6 mindfulness practices to keep you on track

Image: Martin Dawson/Unsplash

Have you ever been so focused on external commitments that you've lost track of the ones you've made to yourself?

Have you ever, with the best of intentions, set an ambitious goal and soon found yourself feeling overwhelmed and not following through?

(Or maybe a world health pandemic threw your world into disarray?)

It's extremely common — and easy — to slip out of the priorities and goals that we think, and say, that are important to us.

Anything we really want to build lies at the end of a lot of individual moments where we re-commit and take the next step. How do you get there? Enter mindfulness.

I've been a mindfulness meditation practitioner for most of my adult life. While that's a practice that I highly recommend, I'm not talking here about sitting on a cushion.

Mindfulness in daily life is about noticing where your focus is, being intentional in what you're paying attention to, and coming back to that intentional commitment when it matters most.

It’s the moment-to-moment awareness of where your priorities lie and what is required of you to meet them. And it’s the ability to step back as an observer long enough to insert the tiniest wedge of time where you can steer out of your default responses (autopilot) into an active choice (recommitting).

Being mindful of the thoughts, feelings and actions you're experiencing right now and how they stack up against those priorities is what allows you to recalibrate as necessary.

Here’s how daily mindfulness practices can be a game-changer for spending more of your time focused on your priorities (and less time stressing out about them).

Let go of judgment around your choices.

Maybe you don't want to be partner or build an empire. Maybe that’s exactly what you have been working towards all this time. Either choice is OK. Perhaps you feel energized and impactful when you’re working long hours in service of an important project. Maybe you will never work another 60-hour week because you made a decision to give up that lifestyle. Your goals are, ultimately, up to you. When you find yourself slipping from them or questioning them, it’s time to pay attention. Notice any judgments around your goals and their impact on how you’re feeling. Tune into what’s true for you. And then recommit.

Tune into your physical body.

Moving your body releases stress-busting chemicals in our brains and bodies. Getting a good night’s sleep has a documented impact on mood. Meditation and nutrition have a host of positive influences on the brain. But knowing what you need means tuning in to your body in any given moment. Cultivating curiosity about what your body needs — a walk, a nap, 5 minutes of quiet breathing, a strenuous workout, water— can have a profound impact on the energy that you have to commit to your priorities.

Notice who is following you around.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or on autopilot, consider who is “there” with you. On your commute, in your office, at the gym— even in the shower or at dinner with your family— who and what are you thinking about? Take a moment to let them go and focus on your immediate surroundings and the experience of what you are doing right then. Consistently noticing who is “with you” on a regular basis can help you to identify patterns, stressors and preoccupations that may be distracting you from your priorities or goals.

Acknowledge what’s right.

Before setting new goals or tackling a big change, review what is right about you right now, where you have already been successful and what you have already achieved. You might keep a “success list” each year of your accomplishments, large and small, and review that before setting new goals. Or, if tackling a big goal at work or a transformative change in your life, take a moment to do an honest inventory of your achievements. Reminding yourself of what’s right and what you are capable of helps us focus on what is possible, rather than the obstacles.

Inject some lovingkindness into the situation.

One simple and practical way to edge your way into a more mindful approach to your commitments is to take 5 minutes of your day to do one small kind thing for yourself or someone else. Buy a coffee for a stranger, send a thank you email to a friend, help a neighbor. Or perhaps you focus that kindness on yourself by offering yourself a moment of grace. Nothing strenuous required— you are building your moment-to-moment awareness. (This practice is great for those who struggle with the inner critic.)

Stretch the edges of what’s comfortable.

Are you resisting making a change or taking action? Getting upset about things that aren’t going “your way”? Or stuck in an unfulfilling routine? Paying attention to what you are resisting — and why — can provide new insight and ideas to reenergize you. Try playing at your edges by switching up part of your day, trying something new or allowing that someone else’s way may be just as right as yours. Many of us prefer the certainty of our regular routines, ways of doing things and ideas, but being able to flex when things feel challenging actually makes us stronger, more resilient and more impactful.

Which of these practices will you put into place? How else might you use mindfulness practices to reenergize your commitment to what really matters to you?