Meditation has become one of the most important habits in my life.

It has helped to reduce my stress and anxiety and live more in the present moment.

I've never felt more connected to myself than I do when I'm meditating. Simply put, meditation has changed my life.

If you knew how to meditate, how would your life change for the better? If you're ready to live more mindfully and feel the benefits of meditation, take a deep breath and read this.

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

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Are you ready to connect to your mind, body, and spirit on a deeper level? CLICK HERE to get instant access to my FREE 21 Morning Rituals Cheatsheet! 

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

Why should you meditate?

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. Isolation, job insecurity, and fear of the future have impacted people's mental health. During these uncertain times, meditation is a powerful mindfulness-based practice for finding calm amidst the chaos.

On a daily basis, the majority of your thoughts are focused on the past or the future. In this emotional state, it's easy to become a victim of your mind. Meditation shifts your focus away from these places and brings you back to the present moment.

If you've never meditated before, figuring out how to start can be overwhelming. For many years I was resistant to meditating.

Why?

I didn't understand how the process of meditation worked.

Intellectually I knew that meditating was good for me, but I couldn't connect with it. I decided to change my perspective. Instead of getting frustrated, I decided to get curious about meditation. I forced myself to meditate every day over an extended period.

Not surprisingly, I started noticing the profound benefits that meditation was having on my mental and emotional health. At that point, there was no turning back. I was hooked.

Some of the mental health benefits of meditation include better focus, improved self-esteem, and lower levels of stress and anxiety.

As an entrepreneur and overachiever, my mind is constantly moving.

I have a lot of responsibilities in my business, which can create anxiety. Meditation has helped me relax my mind, while still being productive. It's also given me more clarity and less brain fog while doing things like reading, learning, listening, and speaking to someone.

Why Is It Hard To Meditate?  

The reason why a lot of people resist meditation is that they are addicted to thinking. Your brain doesn't know how to slow itself down. Did you know that from the moment you are born, you process anywhere between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day?

If ruminative thinking is familiar to you, calming your mind and sitting in silence will be incredibly challenging. When you're first starting to meditate it's natural to experience boredom.

Meditation challenges you to practice being in the here and now instead of trying to escape or avoid it. I've struggled with a variety of different addictions throughout my life, everything from video games to pornography to binge eating.

The root cause of addiction is an inability to be comfortable with being. Meditation has helped me shift from doing mode into being mode. In being mode, my mind is forced to slow down because it has nowhere to go.

In this state, I have learned how to be fully present, which has given me a heightened sense of awareness. If I have thoughts, feelings, or sensations that arise in my body, I don't feel the need to change or resist them.

Instead, I observe them in a non-judgmental way.

Meditation teaches you to watch your thoughts and feelings come and go instead of getting attached to them.

If you are new to the world of meditation, I suggest you read Meditation For Beginners by Jack Kornfield. Inside his book, he has some great guided meditations. Having someone direct and guide you through the meditation process is extremely helpful when you're first learning to meditate.

When I first started meditating, I used Headspace and Calm. These apps helped motivate me to meditate and stay on track until I had the willpower to meditate on my own.

Meditation Technologies 

Muse Meditation Headband

With the Muse headband, you listen to a guided meditation while the headband scans your brainwaves. It will identify when your mind is overly active versus when it's calm. When your mind is active during your meditation, you'll hear birds chirping.

Conversely, when your mind is calm, the birds will stop chirping. At the end of your meditation session, you can identify what your meditation experience was like and track your progress.

The Brain Tap

The Brain Tap uses frequencies of light and sound for brain wave entrainment. You wear a headset over your closed eyes and headphones in your ears while experiencing these frequencies.

Essentially, it's a guided visualization and meditation that helps your brain to experience higher levels of alpha brain waves. The visualization puts you into an incredibly relaxed state of mind.

HeartMath Inner Balance

This is a heart rate sensor that attaches to your ear. It is accompanied by an app that teaches you how to shift your emotional state and create synchronicity between your mind, body, and heart. Not only does this device help reduce your stress, but it also helps bring awareness to your breathing and heart rate throughout the day.

How To Meditate

You want to make sure that you're in a comfortable seated position, whether that's in a chair or sitting cross-legged on the floor. If you choose to sit in a chair, I recommend sitting upright so that your back is fully supported.

There are many different ways that you can meditate, but one of the most common ways is with your eyes closed. Take a deep breath and allow your body to fully relax. Do a scan and bring attention to every part of your body.

I go through this process in the video above!

If you notice any tension, focus on melting into the tension. Doing this body scan will bring you into the present moment. Once you have done this, bring attention to your breath. Don't try to control your breath. Merely watch and observe it.

Through this practice, you'll notice that your mind will start to get busy.

This is your monkey mind in action.

When this happens, it's important that you don't get frustrated and react. Your only goal is to observe your thoughts. As soon as you become aware of what your thought loops are, simply return to your breath.

While you may enjoy 5 seconds to 1 minute of pure awareness, shortly thereafter, more thoughts will arise. Again, you want to observe your thoughts and be with them. When you're meditating, certain emotions will arise as well.

I like to identify where in my body I'm feeling emotions and get curious about them. At times, the feelings will be so strong that I'll have an urge to stop my meditation altogether. However, if I sit with the emotions long enough, eventually they fade away. The same thing happens with physical sensations that arise.

This is how to meditate for beginners.

Meditation teaches you so much about yourself. It brings awareness to how you think, feel, and move throughout your life. If you're a beginner, I recommend meditating for 10 minutes per day.

