Over the weekend take half an hour at some point to settle down with a magazine, newspaper, book or your favourite blog. Commit to concentrating for a set period on what you are reading. 10 minutes is a good start.
When are minds are hectic we can read a whole page of text, get to the end and realise that we have taken nothing in. Truly baffling that our brains are so complex that they can do this and it reflects perfectly how absent minded we can be in every day life.
By making the decision to spend this time concentrating on a particular task you can enjoy a short break from everyday life whilst also training your brain. Each time your attention wanders from the text make the decision to refocus and start from where you remember getting to. Don’t get cross with yourself when your mind wanders, just notice where it had gone to and then bring your attention back to whatever you are reading. Each time you do this you will be training the mind to focus where you want it to. Really simple but it works.
At the end of every paragraph pause for a couple of seconds and think about what you have read. Absorb the meaning and give yourself a moment to reflect on how that part makes you feel. Allow any thoughts to come in relation to what you have read. Watching your thoughts in relation to something so contained can give you a glimpse of how you can feel if you let mindfulness enter into the rest of your life. Things become clear and we can make decisions in relation to how we react to them. Often our decision will be to do nothing at all and that is perfectly normal. This skill can lead us to great success in life and is well worth cultivating.
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