5 tips to be mindful!

Be where you are, otherwise, you will miss your life.
- Buddha
Focus on the present
The main idea of understanding what is mindfulness is understanding the importance of being present. Mindfulness is a skill that can be developed by all. And if you’d like only one tip to start from instead of five, then I’d give you this tip. And that is to be present. Being present in every situation, the worst of them and the best as well.
Mindfulness comes from not letting your mind drift away in the past or future, or mostly I would say that even if it drifts, bringing it back to the present.
It’s the way we do in meditation, but here we do not stop any thoughts. Being in the present allows you to not drift off track, and mostly because a lot of our decisions are based on our future, or on our past. Mindfulness allows us to concentrate on our present while being completely one with the time we are living in.
Meditation or Breathing Exercise
Meditation helps us to remind ourselves of being in the present. It helps as a guide to ensure we do not lose focus.
We all know the benefits of meditation, some of them include increased concentration, focus, mindfulness, and not letting ourselves wander into the chaos that might not help us.
Mediation is the base that serves the purpose of being in the present state. It is a practice to be more mindful because it lets you control your thoughts and which basically serves our first purpose of being in the present.
5 senses exercise
I learned this exercise from a famous youtuber. This exercise basically helps us to become aware of our surroundings, by ensuring that we truly are in the present, but not just present in the present, it makes us more aware of what our body and mind are experiencing. Things that we usually never notice, things that we do not give importance to.
This exercise consists of writing down, 5 things we see, 4 things we can touch or feel against our skin, 3 sounds we can hear, two things we can smell and one thing we can taste.
It makes you aware and so much involved within your present, that it’s impossible to drift into the past or future.
This exercise at least once a day makes us more aware of our self, our surroundings and in turn appreciating all the senses we have that make our lives magical.
Listen deeply.
Not only to the sounds you hear but while having a conversation with someone.
Not only does it make us a better listener, but it also keeps us connected to the person ensuring we are in the present while letting us understand the other person on a deeper level.
Listen what people have to say, a lot of times they don’t really mean the words they say, but you’d understand the feeling behind the word. And to understand that is possible only through attentive listening.
Being able to listen properly, let us feel more connected to the present and being mindful is not only being in the present, it’s about knowing and being aware of everything our mind and body are experiencing because of some external stimuli. Mindfulness is simply being aware of what you’re experiencing.
Revisit your day.
You may count your blessings, your wins, people you’re grateful for, lessons you learned and want to remember for the rest of your life, new people you met and don’t want to forget their names, situations you’ve been through and the gist of your complete day.
Well, this is another exercise to be more mindful, to be aware and to know the rhythm of your day, your life.
We miss so many things that happen in our day, we simply cannot recall a lot of little things that happened the day before.
We either remember the happiest ones or the most tragic ones.
Keeping a journal about your day will help you become more aware, while not forgetting those little wins in your life and experiencing gratitude on whole another level.