Research has shown that a lot of the long-term benefits of meditation occur once you're meditating for 20 minutes per day. If you can work your way up to that, fantastic.

A daily meditation practice transformed my life and it can do the same for you. Connect to your breath and go inward. The answers you seek are found in the stillness.

Are you ready to connect to your mind, body, and spirit on a deeper level? CLICK HERE to get instant access to my FREE 21 Morning Rituals Cheatsheet! 

If you can't be patient, you won't ever achieve the things you want in life.

In a world where instant gratification is the norm, impatience has become a way of life, so much so that people don't think they have time to practice patience.

Impatience has been linked to cognitive and social incompetence and an inability to cope with the frustrations of life. Take a step back and think about how you move throughout your days.

If you're finding it hard to be patient, keep reading. Take a deep breath and relax. Everything will come in due time.

Watch the video below where I talk about how to deal with business challenges:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Do you want to learn how you can master your online business? CLICK HERE to join my Online Business Mastery Accelerator program!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

Patience is the secret to success.

It is an essential requirement for the attainment of any goal. Every successful person in this world got to where they are today because they deployed hard work, energy, and patience. When they encountered a setback, they didn't give up. Instead, they persevered, realizing that there are no shortcuts in the pursuit of success.

Unfortunately, too many people become impatient and throw in the towel when they don't see results fast enough. If they fail, they assume that it's because something isn't worth fighting for. The mind tends to forget that all big successes in life are actually made up of thousands of small milestones.

Whatever it is that you want in life, you've got to be committed and dedicated to following through. I guarantee that you will encounter challenges along your journey to success. All that matters is how you choose to respond to them. You may not want to hear this, but if something is hard, it probably means that it's important.

Let me give you an example. It took years before I started making any money in my business. I had to invest insane amounts of time, patience, energy and emotional labor into the process. Eventually, the results started pouring in, faster and bigger than I could have ever imagined.

This was due, in large part, to the culmination of my efforts. Had I tried to rush the process, the success I have today would have never come about. It's all well and good for me to sit here and preach the importance of patience. Logically, you may understand why patience is important. However, do you grasp this concept on an emotional level? This is where people struggle.

Let's face it, there will be days when your patience is tested.

In his book, The Power of Patience: How This Old-Fashioned Virtue Can Improve Your Life, M.J. Ryan says that impatience is the “fight” component of the fight-or-flight response. This is why we engage in impatient behaviors, like getting angry when a page doesn't load fast enough, honking at cars, or making rash decisions without thinking. 

When things don’t turn out well or as quickly as you would like, it's easy to get reactive. At the end of the day, it all comes down to your expectations. The question remains, “What can you do to stop the act of impatience from causing unnecessary stress and frustration in your life?” 

The good news is that patience is a skill that can be learned. True patience requires a shift in mindset. It's a habit that you can learn and master, with practice. Let's talk about 7 ways that you can cultivate more patience in your life.

1. Recognize Your Triggers

Before you can practice being patient you need to recognize what triggers your impatience. If you try to suppress your impatient feelings it will only cause you to be more reactive. The next time you are triggered, step back and ask yourself, “What is annoying me right now and why do I feel this way?” 

As Paulo Coelho says, “Why is patience so important? Because it makes us pay attention.” Behind every emotion that you experience, there is a story that was imprinted onto you. I encourage you to start tracking your emotional state throughout the day.

This is a great way to identify the situations and people that trigger you to lose your cool. Once you have an awareness of what you feel and why you feel it, you will know how to better manage and diffuse those triggers the next time that they show up.

2. Embrace Discomfort

Once you've identified what triggers your patience, now it's time to sit with your impatience. It's not your negative feelings that are overwhelming. Rather, it's the stories that you tell yourself that are attached to those feelings. A lot of people are so afraid to feel anything, for fear of what is going to come up if they do.

What people don't realize is that when they numb negative emotions, they are also numbing positive ones as well. In actuality, all of your emotions contain lessons that are designed to help you grow. When you allow yourself to fully feel the sensations associated with impatience it allows you to connect to your body intelligence.

This is a huge step towards accepting and surrendering to its presence. What is happening in your mind when something doesn't go your way or when someone frustrates you? How does your body respond? Does your heart beat faster? Do your muscles tighten? By forcing yourself to sit with discomfort, you will eventually feel empowered to try and change your response to it. 

3. Reframe Your Attitude 

When you are frustrated it can feel like life is stacked up against you. In order to change anything in life, you first have to change yourself. Telling yourself that you don't have patience is a story in and of itself. I encourage you to start examining the stories that you are telling yourself around why you are impatient.

Are your thoughts really serving your highest good? You may not realize it, but you have the power to shift your state in an instant. Remember that it's your beliefs that create your emotions, not your experiences. Therefore, if you can reframe your attitude towards a situation or person, you will be empowered to change the meaning that you ascribe to it.

Reframing your approach to life, in general, will allow you to approach life's challenges with more resilience. Choose to be the person who takes control of his or her attention and who actively chooses to think about the best possible outcomes in every situation. When you master your mind, you master your life.

4. Give Up Control

In my experience, patience is one big lesson in being comfortable with having zero control over how things turn out. As I've said many times before, the only thing that you have control over is your inner world. People who need to be in control are usually very impatient.

They may spend their entire lives trying to predict and plan every single outcome. If and when something doesn't go according to their plans, they drop into overwhelm. This obsession with controlling everything usually stems from fear of what will happen if they don't have control.

