Mindfulness is not for me...

... is what I thought at first. Everyone (or at least in my bubble everyone ;)) has heard about the benefits mindfulness and meditation have - how positive the impact can be. A couple of year's back I've learned about meditation - didn't know the difference to mindfulness and thought 'well that's definitely not for me.' Let's be clear I am a workaholic. I can always work and yes I do know that I am not a surgeon taking care of an open heart but nevertheless I can't stop working. I am full energy everyday and I thought I can't just be with myself. I thought that when I don't do something it's a waste of time.

I think that a lot of us know or at least heard that stress can have a bad or negative impact on your life and that the longterm effect is even worse than we think. We've heard it a couple of times and yet we still continue to live and work in a way that we act as if we don't care. A bummer - because since I am a yoga teacher I developed a regular meditation practice and do know the difference between a non-meditating version and a meditating version of myself. I thought I know how important the balance is - turns out I only knew in theory but didn't execute. I quit my job by the end of 2019 and for the first time I was only working on things I love. I was busy but managed to prioritize my health at the top. I had regular meals and did a workout everyday. And then I felt the difference.

What changed?

First of all I am aware that we have to satisfy one of our deepest desires of feeling safe. We need to ensure that we can take care of our daily/monthly/yearly expenses and the expenses of people depending on us. However, I also believe we need to re-learn some things in our life while we can still achieve the feeling of satisfaction. But first things first - what changed? Well nothing and everything at the same time. I prioritized my to do list and re-arranged my top priorities. At the beginning of this year I made a promise to myself that I try to not work more than 8 hours/day. My day needs to include a workout/walk/fresh air and I need to incorporate everything and define 'it' as work even though I do it because I like it. I started to realize how many things I do in a day but I also understood that in order to keep on track I can't do everything I want to. Sounds confusing or maybe a little familiar?

What I did is fairly easy. I checked my status quo. What do I need to do in order to feel satisfied and safe and what do I want to do to. I wrote a list and started making priorities - what needs to be on my daily/weekly to do list and what can be deleted or de-prioritized? I simply became aware of the things I do and need to do and added mindfulness into my daily schedule. We sometimes have deadlines we need to achieve and can't just drop things and I understand that it is not as easy to check in with yourself every day but the more often you do this exercise the easier it gets. The more you add mindfulness into your life the healthier you live your life. It is not that hard and at the same time it is maybe one of the hardest things to do during your day. :)

Who can relate?

It's out there a lot of studies (GALLUP research about burn-out) showing us the longterm effect stress can have on your life. Those studies show that #burnout rates and mental illness rates are still on the rise. That people have troubles to cope with stress in general and that we, neither companies nor we as individuals should continue the way most of us do. We praise ourselves by talking about how busy we are and can't stop talking about work and how important it is while life is just happening in front of our noses. I think that some people definitely can relate and this isn't me pointing into your direction. This is me trying to show you how easy it really is.

My 3 tipps how to become a little more mindful

1. Sit down or stand comfortably. Become aware of the room you're in. Notice every single detail you may have missed or never noticed in general. Look out of the window (if you have one) and observe.
2. Become aware of your breath. Define how your breath is going - slow or fast - shallow or deep. Just notice try not to interfere (for once) and become the observer.
3. This clearly depends on the amount of emails you get but before you send an email or before you read one. Take 5 deep breaths. If that's not doable because you get a thousand emails a day - use this breath technique when getting a cup of coffee or tea. Become fully present while doing so - what can you smell or feel - what can you observe?

That's it easy and simple. Do yourself a favor and start. Nothing big and fancy - nothing you need a training for - just you becoming aware and being present.

What do you think?