The Mindful Rookie

(Written for Aura Magazine)

I’m putting mindfulness to the test to see if it can help even the most unruly of minds.

‘Mindfulness’. It’s a word I’ve been coming across a lot lately, and whilst I’ve been intrigued to find out more, my erratic mind has ironically not allowed me a minute to sit down and get myself up to speed on this year’s hottest trend, until now.

Defined as ‘a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations’, being mindful pretty much just involves slowing down, clearing your mind and acquainting yourself with the here and now rather than getting lost in the endless whirlwind of your thoughts. Although thinking is a rather predominant part of life, allowing ourselves to be taken away by our thoughts can lead to us just letting life pass by without even realising. As author Robert L. Moore once stated, ‘this is a man who thinks too much, who stands back from his life and never lives it’. Therefore, mindfulness teaches us to always be present no matter what we’re doing, whether we’re taking a walk, having a shower or eating breakfast.

Marisa Garau, an expert on all things mindfulness, describes it as ‘turning the radio off; suddenly you can hear the birds singing. It’s like a wall of sound has been torn down, and you have opened a door to reality and see things the way they really are.’ The concept of being connected to my surroundings and living in the moment rather than stressing about my ever-growing mountain of work, wondering what Kanye’s latest cryptic tweet means or thinking about how much I wish I didn’t say that cringe-worthy thing 3 years 7 months and 82 days ago aroused my curiosity (which I admit isn’t hard to do) and lured me in to the idyllic world of mindfulness.

Although it appears a simple feat, it isn’t necessarily easy to suddenly give up your seemingly irrepressible bad habits and transform into a Buddha-like person, and so I decided to focus on the one thing that seemed to plague my mind constantly – the inescapable black hole that is social media. Given that my phone is constantly in my hand and when it’s not it’s most likely because I’m scrolling through Twitter on my laptop instead, quitting social media for a week seemed like the perfect starting point on my journey to becoming a mindful being as I was sick of dog memes fillings my thoughts.

Day 1

I’ve already failed. Just as many of you would wake up and check the news or make a coffee, my morning ritual is to wake up and check Instagram or Twitter for some early morning humour in the shape of a cat dressed as sushi or Chrissy Teigens unapologetically frank tweets and that is exactly what I subconsciously did this morning. I’m like a vampire who feeds on social media. It’s slightly worrying how it’s constantly at the forefront of my mind, but least I can’t go downhill from here.

Day 2

All my social media apps have been deleted. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are now non-existent on my phone and I feel much better not having my notifications coming through taunting me and willing me to open them. My introvert side also secretly loves not being able to check up on what everyone’s up to and being able to enjoy my own company without having the fear of missing out. The BBC recently stated that adults spend around 3 hours a day on social media, whilst Global Web Index found we spend roughly one third of our waking lives on the internet so I’m sure having a few days off won’t go amiss.

Day 3

Today was a struggle. Even doing things which seemed unrelated to social media such as watching The Great British Bake Off made me yearn for typing #GBBO into Twitter to read everyone’s opinions on the latest episode and join in with the conversation. This however did make me realise that whilst too much social media isn’t great for the mind, body and soul, it’s a brilliant way for people from all over the world to interact, whether you’re talking to Becky from Ohio about how cute her dog is or debating with Pierre from France about the meaning of life, it’s a great platform to bring people together. I decided to spend my newly found spare time reading the book I got for Christmas but hadn’t got around to reading yet (due to prior engagements such as regular dates with my best pals Instagram and Facebook) and my mind felt happier and fuller because of it.

Day 4

Today I realised social media has a much bigger influence on my life than I let myself believe. Not only is it a brilliant device for procrastination and filling my mind with superfluous information, but it also made me far more competitive and not in a constructive ‘I want to work hard and achieve my goals’ kind of way. Having a constant stream of beautiful girls popping up on my timeline, whilst inspiring, also takes quite a toll on my confidence and makes me extremely conscious about the amount of likes and followers I have which isn’t a healthy obsession. Consequently, not having to worry about my follower count has taken a weight off my shoulders. A misconception of mindfulness however, is that these thoughts should never pop into our heads, but that’s wrong. Unless you’re a rock, thoughts are always going to crop up whether we like it or not and mindfulness is about having the power to acknowledge those thoughts without judgement and then letting them pass by without dwelling on them. It’s when we give these worrying thoughts our attention that we allow them to grow.

Day 5

Whilst I’ll admit it’s slightly frustrating not being able to fill the time in my day with constant social media checks, my head is already feeling much clearer for it. My Mount Everest of a work pile has also decreased rapidly, and I made a change and did my work outside for once, allowing myself to take in the sights, smells and sounds of the outdoors and appreciate the moment as I worked. I think it’s fair to say that this social media detox is slowly but surely working.

Day 6

The weekend = the biggest challenge yet. The willpower it took not to upload pictures of last night’s outfit and give my Snapchat friends a minute by minute preview of my evening was through the roof. Yet I’m incredibly proud to say that I succeeded against all odds. Not only has this proven to me that maybe I have more control over my social media use than I previously realised, but it’s also fabulous being able to wake up without having to go through my drunken Snapchat story and cringe, delete and repeat whilst letting my mind go into overdrive wondering who’d seen them. I also had fun enlightening my friends on the wonderful world of mindfulness as despite their preconceptions, I ensured them that it’s not just for the zen, yogi types but that anyone can do it no matter what their lifestyle or beliefs. Better yet, it’s evidence based so even the biggest of skeptics can’t argue against science which has proven its endless positive benefits on our happiness, health, relationships and work – what more could a girl want?!

Day 7

I won’t lie, I’m a little thrilled that today is my last detox day. Nonetheless, it was exactly what I needed, and I’d highly recommend to all the Instagram-loving, Facebook-addicted crowd whose heads are constantly full of thoughts both momentous and trivial (i.e. the former me). Although I’m not going to totally eradicate social media out of my life, I will be largely cutting down on how often I use it and how much I let it affect me and my daily life so the impact it has will be only positive. Whilst I write this I’m even practicing my breathing – the world of mindfulness is making me wild I know. In all seriousness, this week truly has helped me realise what’s a priority in my life and what I value the most and I’m going to attempt to take mindfulness on board in everyday life – just one step at a time though

Little ways to stay mindful in everyday life

Focus on trying new things. Read a different paper, try a new food, ask more questions or go somewhere you’ve never been before.
The ‘Forest’ app allows you to grow a tree in half an hour as long as you don’t go off the app and also tracks your phone usage.
Get rid of your to-do list and compile a done list to remind yourself of all the things that you’ve achieved.
Meditating is one of the best ways to practice mindfulness. Find a local class, watch a video online or read a book on it.
‘I Am Here Now’ is a mindfulness self-help book of sorts which will fill your days with all the tools you need to be more mindful.
When you’re next in a queue, focus on your feelings whilst you’re waiting, your posture and your surroundings.

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