If you can relate to this way of thinking, I encourage you to let go and trust that no matter what happens in life, you will be okay. By surrendering to the need to control everything and allowing yourself to have faith in the process, you allow life to happen for you, instead of to you. In the words of Steve Maraboli, “You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.” 

5. Master Your Emotions

I believe that self-control is one of the most important contributors to your success and happiness in life. Everything else will fall into place once you have done the work on your inner world. Impatient people struggle to control their emotions. They allow frustration, overwhelm and anger to take over their lives.

Most people think that the emotions that they experience and how they feel are dictated by external circumstances, so much so that they become paralyzed by them. It's actually your perception of what is happening to you that dictates how you feel.

Your emotions are fully in your control, even when everything feels like it's working against you. When you change your interpretation of a situation, you are better able to master your emotions. Don't be a victim. Instead, become the creator of your world.

6. Practice Mindfulness

A huge part of being impatient involves wanting to get to the next thing, instead of dropping into the present moment. If you are constantly rushing to get somewhere else, you will never be able to fully arrive wherever you actually are. Developing the skill of being mindful is one of the best ways to cultivate more patience into your daily life.

Mindfulness-based practices, like meditation, allow you to become more aware of the here and now. Studies have shown that people who meditate have larger volumes of gray matter in the areas of the brain that regulate response control. That may be why meditators have a more positive outlook, are more emotionally stable and are more mindful.

Once you start to recognize that this moment is all that matters, you will have a greater sense of appreciation for what is going on around you. Being mindful allows you to deal with stressors more effectively, which in turn, supports your happiness and overall well-being.

7. Slow Down 

The beauty of technology is that it has allowed us to do everything with more speed and efficiency. However, it has also created a culture of impatience. If people don't get things fast enough, they panic. 

Interestingly, research shows that when we are feeling intense emotions such as anxiety, fear or anger, our bodies send more signals to the brain, which then heightens the experience and warps our sense of time. So 1 minute of waiting in serious frustration can feel like 5 minutes.

If you are the type of person who likes to rush through everything and is never able to focus on one thing, pause and slow down. Patience is not about waiting. Rather, it's about learning how to pace yourself so that you don't get overwhelmed. Getting impatient won't make things move along any faster, which is why it's pointless to get all worked up over nothing.

If you want to achieve success in life, be patient.

As the philosopher, George Savile once wrote: “the master of patience is the master of everything else.” The only thing standing in the way between you and success is patience — or lack thereof. I promise that you will get to where you want to go in due time.

In the meantime, do your best to keep calm and be patient. The best things in life usually happen when we least expect them to.

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The here and now is the only place that truly matters. Everything else is secondary.

Unfortunately, we live in an age of constant distraction, where our attention is pulled in a million different directions.

I believe that ruminating about the past and thinking too much about the future is the major cause of people's unhappiness.

If you want to live an abundant life, make it a priority to be in the here and now. Are you ready to learn 4 simple ways to live in the present moment?

Watch the video below where I talk about the importance of living an authentic life:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Do you want to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

The here and now is all you have.

While you are reading this, I want to encourage you to be here, fully. Try not to divert your attention anywhere else. More importantly, I don't want you to think about this moment. Rather, take a deep breath and really feel what it feels like to experience this moment. This is where a lot of people get stuck.

Despite the recent popularity of the mindfulness movement, studies indicate that most people are only paying attention to the present moment fifty percent of the time.

As a society, we have been conditioned to overlook the present moment because it isn't deemed to not be “exciting enough.” As a result, our minds are forever trying to distract us. Social media adds to this issue. In a world that is dominated by technology, emailing, texting, and trolling on social media have become a normal part of people's every day lives.

If you aren't connected to a screen 24/7, you are considered to be the “odd man out,” so to speak.

Unfortunately, this way of life has created a disconnect between people and their present-moment experience. As a result, people tend to operate from either the past or the future. I believe that this is the #1 reason why so many people struggle with fear and anxiety. Think about it. If you live in the past, you constantly feel stuck because you aren't moving forward.

Similarly, if you live in the future, you are anxious about what is yet to come. This wishful thinking can create a fear complex that leaves you feeling paralyzed. Both ways of being wreak havoc on the mind. In our desire to get to the end point, we fail to recognize that the future is really nothing more than thought. It doesn't exist because it hasn't happened yet. In the grand scheme of things, the destination is secondary to whom you become along the way.

In his book, The Power Of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle says it best – “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” 

The present moment is a place of control, ease, and happiness.

Your ability to be happy in the here and now is influenced by your present thoughts. This is why intentional feel-good thoughts are so important to your overall well-being. The next time that you engage in an activity, don't let your mind wander. Rather, be present with your experience and see how it changes your emotional state.

Here are 4 simple ways that you can live in the present moment.

1. Enjoy The Small Things

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get distracted by to-do lists, projects, and deadlines, so much so that you may forget to enjoy the simple things in life. Do you give gratitude for the air that you breathe or your ability to walk?

These are wildly important things to your survival, yet so many people ignore their value on a daily basis. The world is forever changing, which is why it's so important to appreciate the here and now. You cannot get moments back so I encourage you to be grateful for each one of them.

When life gets overwhelming, it's natural to reach for negative emotions because you don't feel good. In my experience, this only makes things worse. The next time that you find yourself in a difficult situation, find the silver lining and remind yourself how good your life really is… because it is. You know that, right?

In the words of Beau Taplin, “I'm starting to recognize that real happiness isn't something large and looming on the horizon ahead, but something small, numerous and already there. The smile of someone you love. A decent breakfast. The warm sunset. Your little everyday joys all lined up in a row.”

