You're struggling with decision-making. How can mindfulness practices enhance your daily routine?

There are two core elements of mindfulness. Awareness and Attention And mindful breathing is cornerstone to be aware of your present moment. It's simple yet powerful way to stay in your present, to achieve the state of calmness, to take mindful decisions.

Mindfulness can be your secret weapon for better decisions. By incorporating practices like meditation or mindful breathing, you'll become more aware of your thoughts and emotions. This helps you detach from negativity and focus on the present. With a clear mind, you can weigh options objectively and make choices aligned with your values, not fleeting feelings.

By integrating mindfulness practices into your daily routine, you give yourself the gift of calm. Imagine starting your day with a few minutes of deep breathing or a short meditation—this simple act can help center your mind, reduce stress, and enhance your focus. When you're more present, you're better equipped to evaluate options without being overwhelmed by anxiety or distractions. Mindfulness also encourages you to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment, which can help you make decisions that are more aligned with your true values and needs. Additionally, taking mindful pauses throughout the day can give you the space to reflect on your choices more thoughtfully, leading to more balanced and confident decisions.

How to do body scan? Close your eyes, Bring your focus on top of you head, then forehead, then eyes, then throat, inner throat, your shoulder, your chest, your stomach, your thighs, then knees, then scalf, then toe, then tip of fingers... While doing this feel the tingling sensation. After doing this I felt relax, calm and came my mind in present moment.

It's about being present, focused, and non-judgmental. Here's how to practice it: - Give the speaker your undivided attention - Maintain eye contact and a relaxed posture - Avoid interrupting or planning your response - Paraphrase and summarize what they say - Ask open-ended questions to clarify and understand - Reflect their emotions and show empathy By doing so, you create a safe space for the speaker to express themselves freely. They feel heard, validated, and understood. This fosters deeper connections, builds trust, and resolves conflicts more effectively.

Mindfulness teaches us to observe our thoughts like a spectator, without getting caught up in the emotions or stories they may carry. When making a decision, this skill becomes invaluable as it allows you to step back and see the situation from a more objective perspective. By observing your thoughts without attachment, you can prevent yourself from being swayed by irrational fears or biases that may influence your judgment. By observing your thoughts, you can gain clarity on what factors are truly important in the decision-making process. Mindfulness helps you regulate your emotions, preventing impulsive decisions driven by fleeting feelings.

Increased Awareness: Mindfulness involves observing your thoughts without judgment. This practice can help you recognise the typical thought patterns and emotional reactions that influence your decisions. By becoming more aware of these influences, you can make more deliberate choices that are not purely reactive. Technique: Set aside a few minutes daily to sit quietly and observe your thoughts. Notice which thoughts generate strong emotional responses and which ones recur. Recognising these can help you in assessing how they affect your decision-making process.

Preventing Impulsivity: Before making a decision, introduce a mindful pause. This is a brief period where you stop all activity and focus solely on breathing. This helps interrupt automatic and habitual responses, allowing you to respond calmly and clearly. Technique: When deciding, take a few deep breaths to centre yourself. You can use this time to reflect on the immediate decision and the broader implications of what you are deciding.

Reducing Rushed Decisions: Poor decisions are often made in a rush. Cultivating patience through mindfulness allows you to consider all aspects of a decision more thoroughly, leading to more thoughtful outcomes. Technique: Practice patience daily by giving yourself more time to complete regular tasks or intentionally choosing the longer line at a store. This can help build your tolerance for delay and decrease the stress associated with having to make quick decisions.

Making decisions under pressure, with strict time constraints, and while being bombarded by countless inputs was one of the most challenging aspects of my military career. The positive effects of mindfulness practice on stress and emotion management compound over time and can provide an edge, especially when being aware, clear minded, and calm is essential to success.

There is a quote by Eckhart Tolle and it reads “Bringing awareness to your thoughts through journaling allows you to step back and observe them without attachment, creating a space for mindfulness to flourish." Mindful journaling has really helped me in decision making to process my thoughts and emotions. I am very structured by nature and when I write my thoughts it not only allows me to see what I’m thinking but it also gives me emotional insight behind those thoughts. This makes decision making less stressful and gives me more clarity.