How to become more mindful in your daily life

In this day and age of discontentment and detachment, it is quite hard to remain tethered to the present. To practice mindfulness is to direct your energies and attention to being present in the moment. Frustration, impatience anxiety and rage are all emotions resulting from a trap we create by ignoring to be more mindful of our environment. You can be more mindful by bringing more awareness into your day to day activities, even mundane things can blossom into something more. Eating, sleeping, showering and other routine activities of daily life might seem monotonous but by being more mindful you can make these things interesting too.

1. Establish a purpose for your day: The road to being mindful in your day to day life starts from the very moment you wake up, try to wake up with a purpose. Cruising through life without a purpose causes more discontentment than is necessary, but waking up with conviction and motivation will help you achieve a better state of mind. Having a purpose ensures that in times of strife your reactions will be more compassionate and mindful. When you wake up, sit in a relaxed posture and take deep breaths and then focus on what you want to set your mind to today, and remember to pause and check in with yourself and the goal that you have in mind.
2. Don’t shuffle between activities without a thought, pause and breathe, breathe before you eat, feel the physical sensations of your body, its call for food. When you have connected with your real needs you can mindfully choose what, when and how much to eat, experience the taste, textures and flavours more vividly and then make a mindful choice to eat what you enjoy. The act of eating is not mere sustenance but the most pleasurable sensation that we might experience in our daily lives. Make eating a richer and nourishing experience on your road to practice mindfulness daily. 
3. Pausing here and there is another important way in which you can be more mindful in your day to day life, don’t run your tasks on autopilot, rewire your brain to be more aware. When you intend to do something place reminders all across your space to do that thing so you don’t miss it. Refresh your reminders daily and try new ways to remember your tasks and create new patterns of operation daily.

There are many other ways in which you can be more mindful in your day to day life but the important thing is to pick what suits you best. The important thing is to concentrate on your inner requirements and fulfil those. Whatever suits your needs and your lifestyle is a perfect way, since being mindful is a road to self-discovery that everyone should take.

Source and References

1. John M. Grohol, Psy.D., 7 Easy Ways to be Mindful Every Day, PsychCentral (June 9, 2012) https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-easy-ways-to-be-mindful-every-day#1
2. Melli Obrien, 11 Ways to Bring More Mindfulness to Your Daily Life, Melli Obrien https://mrsmindfulness.com/11-ways-to-bring-more-mindfulness-into-your-life-today/
3. Parneet Pal et.al., 5 Simple Mindfulness Practices for Daily Life, Mindful (Aug 27, 2018) https://www.mindful.org/take-a-mindful-moment-5-simple-practices-for-daily-life/
4. Elizabeth Sott, MS., How to Become More Mindful in Your Everyday Life, Verywell Mind (July 13, 2020) https://www.verywellmind.com/mindfulness-exercises-for-everyday-life-3145187
5. Monique Tallon, 10 Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness in our Daily Life, Monique Tallon (April 13, 2020) https://moniquetallon.com/10-simple-ways-to-practice-mindfulness-in-our-daily-life/