If you are like me, the New Year’s resolutions have come and gone. So now is the time for more sane and realistic goals to take center stage. Being effective in all realms of life requires a healthy mind and body, so I’m focusing on mindful eating.
It’s said you should treat your body as a temple. If so, mine’s a really over-stuffed temple on most days. A strategy I’m employing to keep my temple fed properly is mindful eating. It’s not difficult. I’m simply being more aware of the food I eat. How? By focusing on three baby steps:
Give thanks. Most of us in the Western world are disconnected from the sources of our food. Because food is easy to get, we don’t stop to consider the people (and animals) that were part of the process. Each meal, I give thanks for the nourishment that is available and the ways that food provides a means for connecting with others.
Enjoy. Before I start eating, I appreciate how the food looks and smells. As I take the first bite, I notice the texture and taste. It’s odd that really focusing on the yummy-ness of food helps you eat less, not more.
Slow down. If I don’t think about it, I go through whole meals shoveling food into my mouth, pausing only to minimally chew what I am consuming. To counteract that tendency, my goal is to intentionally pause three times during a meal or snack.
Launda Wheatley, Humanergy’s mindfulness expert, incorporates mindful eating in her wellness sessions. She says, “At its most basic level, eating is a pleasure that most people miss because they hurry through it. Simply slowing down turns this mundane routine into something special.”
More tips for mindful eating can be found in the New York Times article, “Mindful Eating as Food for Thought.”
What other simple joys are you missing because you’re rushing or trying to do three things at once? Even that staff meeting will be more pleasant if you tune into what you like about your team and the work you do together. Remember the words of Emily Dickinson: “Forever is composed of nows.”
Need to find ways to be more centered about focused? Contact Humanergy.
Photo from stockxchng.