2. Unplug

Sometimes the best way to reconnect with yourself is to do a digital detox. Technology has completely taken over people's lives. Although it's intention is to connect us, it has made us more disconnected from one another than ever before.

All you need to do is go to a restaurant and see how many people are glued to their phones, instead of talking to the person that is in front of them.

Furthermore, a lot of people use the digital world as a means of escaping from their problems, so much so that this becomes an addiction in and of itself. There’s a strong connection between screen time and the decay of one’s own mental health. If you have a hard time concentrating on something for more than 30 seconds, it's time to unplug.

I'm not suggesting that you live on a desert island without any access to the outside world. However, if you find yourself browsing all day on social media, there is a chance that you aren't maximizing your time, nor are you tuning into what is important to you.

3. Let Go Of Your Past 

There's no point ruminating about the past because you don't live there anymore. You are in the here and now. The past is over and done with. Leveling up your life requires that you free yourself from the emotional blocks that prevent you from moving forward.

Something that no longer exists cannot affect you anymore. Your thoughts will feed you stories about why the past is still a part of your identity. These are just stories and can easily be rewritten. Never forget that, what you focus on, expands. If you continue to dwell upon the pain and challenges that you've experienced, you will only create more of the same experiences.

Don't be a victim of life. Break free and take back your power. A key aspect of letting go is forgiveness, for yourself and/or others. Honor the past for what it was, but be okay saying goodbye. What are you ready to let go of? By releasing the heaviness of the past, it will allow you to be more present in your mind, body, and soul.

4. Focus On Your Breath

When people are experiencing stress, it's commonplace for them to engage in shallow breathing. Unfortunately, doing so only results in anxiety and a feeling of lack of control. Your breath is the simplest and most powerful way to stay in the here and now.

By actually focusing on your breath and tuning into how it feels to breathe, your mind will slow down and racing thoughts will start to lose their power. At this moment, all that comes to matter is you and your breath. I encourage you to take a deep breath now and see how it feels. It's a great reminder that everything is going to be okay.

Your life consists of a series of present moments.

These moments are forever unfolding before your eyes, so make an effort to pay attention to them. Instead of focusing on the next moment, what can you do right now that will allow you to be more present?

In the words of Steve Goodier, “Wherever you are, be there. If you can be fully present now, you’ll know what it means to live.” This is your point of power. Now is the time to own it.

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The benefits of mindfulness exercises for people in the workplace are far-reaching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how mindful would you say you are? For a lot of people, mindfulness seems like a “cool” idea but extremely unrealistic.

In your busy life, finding time to practice mindfulness may seem like one more task on your ever-growing to-do list. However, if you want to reduce your stress and get more done, living a mindful life is a necessity.

Are you ready to learn the benefits of mindfulness exercises?

Watch the video below where I share a 2-minute daily gratitude meditation:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Do you want to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

Practicing mindfulness at work has become the new craze.

Work-related stress and job burnout have become an epidemic in today’s world. Not only does it affect the bottom line of organizations, but it also wreaks havoc on the physical, mental, and emotional health of the people that comprise them. When you don’t work, nothing works.

In today’s business world change happens at such a fast pace. If you aren’t running around the clock, it feels like you are getting left behind. Becoming locked to a computer screen, working hours on end to hit unrealistic deadlines is something that a lot of people share in common.

If you arrive at work feeling scattered, guess how the rest of your day will unfold? Our minds are always working, moving, and thinking about the future. All of this hinders our ability to be present with ourselves and others. Stress will always exist, which is why it's vital that you have tools in place so that you can work with it, instead of against it.

The best way to live a happier, healthier and more productive work life is through mindfulness. A lot of big corporations have implemented mindfulness-based practices into their workplace culture after seeing the amazing benefits that it has had on their employees and their bottom line.

Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, without judgment. In the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn, “The real meditation is how you live your life.” By being more mindful, you gain control of your mind, instead of allowing your mind to control you. As a result, you are able to respond to stressors more healthily and get more done.

Do you have a mindfulness-based meditation practice?

The problem that a lot of people encounter is that they don’t have a mindful minute where they can sit down and relax. The great thing about mindfulness exercises is that they don't take a lot of time AND you can practice them while you are working. 

Recent studies have shown that including mindfulness exercises in your daily routine cuts down the production of the stress hormone cortisone and reduces feelings of anxiety and fatigue. Before you sit down and get ready to work, try some mindful breathing.

For 1-2 minutes, close your eyes and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let your breath flow in and out of your body purposefully. Notice how it feels. This is a great mindfulness-based stress reduction technique. 

Similarly, you can practice mindful awareness.

The purpose of this exercise is to cultivate a heightened appreciation of the daily tasks that you engage in. Instead of moving throughout your workday on autopilot, take occasional breaks where you stop and become aware of what it is that you are doing.

Be mindful of how you feel in these moments, without judgment. Doing so will allow you to connect with yourself and your work on a deeper level. Mindfulness is a choice. If you make it a part of your everyday life, your relationships, your work, and your mind will thank you for it. Here are seven ways mindfulness exercises benefit you in the workplace.

1. Improves Mental Focus

Your ability to focus on tasks is one of the most significant indicators of your success in life. Successful people are hyperfocused. We all have 24 hours in a day. However, the problem is that we live in a world where distractions and procrastination is the norm.

A lot of people have become obsessed with short-term gratification and shiny objects that take away their ability to focus on one thing. The result? Procrastination. Practicing a mindfulness meditation has drastically improved my concentration levels. I've found that the more often that I pull my attention back to the present moment, the easier it is for me to focus.

