Kat Vanden Heuvel

Have you ever felt a weird twinge of restlessness inside your stomach when you think about the things that are on your to-do list? They could be completely mundane tasks like folding laundry or working on a project. Have you realized that when you are giving in to your future anxieties, you are completely ignoring the present moment? Not being immersed in the present and playing out future events invites stress, uneasiness, and anxiety. Let’s unclog our minds and focus solely on the current moment — let’s embrace mindfulness. 

Mindfulness is a fulfilling word; it’s about staying in the moment and connecting without any distractions or obstacles. It’s about letting go of the near future and embracing the present. By intentionally activating the parasympathetic nervous system, mindfulness is scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety while improving our ability to focus and perform. Mindfulness allows us to pause, take a breath and give ourselves a chance to relax and enjoy the present moment. 

How does one incorporate the art of mindfulness in their life? Here are seven mindfulness activities to get you started: 

1. Begin by Setting an Intention  

Before diving into projects and the demanding tasks of your life, take time out to engage in activities that enable you to center yourself first. This means focusing on what you and your body desire. It’s like eating an appetizer before the main course. You are treating yourself by highlighting your needs. Do you enjoy creating a to-do list to organize your day? Do it first! Yoga, mediation, or just a cup of nice warm coffee? Go for it. Begin by making the day about you. 

2. Deep Breathing Exercises

Breathing is an involuntary action. However, we are prone to take quick, short, and shallow breaths. Taking deep, meaningful, and focused breaths can do wonders for your body as well as invite mindfulness. Whether you’re interested in breathwork trends or just improving the quality of your breathing, take a moment to inhale a long, deep breath when feeling overloaded or stressed out. Let the oxygen travel through your body, focus on how your lungs react to this deep breath. Hold in the air for four seconds, then slowly exhale, expelling the stress and the cluttered thoughts with it. Repeat this five times and notice how much better you feel afterward. 

3. The Savor Challenge

No matter how much we enjoy eating food, most people tend to eat quickly or are far too distracted by their phones or watching TV. This habit can increase the risk of overeating, bloating, and even indigestion. In response, it invites irritation, stress, and potential disrupted sleep due to gas. Strip this habit by taking on the savor challenge. It’s simple: put your phone away or whatever is prone to distract you away from your meal. Remember you are practicing mindfulness, therefore connect with the present by savoring every bite. Let the food sit on your tongue, fold it over and notice the texture, the flavor, and the feeling it releases in your body! Chew slowly and enjoy it. This method will allow you to both celebrate and connect food with your body. 

4. Gratitude List

Mindfulness is also about being grateful for the present. This keeps you grounded and hyper-connected to your surroundings. Whether it is your favorite meal, a person, or a book, write about all the things that you are grateful for. This will become your gratitude list. It’s a great way to recall whatever you did throughout the day and what made you happy. To be specific, instead of writing ‘I am grateful for music.’ Write: ‘I am grateful for Peace by T.S.’ and ‘how wonderful the line “sit with you in the trenches” feels to me.’  

5. Stillness Exercise

Invite mindfulness to your day by staying still. Stillness is intimate because you are focusing on your favorite thing. It could be your breath and how your body reacts to the feeling of it. It could be your favorite memory, a song, a delightful image, or a mantra—whatever allows your mind to settle down and embrace its inner workings and thoughts. If you become distracted and your mind starts to wander, simply acknowledge the distraction and redirect your thoughts back to the exercise. 

6. Move and Feel Exercise

Connecting with how your body functions is an aspect of mindfulness. Stretch, relax, repeat. But be slow and focus on every movement of your body, the muscles, and how your heart reacts to the various mixture of feelings and sensations. You can perform jumping jacks, twisting at the waist, or sit-ups. The point is to get your heart rate up for 60 seconds, and then begin to relax. As you begin to relax, pay attention to your heart pounding in your chest, notice how it begins to beat slower and slower. This is not only a great way to feel more self-aware of your body, but when you feel the sensation of your heart beating you will truly feel alive! 

7. Foot Grounding Exercise

Mindfulness is a great remedy to wipe off jitters and stress. A simple foot grounding exercise can help you start. If you feel anxious, place your feet firmly on the ground, either sitting or standing. Inhale – hold for four seconds and then release. Repeat. Concentrate on the movements of your breathing, feel how the soles of your feet react to it. 

You can even practice this by going for a walk and being attentive to the weight shifting from your toes to the center of your foot. It’s a great way to stay grounded while connecting with the present moment. Try this on grass, especially early in the morning and barefoot.

Mindfulness is all about being in the present moment: noticing thoughts, sensations and emotions. Follow these seven healthy mindfulness activities for beginners. They will bring you peace and stability while relieving stress, anxiety, and restlessness. 

