Once the day gets going it’s very easy to get swept away by the routine, the urgent (not necessarily the important), the latest minor crisis or, most common of all, useless thought. Even if you have started your day properly, it is simply so easy to become submerged and revert to our default state of unfocused mindlessness.
So, for a start, what does starting your day properly mean? Well, none of us leave the house physically unprepared for the day ahead. We shower and dress ourselves – shaving or applying the odd dab of make-up as appropriate! However, we unwittingly leave the house each morning mentally unprepared for what lies in store. Starting the day properly means ensuring that, before leaving home, you’ve taken the appropriate action to clear your mind and focus your energy. I suggest approximately ten minutes mental preparation first thing. Find somewhere quiet to sit and focus on your five senses – one sense at a time. This will enable you focus on what is really happening as distinct from the subconscious programs that otherwise run your life – the latter being your default state of mind.
OK, let’s say that you’ve got your day off to the perfect start, you’re switched on, focused, alert and primed for action. Small things like a delayed train, like getting stuck in traffic, like somebody asking you to do something unexpectedly – so many little things can knock us off balance. To say nothing of the big things! It can be so easy to slip and slide effortlessly into mental oblivion as the day unfolds. What we’ve got to do is make sure that, during the day, we pause to catch our breath – literally.
Age-old wisdom emhpasizes the opportunity that our breathing affords us to clear our mind of useless nonsense and distraction and, in doing so, focus our energy. So, here’s a simple, quick and entirely practical tip – because, after all, you have to breathe anyway! Take a few moments – moments is all that’s required – during the day to turn your attention to the reality of your body as you breathe in and out. Pay attention to what it feels like to breathe, how your body reacts with each breath that you take, how the air passes through your right, left or both nostrils. Give thanks for the reality that you are alive and breathing. Focus on nothing else for these few moments. If the hassles or useless thoughts of the moment start crowding your mind, take three deeper breaths to focus your mind. As you breathe, realize that whatever might be doing your head in right now will be completely forgotten in months, weeks, days or even hours. Understand that, with an focused, alert and ready mind, anything is possible.
