How To Stop Sleepwalking Through Your Life

Find out the one life hack that is sure to help you make the most of each day and stop sleepwalking through life.

Find out the one life hack that is sure to help you make the most of each day and stop sleepwalking through life.

Life is incredibly short.

Are you awake? Are you fully aware moment to moment? Or are you sleepwalking through your life?

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Sometimes I think we get so caught up in “tomorrow” that we forget about today. We keep wishing for something in the future. We hope the week goes fast so we can get to Friday. We want summer to arrive so bad, we can taste it. We dream of the day when we can make more money or have more time. We get so focused on the when we forget about the now.

Let me ask you a few questions:

Are you always racing from here to there?

Do you feel out of balance?

Are you stressed out?

Do you feel tired or unhealthy?

How much of your calendar is filled with things you enjoy?

Depending on your answers, you, my friend, might just be sleepwalking through life.

Well, as your soul-sister, I am here to tell you, ever so lovingly,

WAKE UP!

You. Have. ONE. Life.

This is it. This is the only chance you have to make the most of life. This is your one opportunity to live a life you are in love with.

Do you want to spend your one precious life mindlessly moving from one activity to the next without taking time to stop and smell the roses?

Let me let you in on a little secret. There is one simple life hack that can change this all right now.

It’s called mindfulness.

It’s being simply aware of every moment without judgment. The good, the bad and the ugly. Being fully conscious of each minute, no matter what it brings.

This is something I have learned over time. I am not always the best at mindful living.

It takes commitment. Being mindful is not easy.

It takes loving yourself enough to want to wake up and live.

It takes making a decision to start creating a life you’re in love with.

Being mindful takes discipline, but it is well worth it.

Mindful living helps tone down the chaos of a hectic life. It helps you to just be in every moment. It helps lessen stress and worry because you appreciate simply where you are, not where you’re going or where you’ve been. It helps you become your best self.

[Tweet “Mindful living helps tone down the chaos of a hectic life.”]

Here are 5 areas to practice being mindful:

  • Be mindful in your relationships. Spend quality time with people free of distractions. Really talk to people. Look them in the eyes. Listen. Don’t worry about what you will say next, really listen to what they are saying now. By all means, put your cell phone away. I admit, I am guilty of this at times. When talking with friends, sometimes I leave my phone out and check it periodically in case my kids send me a text. How rude is this to the people around me? It is telling them that what they are saying, their presence, is less important that an electronic message I might receive. Rude!

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

  • Be mindful when eating. Again-guilty. I am the fastest eater on the planet. What if we really took our time when enjoying a meal? Tasting every flavor and relishing each texture? What if we took time to appreciate whomever prepared the meal and gave thanks for having food in our belly? What if we stopped worrying about doing the dishes or getting home to watch our favorite show, and just sat in the moment and appreciated all that it is?
  • Be mindful in your daily tasks. Clear your mind of extra thoughts and focus on the task you’re doing. Brushing your teeth. Doing the dishes. Packing your lunch. Try not to worry about that project at work due tomorrow or the loss at your kid’s soccer game yesterday. Just allow yourself to be in the moment.
  • Be mindful with your time. For a person who feels it is imperative to say yes a lot in this life, I feel it is equally important to say no. We don’t need to do it all! Make a conscious effort to only put things on your to do list that are in line with who you are. Will it bring you joy or pleasure? Will it bring you abundance? Be choosy with how you spend your precious time. [Tweet “Be choosy with how you spend your precious time.”]
  • Be mindful when shopping. Be thoughtful about every product you spend your valuable time and money on. If you truly need something, only purchase things that bring you joy.  Ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” Don’t just buy to buy.

“In today’s rush, we all think too much-seek too much-want too much-and forget about the joy of just being. -Eckhart Tolle

You might be laughing at me right now, thinking, “Karen, I have kids,” or “you just don’t understand my work schedule, how can I be mindful?”

Well, I have a solution for that: Lean into the craziness if you have to.

[Tweet “To be mindful, sometimes we just have to lean into the craziness.”]

