Hello, lovelies,
Today’s Monday Morning Check-In is all about mindfulness and taking a hard look at the life you are currently leading. It is easy to hear the word mindfulness and instantly think of meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and journaling. While all of those things are extremely helpful in cultivating a life that you love and have so many mental health benefits, I am referring to something slightly different.
For the last several months, I have been engaging in mindfulness by merely observing my patterns of behavior and asking myself a straightforward question, “Why?”
Why did I make a pot of coffee this morning? Why do I continue to work a job I know I hate? Trust me, when you begin to ask yourself why you start to see how you could make your life better.
Over the years, I have been incredibly guilty about getting stuck in patterns of behaviors or doing things that don’t align with my heart’s purpose—resulting in periods of deep depression, anxiety, and regret.
I have always been the type of person who would sit there and pretend everything is fine even if the house is on fire. I have always placed responsibility over happiness, having an income over doing what I love.
Last year that cost me dearly. I put a job before my family. I decided to prioritize work, telling myself I would make time for my family later. The clock ran out, and instead of getting one more weekend with my father, I stayed home, went to work, and told myself I’d see him next month.
I don’t want to make that mistake twice, so I started asking myself, “Why?” I even took it a step further and asked myself, “Will this make me happy? If I knew I only had today, would I still do this?”
If the answer was no, I knew I need to make a change. So ever so slowly, I have been making small changes, tiny decisions to shape my future.
It hasn’t been easy, and life has a real hard time just accepting that you’ve changed your mind; even our bodies fight us sometimes. It is almost like we become programmed over the years, and so much of our behaviors are automatic.
But little by little, I am changing, growing and I can’t wait for 2021. I have so many plans. I would love to continue this conversation as I know this process is so much more involved than a simple question.
But today, I want to challenge you to be present and ask yourself, “why?”
With Love,
Yanninia Marie
