back, relax and look back on the day that you may have initially thought to have been a complete mess.
Remember what you live for
It’s important to have a goal that we’re trying to achieve, and while smaller, short-term goals can be rewarding, that one thing that your whole life is leading up to is the most important one.
This does sound like it’s self-explanatory, but you’d be amazed at how many people give up on their dreams, no matter how big or small, mainly due to not believing in their own capabilities.
There’s no point to a life that has no purpose, but thankfully, we each have ours, all we’ve got to do is find it, and hold it close to our heart, pushing on towards it with every step we take.
For some this is securing a future for our loved ones, for others, it’s being able to demonstrate their worth through their accomplishments, and essentially, there’s no wrong answer to this question.
Celebrate every victory you make, as it’s the one thing that brings you closer to fulfilling your purpose, and living a fulfilled life is what helps you remain stress-free, loving, and mindful of yourself and others.
Give up on materialism
Attachment to our possessions is one of the worst things plaguing today’s society, and being able to throw this nasty habit away is an ability not many of us have.
This doesn’t mean you can’t practice it though, and by slowly throwing away the things that are dragging you down, you’ll realize just how pointless some of them were.
In the grand scheme of things, human life is incredibly short, and at an average lifespan of just over 72 years, there are so many better things to do than pile up on the stuff we’ve bought with money.
Sure, there are things we need and things we want, and nourishing our needs and wants is crucial to remaining happy, but there’s nothing that says you must hold onto those material things like your whole life depends on them.
Family and health should always come in the first place, and those are just aren’t things that money can buy, and often times it’s the more abstract things like the ideas you have and values that you hold that will maintain their worth long after you’re gone.