10 simple steps to live mindfully every day

These small changes can leave a big impact on your life

So you’re walking out of the yoga studio after an hour of bending back and forth while inhaling and exhaling all the oxygen in a closed room with 20 other people.

On your drive back home you’re cursing the traffic or the person who tried to overtake your car. Then you reach home and the house is a mess, so you have a fight with your spouse or scold your kids.

Then you force yourself to clean up the house, prep your dinner, eat in a hurry, and then go to bed in a cranky mood. As you lay down, you feel like you have lost all the serenity and calm you felt during that one hour in your yoga and meditation class.

If you can relate to the above scenario even a little bit, then you need to do this.

First and foremost, I’m a serial meditator and I love practicing yoga and I’m not saying they don’t make any difference. They do. A lot. But, only when you carry on the positive emotions invoked by meditation or yoga throughout your day.

‘How do I do that with so much on my plate every day?’, you ask.

The answer is, to be aware. To know and understand yourself. To be conscious of your emotions and your actions throughout the day.

This might seem like the most basic advice, a lot of which you might have heard since you were a kid. Yet sometimes, we just need a gentle reminder to act upon the things that we have already been told and known forever. So here it is...

• Be kind to everyone, especially those who you don’t like. Once you start becoming kinder, you’ll notice a shift in the emotions of others as well, who are not kind to you.

• Forgive and forget. I know it’s easier said than done but you have to make an effort. Forgive those who’ve hurt you, for the sake of your own peace if not theirs.

• Learn to analyze your emotions, especially when they are negative emotions. If you’re feeling angry or frustrated at any time of the day, identify the root cause and try to resolve it. Take three deep breaths. Think of it as a temporary emotion and let it go.

• Listen to understand and not to respond. Whenever someone is talking to us, our brain naturally goes into this hyperactive mode, trying to form an appropriate response. But if we learn to listen patiently and compassionately, we’ll be able to understand the other person and give a better response.

• When you wake up in the morning, thank the universe/god for at least one thing. It could be as simple as, “Thank you for the beautiful morning”, “Thank you for the restful sleep I had”, or “Thank you for the amazing breakfast I’m going to eat”.

• Be patient. That includes being patient for everyday situations like getting stuck in traffic or someone saying something behind your back. There are always better ways to react to a situation.

• Laugh whenever you get the chance. Watch funny stuff, spend time with people who make you laugh.

• Do not envy other people. Everyone has come to this life with their own purpose and path. Some will be in better circumstances than you and some will be in worse circumstances than yours. Do not compare your path or progress with others.

• Read good books that can open your mind to new perspectives. “The Autobiography of a Yogi”, “The Immortal Talks”, and “The Power of the subconscious mind” are some of the books I’d recommend for spiritual growth.

• Do something that you love. You do not have to turn it into a career but find time to do an activity that you enjoy. It can be painting, singing, dancing, traveling, or anything else. When we do something that we love, we’re truly living our purpose which leads to our spiritual progress.

Lastly, if you’re a fan of meditation like me, make it more effective for you by setting an intention. Ask yourself, ‘Why you’re doing this?’, ‘What do you wish to achieve?’ ‘What change do you expect in your personality or your life?’. Once you have the answer, the change will be permanent.

To cultivate the healing power of mindfulness requires much more than mechanically following a recipe or a set of instructions.

Kabat-Zinn, 2005