If you haven’t already jumped on the mindfulness bandwagon, now’s your chance. In this episode of WAG Wednesday, Michael Cazayoux, Adee’s husband and President of WAG, gives tips on how to use the technique of mindfulness to help achieve goals and overcome obstacles.

Mindfulness: The act of becoming conscious or aware of thoughts and behaviors.

First, let’s get into why mindfulness is an important tool.

The natural human responses:

  1. Circumstances trigger thoughts.
  2. Thoughts trigger emotions.
  3. Emotions trigger behaviors.
  4. Behaviors give us results, positive or negative.

With mindfulness, you can create a gap between the circumstances and the thoughts you have about them. This helps you respond rather than react to your circumstances, which leads to positive results.

The way to practice mindfulness is through meditation: a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject. It’s essentially training your ability to focus on a single point.

There’s no “right” way to meditate, but here are some tips that have helped me.

  1. Download a meditation app: Two of my favorites are Headspace and Insight Timer.
  2. Take 10–20 minutes every day to focus on your breathing and on being in the present moment.
  3. Every time you get lost in thought, stop and bring yourself back to the present.

You can use this tool in your personal relationships, at work and even in the gym.

Pro tips for mindfulness:

  1. Limit your technology consumption - it disconnects you from reality.
  2. When you get caught up in your head, slow down. Take a moment to breathe and center yourself to reality.