2. Reduces Anxiety

Anxiety sucks. I know because I lived with it for many years of my life. One aspect of anxiety is that it is so challenging to understand is why it exists in the first place. Trying to pinpoint where your racing thoughts come from can make your anxiety worse. In my experience, if you force yourself to control your thoughts, it only precipitates the symptoms of anxiety.

Meditation helps with anxiety by quieting your busy mind. Instead of letting fear take over your world, start quietly observing your thoughts through meditation. Anxious people often shy away from meditation, for fear that they won’t be able to sit still long enough to control their thoughts. I can relate. Back in the day, I wasn’t able to connect with the idea of meditation.

As a result, I didn’t practice it. However, once I forced myself to meditate over an extended period, I noticed the benefits of mindfulness start to take shape in every area of my life. Today, it is a core part of my daily morning ritual.

The benefits of meditation for anxiety have been well-documented. One study, published in the Psychological Bulletin, combined the findings of 163 different studies. The overall conclusion was that practicing mindfulness or meditation produced substantial improvement in areas like negative personality traits, anxiety, and stress.

Meditation allows you to return to your center and detach yourself from the stress that anxiety brings with it. Through consistent practice, I have been able to master my anxiety for good, and so can you. As someone once said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

3. Decreases Stress

Mindfulness can also help decrease your stress levels by improving your ability to regulate your emotions. If you want to be a leader in any work capacity, you need to be able to calmly respond to stressors.

Maria Gonzalez, author of the book, Mindful Leadership: The 9 Ways to Self-Awareness, Transforming Yourself, and Inspiring Others, says that true leadership comes from within, a place of deep calm and focus, that allows you to respond to any situation as it arises. Mindful people come up with mindful solutions.

By consciously making mindfulness a consistent habit in my life, I have been able to make friends with stress. Rather than seeing the negative consequences of feeling overwhelmed with work and life, I now think differently about it. I encourage you to make an effort to always see the good amidst the bad. The only thing that you have control over is your mind. By using stress as fuel to achieve more, it will allow you to be the driver of your life, instead of the victim of it.

4. Improves Listening Skills

In today's busy work world, a lot of people don't have time to listen because they are so focused on doing a million things at once. One of the most significant barriers to mindful listening is if you are continually thinking about what you are going to say next. This is when a lot of information can get lost or misunderstood.

Do you seek first to be understood by people? This is a natural thing to do because you want to be heard. However, in the process of doing so, you may completely ignore what the other person says. Or worse, you may pretend to listen or completely forget what someone is saying while they are talking. In the words of Dr. Stephen Covey, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

Listening mindfully requires that you pay attention to the message that is being shared with you. This is achieved by keeping eye contact, smiling, and asking open-ended questions. Why is mindful listening so important in the workplace? When people feel heard, they feel appreciated, and when they feel appreciated, they are more motivated and productive at work.

5. Increases Emotional Self-Awareness 

Our minds are always wandering. Most of the time we act unconsciously, without awareness of what we are doing or why we are doing it. This is why it's so important to be self-aware and pay attention to what’s going on inside of you. Self-awareness is the ability to understand who you are and how others see you.

A vital tool for building self-awareness is tuning in to your body, which is achieved through a mindfulness-based practice. Daniel Goleman, a leading expert on EQ, explains that “Knowing yourself lies at the core of emotional intelligence, and the best mental app for this can be found in the mind-training method called mindfulness.”

When you practice mindfulness, you become more aware of your thoughts and emotions. You learn to notice when your mind starts to wander and how you can guide your attention back to your experience. When it comes to the workplace, having a high level of self-awareness allows you to focus more effectively, better relate to your colleagues and clients, and more effectively manage your emotions.

6. Enhances Creativity 

A creative work environment is one where people are encouraged to come up with innovative solutions to problems. In an ever-changing business landscape, creativity and innovation have become critical skills.

When you take on a new project that is extremely meaningful to you, it can be easy for your mental thoughts to get the best of you. In your desire for it to be perfect, sometimes it can cause your brain to get overwhelmed. Can you relate?

When the ideas don't flow, the result can be procrastination, limiting the ability to get into a creative flow altogether. By applying meditation to my daily life, I have found that it has drastically helped my creative process.

HBR reports that studies show people are at their most creative when they are more relaxed. Relaxation allows people to look at problems differently, using divergent thinking to consider a wide range of possible solutions. Because mindfulness simulates a relaxed state of mind, integrating it into the workplace could very likely support a stronger creative process among people and teams.

7. Improves Sleep

Do you sometimes struggle to fall asleep because your mind just won't shut off? Join the club. In our 24/7 digital world, insomnia has become commonplace for many people. Lack of sleep affects everything, including your ability to concentrate at work.

Let's face it… work can be stressful, especially if you take your work home with you. Long hours spent on a computer screen, especially at night, inhibits the busy mind from moving into a more relaxed state. You spend a large amount of your life sleeping, which is why you want to do the work to hack it as best you can. 

Creating a consistent mindfulness practice before you fall asleep is a great way to help calm your mind, whether that's in the form of meditation or deep breathing. By focusing your mind’s attention on the present moment, you remove yourself from a “doing” mode of thinking. A powerful way to elicit a relaxed state of mind is to choose a calming focus point, like a mantra, to guide you inward.

If you create an evening ritual and are consistent with it, over time, you will notice that you sleep better. More importantly, you will wake up feeling more refreshed and ready to crush your day.

