5 Tips to Train your Brain to be Mindful

Making mindfulness a part of your everyday routine can be a little tricky at first. Excuses are made as to why mindfulness doesn’t fit into the schedule. Being too busy is usually a crowd favourite. There is a simple solution to this problem. All you need to do is make mindfulness a daily habit.

According to author of The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg, creating a habit requires three steps: a cue, a routine and a reward. A cue is something that triggers the brain. A routine is the behaviour or the habit. A reward is something little to celebrate for completing the routine. 

For example, if you want to make stretching a daily habit then you just follow the three steps. The cue is getting out of bed in the morning and then hitting the button to boil the kettle. The routine is completing five minutes of stretches. The reward is making a morning coffee or tea to start the day. You don’t get to enjoy your coffee until you have done your stretches.

To train your brain to be more mindful, make these five tips into a daily habit:

1.     Use mundane activities to focus on your senses. For example, whilst brushing your teeth notice the sounds you can hear both inside and outside, or whilst washing your hands take two deep breaths.

2.     Complete a body scan either laying or sitting. This can be done in the morning when you wake up, during a lunch break or at night just before bed. Take five minutes to scan through each part of your body and relax the muscles. Visualise and feel your body relaxing.

3.     Whenever you have a negative thought pause and rephrase the thought into a positive sentence. For example, “I’ll never be able to finish on time, I have too much to do.” Change it to, “I’ll make a list and complete one task at a time. I’ll be finished before I know it.”

4.     Practice gratitude for 2 minutes. At some point during your day, think of or list four things/people/activities that you are grateful for.

5.     Focus your attention on breathing. Stop all your thoughts on the past or future and take yourself to the present moment. Take 5 deep breaths from your belly and focus on breathing slowly.

By creating new habits, you will train your brain to be more mindful. Soon you will be unconsciously adding mindfulness into your daily routine for a calm mind, happy heart.