To learn more about mindfulness and the like, check out Alan Carroll & Associates, a global leader in professional communication skills for over 30 years. ACAmindfulyou.com 

Dry mouth. Sweaty palms. Feeling like you’ll throw up any second. All because you need to speak in public. This reaction might sound strange, but for many, it is an all-too-common occurrence. Why do we get anxious speaking in front of other people?

About 77 percent of the population say they fear public speaking. For some, it’s just jitters when they stand in front of an audience; for others, it’s much worse. So what exactly causes this form of social anxiety? Here are the top 5 reasons people fear public speaking. (See if you can spot your reason) 

Photo by Samer Daboul from Pexels

1. Looking Like a Fool

No one likes to feel embarrassed. No one ever wants to feel someones else’s negative judgments. It would be unnatural if you didn’t have this fear. But when you consciously put yourself in a position where you expose yourself to all sorts of judgments, that can be pretty scary. 

The real trouble is, high levels of anxiety will make you make more mistakes than you normally would in casual conversation. Unfortunately, obsessing over not forgetting our words or making a mistake has an adverse effect. Our brains go into a heightened state of self-preservation and we are unable to process thoughts. Our motor skills don’t work as efficiently as they would if we were relaxed. 

Accepting our imperfections and realizing that we do not discard others for their imperfections is one of the best things we can do to help this situation. 

2. Believing You Lack Credibility

Credibility is a massive fear, but when speaking in front of professional peers it goes up to a whole new level. There’s even a term for this fear — “imposter syndrome”. Coined in the 1970s to describe a pervasive feeling of self-doubt, insecurity, and incompetence despite all evidence to the contrary. 

Perhaps you believe the audience will think you are too young, and you don’t have enough experience. Or perhaps you think you are too old and ‘out of touch’ to talk about topics of today. Whatever story you tell yourself, you have doubts about your abilities, and you think the audience will see through the façade. 

Here, the fear centers more on your belief that the audience is questioning you rather than questioning your message. We internalize the moment and believe if the audience doesn’t see us as a credible source, then they will not see us as a credible person. 

One of the best ways to overcome this fear is to start looking at the facts of the situation. You were asked to give this speech. That means someone respects your knowledge and viewpoints enough for you to speak on the topic.

Also, are you versed in this topic? If you are asked to present on a topic you probably know more than the audience, or someone believes you can bring a new perspective. Either way, think about the benefits you can bring to the table by applying your personality to the subject. 

3. Believing Your Inner Critic is Telling You the Truth

We have an internal judge and jury known as the ‘inner critic’. Critical thinking can be so habitual most people don’t even realize when it’s happening.  (Hint: The inner critic will talk to in absolutes, black or white thinking, and projection of other thoughts.) 

“I should give up already. These people will never forget how horrible I am. I can’t get up there, I’m going to fail.” 

Yep, that’s inner critic talking. No one knows you better than you do, by the same token, no one knows your worst fears better than you do. In cases like this, when you have so much anxiety at even the thought of speaking publicly, you can be the one to bring yourself down faster than anyone else.

What can be done? Start to listen for your inner critic and when it rears its ugly self-defeating head, take small steps to challenge what it is saying. If your critic says you are going to fail, question why you think you are going to fail and what past situations lead you to believe this. When you search the Rolodex of your past, you’ll find very little evidence to conclude that you’re likely to fail.  

4. Freezing in Front of Everyone 

 The fear of freezing and the fear of forgetting what to say share the same roots. You believe no amount of practice and preparation will prevent you from freezing up like a deer in headlights. It is our brain signaling there is danger and we become paralyzed by our perception of what is happening to or around us. 

The good news is the audience does not know your script, only you know if you forget a line. If your communication is more one-on-one dialog like an interview, and you get flustered; pause, take a breath, and think about your answer. No one expects you to be perfect. An interviewer would rather you give a well-thought-out answer than watch you stumble over your words. 

5. Being Recorded

People generally worry about being recorded but, being recorded while giving a public speech is a whole new level of anxiety. It can be difficult to think of our voice, facial expressions, and mannerisms recorded and available for future judgment. If we make a mistake or a funny face live, it’s only captured in the memory of the audience, but the idea of recording feels permanent. 

And if someone posts it on the internet? You go viral? While this is a logical fear, it’s highly unlikely. Remember you are your own worst critic; the facial expression you hate, no one else thinks twice about. 

One Last Positive Note 

You might be able to relate to one or two of these fears. Others might be able to relate to all of them. While it is not easy to overcome all these fears, it is possible to mitigate the level of fear. You may even get to the point where fear still exists, but you can begin to enjoy public speaking.

Lastly and possibly most important, no one knows your fears as much as you do. The more you tell yourself you are horrible at public speaking, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s a long journey that starts with you realizing you are not what the inner critic tells you! 

Alan Carroll and Associates has been helping people overcome their fear of presenting for over 30 years. ACA focuses on getting down to the root cause of the fear through mindfulness techniques and provides the tools needed to become a confident and dynamic communicator.  

To learn more about Alan Carroll & Associates visit acamindfulyou.com