In a previous article, I discussed how to incorporate mindfulness into your day.  It’s great that we know how to do that, but I’ve found that brings on another question: Do we have to do it every day?  I’ll start off by saying yes, as hard as it can be to keep a consistent schedule, it’s really important to practice mindfulness every day.

I found another mindfulness blog that did a really clever play on words regarding this topic.  They explained that mindfulness is both every day and everyday.  This essentially means that not only should it mindfulness be practiced often, but it is also making the point that mindfulness is a common practice.  This is a really powerful message, but I think it’s also a hard one to grasp when you are just beginning your journey.

As I stated before it’s extremely important to practice mindfulness every day.  This is because in order to make the practice a habit, it needs to be repeated consistently.  According to an article in the Huffington Post, a behavior needs to be repeated for roughly two months before it becomes a habit.  Two months can feel like a really long time, and even the best of us struggle with keeping a habit like this consistent.

I’ve found that setting alarms can be really helpful with keeping a habit like this.  Some mindfulness apps even have built in reminders where you can choose the time when it goes off every day.  It can also help to pick a certain time of day to practice mindfulness, because eventually you will begin to associate that time with mindfulness.  Choosing one of the times I mentioned in the previous article can really help.  Another important thing to keep in mind is that there will be days when you slip up and that’s perfectly okay.  The important thing is to just get right back into your routine, and before you know it, it will become a habit.

The part of the other mindfulness blog that I found particularly intriguing was the concept that mindfulness is everyday, or as the other blog likes to put it “nothing special”.  What they’re saying is true, it’s not like you have to have a certain special qualification to be good at mindfulness.  No fancy degrees, no expensive equipment to buy; you just need to be yourself, and be willing to learn more about yourself.

This can be harder for beginners to grasp than you might think.  Many people, myself included, have felt like they have to rely on special “signs from the universe” in order to understand mindfulness.  For example, I remember when I first tried meditating I expected to feel like a changed person after I was done.  Of course, I didn’t notice any big change right away, but that’s totally normal.  It’s really just an everyday action.  It’s just like working out.  After you’re first work out do you have a six pack? Of course not! Mindfulness is the same way.  You won’t notice a change right away, but give it some time and you’ll start to notice the little things.  I can speak from experience and say that now whenever I meditate I really do notice a difference.  There have been days where I’ve been extremely stressed and meditation has helped me return my heart rate and breathing to normal.  Now don’t get me wrong everyone’s different, but it’s definitely true that everyone can reap some form of positive benefit through mindfulness.

All in all, I’ve discovered that these ideas really go hand in hand.  Mindfulness is an everyday practice for everyone.  However, just because it’s an everyday practice, that doesn’t mean you should expect to see change right away.  That’s why mindfulness needs to be practiced every day in order to form the habit of being mindful.  Once that habit is built then you may begin to notice some really positive changes in your life.

I hope you have enjoyed this interpretation of mindfulness, and I hope it has helped you better understand mindfulness and the importance of practicing it every day!  Be sure to share this article with your friends so that they can be inspired to practice everyday mindfulness every day!

What did you think of this article? Have you struggled with any of these issues before? Any questions? Any suggestions? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Mindful Musings

A mental health journey through mindfulness