Mindfulness exercises can change your life.

The overall health benefits of mindful thinking are far-reaching. I encourage you to incorporate mindfulness exercises into your daily life, even if it’s only 10 minutes every day. It has been a game-changer for me. As Sharon Salzberg says, “Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.” 

You will be surprised how much calmer you will feel. More importantly, you will be more energized, focused, and productive at work. All of those elements create the perfect recipe for success.

The beautiful thing about mindfulness is that you can practice it anytime, anywhere. It's all about learning how to pay close attention, on purpose, to what is happening inside of you and around you.

Are you ready to hack your brain and get more done?

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Everyone wants to know how to be more productive with their time, and then procrastination takes over.

Have you ever experienced that feeling of panic when you look at the clock and realize that you haven't accomplished anything, even though it feels like you've been working really hard? I've been there.

A productive day doesn't happen by accident. You need to develop healthy habits that allow you to accomplish all of the things that you need to do.

Now is the time to take charge of your time. Are you ready to learn 6 ways that you can work smarter, not harder?

Watch the video below where I interview Eben Pagan on the opportunity mindset, where we talk about working smart:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Are you ready to start living every day with confidence, passion, and energy? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

The goal is to make every day a productive day.

No matter what work you do, it will never feel like there are enough hours in the day. That's just a fact. Where a lot of people get stuck is that they assume that being productive means crushing everything on their to-do list. They think that getting more things done is the most efficient way of working. This is far from true.

Being busy has become a status symbol. In today's 24/7 world, the standard response to “how are you” is “busy!” People think that if you are super busy, then that must mean that you are successful, right? Not really.

Being crazy busy is actually a deterrent to your productivity. When you are engaged in an act of endless “doing”  things, you don't end up getting anywhere. This can make you feel unorganized and overwhelmed. In the words of Socrates, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” 

It's fair to say that being super busy doesn't mean that you are super productive.

The best way to become more effective at work is to focus on what really matters to you. Have you ever really wanted to get something done, but for some reason, you find any reason to avoid it at all costs? I think this is something that we have all experienced at some point in our lives.

In his book, The War of Art: Breakthrough The Blocks And Win Your Inner Creative Battles, Steven Pressfield says that there is a malignant presence that exists to block you from doing what you most need to do. He calls this force, “resistance.”

This happens because the work that you need to do is so important to your soul's calling that you are afraid to actually do it. In this headspace, you are naturally more inclined to fall into procrastination mode. However, this doesn't mean that you are lazy or unmotivated.

Research shows that the problem is that our brains are programmed to procrastinate. We all tend to struggle with tasks that promise future upside in return for efforts we take now. In short, it's easier for your brain to process concrete versus abstract things. This is in no way meant to be an excuse for why you can't get things done. Being productive is a choice, just like procrastination is.

In order to prevent procrastination from taking over your life, you need to learn how to work smarter, not harder. How do you do this? By cultivating a set of daily habits that will help boost your productivity levels.

If you want to learn how to be more productive with your time, follow these 6 daily habits.

1. Set Daily Goals

I believe that goal setting is one of the most important aspects of having a productive day. Goals give us a sense of direction. They provide a roadmap so that we know where we are going. If you don't know where you are headed, how do you expect to ever get there?

Long-term goals are great, but it's easy to lose sight of them because they are so far away. This is why it's important that you set tangible, daily goals. Doing so allows you to analyze your progress on a daily basis.

In order to set daily goals, you first need to know what you are striving for in the long-term. For example, if your long-term goal is to lose 10 pounds in 30 days, what could you do today in order to get one step closer to accomplishing this goal?

You want to plan out how you expect to achieve your daily goal-setting activity. Write it out and prioritize your tasks so that you are prepared. The morning is the best time to set daily goals, as this is the time when your mind is most clear.

2. Set Short-Term Deadlines

Nothing drives productivity more than a solid deadline. However, deadlines can be stressful, especially if you put them off until right before they are due.

People get into trouble when they don't attach a sense of urgency to whatever task they are engaging in. Having all the time in the world to finish something is an open invitation to procrastinate. 

It's easy to let yourself off the hook. However, nobody likes to let someone down, especially if it's their boss or a business coach. This is when having an accountability buddy works wonders. It will ensure that you stay committed to the task at hand.

Setting short-term deadlines force you to work more effectively and create a sense of urgency, which provides you with the energy that you need in order to achieve the results that you desire.

3. Complete The Most Important Task First

You only have so much time in one day. If you think that you will be able to accomplish every single thing on your massive to-do list, you are setting yourself up for failure. This is why I'm a big believer in focusing my time on the most important task first.

Not everything on your list is a top priority. What is the most critical thing that you need to accomplish? Consider this to be your top procrastination task. As I expressed above, this won't be easy because your brain is conditioned to look for the path of least resistance.

However, by getting your MIT (most important task) out of the way first thing in the morning, you are setting yourself up for a productive day. Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Figure out what your “frog” is.

Realistically, it is the one task that has the most meaning to your work and life. Make a commitment to yourself that you will invest time into it. If you need to rid yourself of distractions, turn off your phone or mark your calendar as busy for one hour so that people know not to bother you during that time.

4. Create A Mindfulness Practice

When it comes to getting things done, one of the biggest challenges that people face is being able to focus on the task at hand. The mind is constantly wandering, which means that it's easy to get distracted. Procrastination feeds off of this state.

In order to be productive, people assume that they have to be constantly achieving and doing. The focus is always on the next thing that they need to do, or the next place that they need to be. As a result, they are never fully in the present moment.

