This could apply to anything we do in life from what shower gel we choose, when we brush our teeth, whether we choose to exercise, what we choose to eat and drink. It could be our work and hobbies and if we choose to include mindfulness and meditation into our daily routine. Why? What is our intention? We may never have really sat back and thought about it, as life quickly moves past, things just become part of daily routine, we are not really consciously aware we just get on and do things.

Mindfulness can really help us identify what are intention is and in doing so this may significantly impact our choices during each day and even bigger life choices.

When we understand why we are doing something we may then start to realise the benefits or negative affect those activities can bring. We all know that if we don’t brush our teeth this can cause teeth decay and costly and painful visits to the dentist. Therefore from an early age we get into a routine/habit of brushing our teeth and could easily do this whilst doing other things.

Mindfulness can help us become more consciously aware of our food choices. Why do choose what we eat during the day? Do we eat when we are hungry? Do we take time to notice the colour, smell, texture and taste of our foods. When we eat mindfully we may be more inclined to choose foods higher in nutrient content, eat smaller portions and eat for hunger rather than boredom and emotions.

Why would we choose 5 or minutes out of our day to focus on being peaceful and meditate? Once you have chosen to meditate and feel a sense of calm and peace in the mind it is easy to see what the purpose is, yet so many people choose not to even try. If you notice you feel angry, irritated, overwhelmed, anxious, low in mood what do you currently do to help yourself? There are many ways to manage these feelings, mindfulness and meditation is free and takes a few minutes a day. So many people I have taught both in corporate and home environments have found that even just 5-10 minutes makes a difference to how they feel. If your intention is to feel calm, happy in and manage optimal wellbeing then is mindfulness part of your daily routine?

Mindfulness may also help with our work and sense of purpose in life. Without a feeling of purpose this can significantly affect our mental wellbeing. My intention and purpose has always been to help people and this is reflected in the different roles I hold now and have done in the past. To me, kindness and compassion are the greatest gifts we own. Mindfulness helps increase our sense of compassion to ourselves and to others by strengthening the part of the brain (the insula). Whatever your intention is for work or home life staying true to what is most important to you means there is less internal conflict that may affect mental wellbeing. Being mindful of where and how you work an also affect our wellbeing. Mindfulness allows us to pause, notice the present, our environment around us and see what is happening in that moment. For me seeing nature, seeing people smile, helping people feel comfortable in a medical environment and helping people be active mean that the different roles i choose to do allow me to feel fulfilled. Take time to notice what you do, is it with intention and aligned to what you want to achieve whether this is through your work or personal life?

If we take the time to step back and notice our intentions we may realise actually we need to make some changes in our life. Change can be good or bad it is how we view and respond to the challenge of change. Mindfulness can allow us to let go of resistance to change and feel more comfortable with accepting new ideas, new directions of growth. To evolve and grow we may need to change direction, branch out into something new and unknown. But if that is what needs to be done and is done with the right intention this may open up a whole new world of inspiration, clarity, peace and contentment in what is only one life.