Mindful Activities You Can Try
I often find myself up in the clouds dreaming about a new future for myself or zoning out to music or diving deep into a fictional land on TV. Grounding myself in reality is important and at times, necessary. As a creative, it’s easy to wander into nowhere land and dissociate from your present moment. Recently, I’ve been trying to incorporate more mindful activities to bring some stability into my day.
Here’s a list of 5 mindful activities I’m enjoying:
Journaling — A simple one to start things off. Sometimes, we have to go back to the basics. Writing down my emotions each morning releases the chaos in my mind and dumps it out on paper. After journaling, I can more easily start my day with a fresh mind. Glamour Magazine just posted about the benefits of writing therapy and though it’s different than journaling, the core remains the same. Writing can serve as a beneficial way for you to connect with yourself.
Starting the day with a fresh glass of water — I like to start my day with a fresh glass of water. Whatever remaining water is in my cup from the night before, I toss into a nearby houseplant or into my dog’s water bowl. Filling up my glass with a new glass of cold water (not too cold because I don’t want to shock my system) is the best way to reset in the mornings. It’s such a simple activity but it really is effective in signaling to my body that it’s a new day.
Long walks — I can talk on and on about long walks and their immense benefit on my mind, body, and soul. Connecting with nature, walking around the neighborhood, noticing small things about local surroundings that I’m grateful for is so impactful. It’s a form of moving meditation that reminds me to stay grounded where I am. When I want to be extra mindful, I’ll do a sensory check. What do I see, smell, taste, hear, etc.
Mindful scrolling — Hear me out. I am well aware of the detrimental effects of social media. I even wrote my thesis on the topic in college! But, in the past couple of years, I’ve started to see the positives of scrolling when I’m cognizant of the information I’m intaking. For example, at night, I typically scroll through TikTok to watch other daily vlogs and see what beautiful day-to-day things people are inspired by. It helps me take pause and think about those items in my own life and it inspires me to try and capture those moments in my following day. As soon as I’m mindlessly flipping through images or videos, I try to stop.
Saying affirmations — Last but not least, I’ve been saying daily affirmations. Each morning, I say an “I am” statement aloud and I’ll write it down in my journal. It’s a way to start my day off thinking positively about myself. If I can’t think of one, I’ll ask Alexa. She has some good ones, I must admit. Often, if the affirmation helped me see myself more positively, I’ll share it online or with my family. I think of the scene from The Help when I do affirmations.
As I get older, I realize there is not one way to connect with yourself and your world. There are many different forms of meditation and mindful practices that can help you achieve that goal. I hope this blog post reminds you that it doesn’t have to take too much time or be too complex. It can be as simple as drinking water. Below I link some sites for you to continue to explore the world of mindful practices.
Practices based on your enneagram: https://www.wellandgood.com/mindfulness-practice-enneagram/
Guided meditations (my favorite is with Harry Styles): https://www.calm.com/app/meditate
Book about mindfulness: https://www.audible.com/pd/Atomic-Habits-Audiobook/1524779261?source_code=GPAGBSH0508140001&ipRedirectOverride=true&gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5t6kOxd73lNjmdB7vgpSWtP5G0pP5Q_AF5hgP3_kKrFZ51ZJx39hKxoCv20QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Wellness journal: https://www.papier.com/us/joy-34191?gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5vNnz7IMGT_dyOil3SBOqk6-1rdQctldcRRh5MZ6B1DM5c8hhwZiuxoC7v0QAvD_BwE