In the words of Robin Sharma, “Productivity is less about what you do with your time and more about how you run your mind.” A great way to bring yourself back to the present moment on a daily basis is to create a mindfulness practice, like deep breathing, meditation or yoga.

By focusing your awareness on the here and now, you are more conscious of what you are doing. By becoming a more active observer of your thoughts, you will be more aware when your mind starts to wander.

5. Set A Timer

How often have you started working on a task and then your mind drifted off, causing you to check Instagram, look at your email inbox, and then work on an entirely different task altogether? Join the club. We've all been there. This is why setting a timer is a great way to keep you on track and 100% committed to whatever you need to do.

When you set a timer for a task and dig into it with full commitment, you get a chance to see how much you can really get done in a specific block of time.

When I do my work, I like to use the Pomodoro Technique. This is a time management method that uses a timer to break down work into intervals — specifically 25-minutes in length, separated by 5-minute breaks. This process is repeated 3 times. After you've done 4 Pomodoro sessions you can take a longer break if needed, or continue the cycle.

During a 25-minute time period, I work as intensely as I can. Doing so allows me to enter into a flow state, otherwise known as your optimal zone of productivity. I have found this easy method to be one of the most effective ways to rid myself of procrastination.

When you see how much you can accomplish in a specific block of time, it will motivate you to achieve more, thereby increasing your productivity levels.

6. Start and End Your Day With A Routine

A routine is an amazing way to stay on track and boost your productivity. When it comes to having a super productive morning, the key is to find what works best for you and then commit to doing it on a consistent basis.

For example, maybe that means hitting the gym, reading, eating a healthy breakfast or planning out your day. Whatever allows you to hyperfocus and be at the top of your game is ideal.

Forming new healthy habits takes time. This is why it's a great idea to have some kind of accountability reminder in place as you build a habit. I'm a big fan of the Productivity Planner. This is a journal that is designed to help you get your most important tasks completed so that you can feel more productive on a daily basis.

I also write in this journal at the end of the day. I rate my productivity score, on a scale of 1-10, and see what I could have done better. I go through this process every single morning, as part of my morning ritual. Doing so ensures that I always stay on track with my goals.

Keep in mind that what you do before bed matters just as much as what you do in the morning. In terms of an evening routine, I encourage you to plan the next day. Take a look at your calendar and write down the most important things that you need to get done.

Make sure that you actually schedule these tasks into your calendar. If your schedule changes slightly, that is OK. All that matters is that you've created a basic framework for what your day will look like. This will ensure that you wake up feeling grounded and ready to crush the day.

This is how to be more productive at work.

Paul J. Meyer said it best, “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” Are you ready to work smarter, not harder?

Are you ready to start living every day with confidence, passion, and energy? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

Do you want to learn 5 ways to motivate yourself to do anything? CLICK HERE to read the article that I wrote on Medium!

Mindfulness has been around for thousands of years. However, as of late, it's popularity in the Western world has skyrocketed.

It has become a form of medicine in order to cope with the ever-changing, fast-paced world that we live in. As our lives get busier and more stressful, people are retaliating against their 24/7 lifestyle to one that is more self-aware and focused on the present moment.

Mindfulness isn't just a practice. It has become a movement. Every business leader, celebrity, and religious follower alike practices it. Experts say that mindfulness offers a rest for the brain, increased productivity, and the ability to turn off the unfulfilling autopilot of the daily grind.

Are you ready to learn 7 practical tips for how you can be more mindful in your everyday life?

In the video below I talk about why you should meditate every day:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

Are you ready to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual that will make you feel calmer and more grounded? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!

The promise to achieve a more relaxed state of mind has created a strong following of believers, inspiring everyone from university students to business executives to adopt a mindfulness practice. However, it's important to understand that mindfulness isn't a pill that cures all of your problems. Rather, it's a new way of seeing the world that takes time, patience and commitment.

What is mindfulness?

In his mindfulness book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, Dr. John Kabat-Zinn, founder of the American mindfulness movement, offers one of the most widely-used definitions of mindfulness as “the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”

If you are new to the world of mindfulness it's important to understand what it is not before you dive into this practice and make it a way of life.

Mindfulness is a way of life. It's not merely a mindfulness meditation that you practice for 5 minutes every day. As mindfulness has increased in its popularity it has brought to the forefront a lot of critics and naysayers. One of the biggest contradictions of mindfulness training is that sitting in silence and thinking about nothing is the answer. However, it's not only an internal practice. The real magic occurs when this skill is shared with others.

Reseach shows that more mindful leaders make for happier employees, which is one of the many reasons why mindfulness training has become such a popular movement. The line of thinking is that if a leader cultivates mindful traits then that will positively influence and bring out the best in his/her employees and the overall work culture.

When the mindfulness came onto the scene and started to gain in popularity, I had an overall idea of what it meant. However, it wasn't until I started to do research that I learned why it is such a powerful tool. My mindfulness journey began with a simple meditation practice. I would meditate in the mornings before I started my crazy work day.

I've got to be honest. I didn't see the value of meditation at first because I wasn't able to connect with it on an emotional level. 

However, once I forced myself to meditate on a consistent basis, I started to notice the benefits that it was having on my emotional, mental and spiritual state. The rest is history. Here's the thing… the words “mindfulness” and “meditation” are used interchangeably but they aren't the same thing. Both mediums give you the tools so that you are able to be present and access the inner calm that already resides inside of you.

However, mindfulness is about having an awareness of your outer world, whereas meditation is focused on accessing your inner world.

