Staying sane and looking after your well-being during a year full of changes
It can’t be just us who feels like 2020 has truly been a year for the history books? Devastating fires across Australia, rumours of World War 3 after tensions between the US and Iran seemed to reach breaking point, then of course March arrived bringing with it the COVID-19 lockdown, only to be swiftly followed by the Black Lives Matter movement that has swept the US and many other countries.
A lot of this feels largely out of our control as everyday people, and it can be hard to live our best lives when we have no idea what the next month will bring in such an unusual year.
Well-being is hugely important to us here at Living Goodness, and even more so this year, which is why June’s focus for us has been on resting and nesting, and finding mindful moments in our everyday lives.
But when everything seems so turbulent how can we find calm? Mindfulness is the act of doing each task deliberately, without distractions, as it helps you live in the present. People with inner turmoil and stress are often living in the past or the future, rather than in the moment, which makes this practice so effective.
#1. Mindful walking
Yes, exercise is fundamental to our mental and physical health, but the actual act of getting up your heart rate isn’t the main focus with mindful walking. Instead, the focus is on, well, focus.
If you tend to put on the headphones and listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks during your walks, try to forgo the distractions this time, and put the focus on the entire activity. How fast are you walking? What smells do you encounter? How are you feeling? What do you see?
This is, in a sense, the act of stopping to smell the roses. You are drinking the experience and you will come out of it feeling far more invigorated and fulfilled.
#2. Mindful eating
Eating of course has so many benefits, but how often do we do it while working, watching TV, socialising, or just aimlessly scrolling online? This often leads to us eating more (as our brains are preoccupied with our other tasks, it becomes slower at signalling when we’re full), eating worse foods (that ice cream tub seems to get inhaled when Netflix comes on), and we don’t indulge in the entire experience, which means our day continues to feel hurried and stressful.
Instead, try make one meal a day a mindful one. Sit with no distractions, and deliberately chew each meal. Enjoy the scents, flavours, and textures, and you’ll feel much better for it. Food with big flavours will help you enjoy a meal without overindulging, so why not add some flavourful Kimchi to your next mindful meal?
#3. Mindful media-consumption
The media cycle has likely been a huge part of your 2020, as it has been for us. There is so much going on in the world we often feel like we’re struggling to keep up with it all. However, evidence has shown that because news is so much more global, and we now consume just as much international news as local news, our brains are working overtime to process it all.
Back in the day you would really only have the news of your village or tribe to stay on top of, then eventually it was your city or your country. Now it is the whole world. Our brains are processing information at a speed they weren’t built for and as you can imagine that isn’t great for our mental health.
We aren’t encouraging you to turn a blind eye to current events, but instead try to consume it mindfully. Instead of getting all the Herald alerts on your phone, and reading every article that pops up on your newsfeed, instead give yourself 30 minutes to an hour each day to keep up with news and then the remaining 23 hours can be spent on what’s going on in your immediate life.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of ways you can invite mindfulness into your life, but we always think that it’s best to start somewhere, and these have been the most effective mindfulness activities for us!
It’s a crazy world out there, let’s all spread a little joy & kindness - let us know in the comments what activities you love for your mental health.