Mindfulness Is Simple, But Not Easy: The Challenge of Practice
Being mindful is extremely simple.
Stop thinking, then breathe and feel.
But if it’s that easy, how come there’s still anger and anxiety all around the world?
Because it’s easy to understand, but it takes practice to be mindful.
Let’s start with the hardest part,
Remember to be mindful.
When I started practicing mindfulness, I tried to remember that feeling and state when I was focusing on breathing.
But throughout the day, there wasn’t a single moment I actually remembered to practice it.
My day was just busy and always ready for the next thing.
After I finished one thing, I’d go out for a run, then I’d cook, then I’d watch TV, then I’d call my girlfriend (now my wife).
At the moment I was lying in bed, a thought popped up:
“I forgot to practice mindfulness!”
Every day was like this. For months.
So I understood the concept of mindfulness, but my life was still fast-paced, with no time to feel.
So I basically didn’t do any practice at all.
How to fix it
- Set a time to practice.
You can practice mindfulness in your every activities throughout the day.
But for beginner, you can set a time to practice mindfulness, to integrate this idea into your daily life.
It doesn’t have to be an official meditation session.
Just a slow walk after meals, a one-minute breathing exercise, five minutes doing nothing, lying on the grass on weekends, or even wash a dish.
It can be anything, as long as you focus on how it feels.
- Form a habit of doing only one thing.
As Thich Nhat Hanh said:
“The thing you are doing is the most important thing.”
Whether you're washing dishes, working, watching a movie, playing with your dog, or talking to your friends, notice your breath.
Inhale, exhale.
Fully focus on what you are doing right now.
Even just for a moment, that’s already an improvement.
These are ways to integrate mindfulness into your daily life.
Once you practice more, it becomes a lot easier to remember your breath.
Even in emotional moments, you’ll feel relief just by remembering to take a few breaths.
It takes time to build this.
For now, my mindful time when I remember to do it, normally doesn’t last longer than 30 seconds each time.
But I try to give at least 30 seconds of full focus to each thing throughout the day.
Even that makes a huge difference,
I feel more peaceful already.
As long as you practice, the mindful time will definitely extend, just like building muscle.
But instead of building muscle, you are building your mind playground.