In the world today, we are taught to become obsessed with multitasking. As a result, we don't ever fully focus on anything at all. As someone with an insanely busy life, mindfulness for me means mastering my mind and emotions so that there is no room for my limiting beliefs to run wild. It means living more in the present moment and not looking too far ahead of myself. By practicing mindfulness, I am actively aware of what I am doing while I am doing it, instead of operating on autopilot.

Here are 7 practical tips for how you can be more mindful in your everyday life.

1. Be Grateful

When you wake up in the morning what is the first thing that you think about? Your to-do list or what you are grateful for? A lot of people start their day doing the former. As a result, they drop into a reactive state and feel stressed and anxious about what's to come.

When we adopt an attitude of gratitude we drop into a present state of awareness and give thanks for our lives and the people in it. Mindfulness is the avenue that allows us to do so. It's easy to take life for granted until we are faced with an experience that reminds us how lucky we are to be alive. This is why many people who are near death start living every day as if it were their last.

Gratitude has helped me get through some of the most difficult times in my life. No matter how hard life may be, there is always something to be grateful for. Tap into what that is for you and give thanks every single day. When you do, your life will transform.

2. Tune Into Your Senses

Most of the time, we live in our heads. Can you relate? We are either thinking too much about the past or the future, neither of which we have any control over. Unfortunately, our head is where our inner critic likes to roam wild.

Being in the present moment is all about dropping out of your head and into your heart. One of the easiest ways to connect with your body, which is your true intelligence, is to engage all of your senses. It shifts our attention away from our worries and towards the experience of being in our bodies.

Your senses serve as your mind's authentic inner compass. When the world gets hectic and you lose your center, access the parts of yourselves that you don't usually connect with – the beat of your heart, the touch of your skin, and the sound of your breath.

3. Connect With Nature 

For a lot of people, the only time that they spend in nature is when they walk or run from their house to their car. In our busy, 24/7 world filled with never-ending responsibilities, it makes sense why we've lost touch with the natural world. In the words of William Wordsworth, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”

Consciously taking the time to connect with nature helps us stay in the present moment and have an awareness of all of the beauty that exists in the world. It makes us realize that there is more to life than just work. The stress of an environment that makes us feel anxious and burnt out wreaks havoc on our mental and emotional well-being.

Switch it up and put yourself in an environment that calms your mind. Be a kid again and enjoy nature's beauty. Get your feet dirty, breathe in the fresh air, look up to the sky. It's all about creating more space for you.

Numerous studies have shown that spending time in nature can boost your immune system, relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve concentration and creativity, relieve stress, and improve your memory. It doesn't only feel good to be in nature, it's also good for your health.

4. Observe Your Thoughts 

When people think of mindfulness they think that it means controlling or stopping your thoughts altogether. Adopting this mode of thinking only results in extreme frustration and a desire to give up on mindfulness. I hate to break it to you but trying NOT to think of something actually makes it more likely that you will.

Thoughts come and go. It is our job to watch and observe them, instead of getting attached to them. All that matters is how you respond to the world around you. The reality is that we don't have any control over our external world. All that we have control over is our inner world. How will you respond to life's challenges? Let life move through you instead of resisting it. That is what allows us to think less and live more mindfully.

5. Practice Deep Breathing

Many people don't even know how to breathe properly. They breathe shallowly because their bodies are in a constant state of stress. Practicing deep breathing helps to quiet your thoughts because the very nature of focusing on your breath requires deep concentration and a focus on the present moment.

When you inhale, start to become more aware of what is happening in your body. As you exhale, consciously let go of the things that don't serve your highest self. To breathe is to live, so do it well. I am a firm believer that learning how to breathe properly is one of the most effective ways to relieve stress and find peace from the craziness that life brings with it.

6. Write In Your Journal

I believe that journaling is one of the most powerful ways to bring you into a state of mindfulness, thereby increasing your self-awareness. It is your time to be present with your thoughts and reflect upon what is important to you. In this mental place, anxieties lose their power. Your mind stops wandering and you become an active observer of your thoughts instead of feeling out of control.

For the past two years, as part of my morning ritual, I've been engaging in an exercise using something called, The Five Minute Journal. This is a journal that inspires you to start and end each day with gratitude. This has been the secret weapon that has allowed me to be more mindful so that I can live from a place of intention every single day.

In her book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron invites readers to begin each day with what she calls “Morning Pages.” She explains that “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, a stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages – they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind – and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand.”

7. Embrace Minimalism

When we live simply we only focus on things that matter most, encouraging us to return our attention to the present moment. By embracing minimalism, we declutter our inner and outer world, which creates more space for us to become more mindful.

Instead of being obsessed with the final outcome, the focus is placed on the journey of living. When we adopt this mindset, a simple life becomes the only one that makes sense.

Practicing mindfulness can change your life.

The world will continue to change and move at an ever-rapid pace. Mindfulness gives us the opportunity to be present with ourselves and find stillness amidst the chaos, no matter what is going on in our external world. In this place, we find an inner calm that transcends time and space.

Mindful living is something that you can start practicing today. Don't try too hard or overthink what it looks like. Instead, just focus on paying as much attention as you can to what is happening in the here and now.

How can you bring more mindfulness into your world? In the words of Sharon Saltzberg, “Mindfulness isn't difficult. We just have to remember to do it.”

Are you ready to learn how you can create an empowering morning ritual that will make you feel calmer and more grounded? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery program!

Do you want to learn the best way to deal with stress? CLICK HERE to read the article that I wrote on Medium!