How are you going so far after the first week? Have you noticed anything positive after a few days of mindfulness? This week we’re continuing with some more daily mindfulness tips and we conclude the week with one of the most popular and powerful mindfulness techniques: The Mindful Pause. If you make it a regular part of your life, we’re sure you’ll find it as positively life changing as we do.
- Tuesday March 10
Listen to someone as they talk, without interjecting, being distracted or planning your response.
- Wednesday March 11
Consciously re-frame a frustrating situation. Stuck in traffic? Appreciate the sky or a great song.
- Thursday March 12
Spend time sitting outside, observing everything you can see, hear, smell and touch around you.
- Friday March 13
Breathe deeply each hour. Feel the air go in your nose, fill your belly and release out your mouth.
- Saturday March 14
Mindful Pause. Stop. Breathe. Observe your feelings and accept them. Proceed with clarity.
Silence may be golden, but we live in a noisy, busy world with a lot of distractions. Our body is designed to be stressed occasionally, but not constantly. And unfortunately, many of us are operating with constant stress. Taking a Mindful Pause multiple times throughout the day can help us to de-stress, restore balance before, during and after periods of intense stress or focus and prevent fight, flight, or freeze mode in times of conflict. A Mindful Pause can change impulsive reaction to a considered response. As Victor Frankl famously said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” So, the next time you feel like reacting to that person that cut you off in rush-hour traffic, try taking a Mindful Pause instead.
The word ‘STOP’ is a useful way to remind you how to do this Mindful Pause.
S – Stop. Pause to let the full experience come in.
T – Take a breath (or three!). Let your breath calm you and anchor you to the present moment.
O – Observe. What’s going on inside your body? How are you feeling? What are you doing?
P – Proceed. While being fully aware you can mindfully engage. With clarity and balance.
- Sunday March 15
Appreciate nature like a child. Watch bees buzz through flowers or clouds drifting across the sky.
- Monday March 16
As you shower, be grateful for the warm water and thank your body for everything it does for you.
Click here for a downloadable PDF with this week's tips, to print out and pop on your fridge or your desk.
To see last week's tips, go to Mindful March - Week One. To see next week's tips, go to Mindful March - Week Three.