November Wellness Challenge: Mindfulness

A new month, a new Wellness Challenge, friends! This month, we’re working on mindfulness. But first, let’s recap October’s challenge. As always, let us know how it’s going here in the comments or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

October’s Challenge: Make time in your schedule to exercise for the next 30 days.
Last month we challenged you to exercise, keeping in mind that any exercise is better than no exercise. This is always a hard challenge as it requires us to, you know, exercise. Maggie started to run in the mornings and CEEK’s president, Steve Wiley, persisted and managed to work out nearly everyday! He even hopped on the treadmill at 10pm one night. That being said, we understand that working out is a tough so we hope to just encourage you to maintain some movement in your day-to-day life, especially if you work from a desk!

November’s Challenge: Find your place and practice mindfulness in the next 30 days.
We live in a society that strives on being busy and a feeling of go, go, go. Many of us feel like we are running all day, from the time we get up until we put our head on the pillow again. When we live everyday like it is a race, it causes a lot of stress and anxiety. Even the thought of slowing down causes anxiety because we just don’t think there is time. Research is indicating that this mindset affects our physical and mental well being in a very negative way. Interestingly, it only takes a few minutes each day to reset your mind and practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness is an active, open, and intentional attention on the present. It is the practice of being fully aware of the present moment and your thoughts. Alix Dorgan, who writes for Inspiyr, provides 7 steps to mindfulness:

1. Make time—set aside a small block of quiet and uninterrupted time (5-10min) each day
2. Find a comfortable place,
3. Breathe—take a few slow, deep breaths and on the last breath close your eyes,
4. Take in the present moment—focus on your breathing, what your body feels like, what the room smells like, remain a passive observer of your thoughts rather than worrying about their possible implications,
5. Relax—stay in the present moment, don’t worry about the past, and what you need to accomplish in the future. The goal is to achieve a state of mental stillness and attention to the present moment.

Research has shown that individuals that are able to achieve a state of mindfulness are less stressed, less anxious, more productive and generally happier. We challenge you to make the time on a daily basis. Find your place and practice the steps to achieve mindfulness in the next 30 days. Below are some suggested resources that can help. Your mind will thank you—CEEK a Better Way!