When my kids were a younger, before they could drive, I felt like I lived in my car; driving from school to practice to booster meetings. My days and nights were filled with obligations for my kids. If this is the case for you, or if you have an overloaded schedule and can’t purge things from your to do list, just appreciate the busy. As you’re driving a group of stinky kids home from practice for the third time this week, just listen to the banter. Appreciate that you are privileged to spend this time with your children.

[Tweet ” Be mindful as you appreciate the busy.”]

The key is to accept the moment for what it is.

When driving, don’t stress about being late or worry about getting to the next place, just enjoy and be in the moment you are in.

This moment, right now, is the only one we know for sure.

[Tweet “This moment, right now, is the only one we know for sure.”]

“Do every act of your life as if it’s the last act of your life.” –Marcus Aurelius

Being mindful allows you to accept each moment without judgment. When you are mindful, no matter what is happening, you are able to trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

[Tweet “When you are mindful, you can trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.”]

If you need help, here are two “mindfulness hacks.” Two activities that can help you become skilled in mindful living:

  1. Meditating. If you can spend just 15 minutes a day practicing meditation, this trains you to naturally become more mindful. Your body and mind will be accustomed to slowing down and being in the moment. If you are new to meditation or need help, click here for a meditation kick start written by my bloggy friend Jane at My Five Acres.
  2. Art. Whether you consider yourself a creative person or not, when you spend time in creativity, mindfulness always shows up. For me, I especially love free painting. Not painting a particular subject, but simply choosing a few colors that speak to me and seeing what emerges. Another creative activity allowing you to be in the moment, is coloring. If you’re interested in adult coloring pages, you can sign up here for free monthly coloring pages from my blogging friend Natasha.       .

“Life is not lost by dying, life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the small uncaring ways.” -Stephen Vincent Benet 

There are no guarantees in this life, the least of which is time. When we are mindful, we appreciate living and we truly care about each minute of our life.

If you are ready to start living a life you’re in love with, sign up below to receive my monthly newsletter with simple tips to make the best of every moment we’re given.

Salty Kisses,

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25 responses to “How To Stop Sleepwalking Through Your Life”

  1. Hi Karen,

    It took me 40 years of my life to wake up! Yoga really helped me to be more aware of myself and those around me every minute of the day. Which then made me realize I didn’t want to be around most of the people I had surrounded myself with :).

    Mindfulness can have unexpected results! But, I am happier now than I have ever been, just through learning to appreciate the situation, whatever it happens to be.

    Thanks so much for sharing my meditation kick start. It’s great for anyone who is curious but doesn’t know where to start.

    J

    • Yes Jane I love yoga and meditation, but I am so inconsistent with them both. When I put them into my routine I feel so much better . . . about everything. It was my pleasure to share your kick start- I think it helps people be less overwhelmed with the whole idea. Thank you for commenting 🙂

  2. I have learned this lesson but it has taken a long time. I am in my sixties now so it is easier to be in the moment and to learn to take care of “me”. I have started saying “NO”, and doing what I want to do, when I want to do it, One of the things I always wanted to do is write and now I do that! Life’s short, we have to find our joy and live it!

  3. Love this post. I think I need to learn to practice mindfulness in my daily life. Thank you for sharing.

  4. Lovely writing and a lovely post. Resonated with me because as the years tick by, I am reminded that I have fewer and fewer to claim. Thanks for this.

  5. Great article. Living in the moment is something I find hard to do, but I think our kids are even less capable of doing it these days. This is a valuable reminder.

    • Thank you Natasha! Yes, I agree! Our kids have it tough for sure with instant gratification and electronic distractions at their fingertips. Thank you for reading! 🙂

  6. Karen, this is so beautiful and timely. I was reading this as I was speed eating a bowl of cereal! Being the queen of multi-tasking is not getting me anywhere! Thanks for the advice that I will definitely use.

    • Right?!? I have given myself permission lately to just be in the moment, whatever that looks like. It’s hard not to want to be uber productive all the time but I’m getting better at it. 🙂