3 Tiny Habits to Enhance My Mindfulness Practice, Two Months Later . . .

Back in March, in the Huffington Post, I reported on 3 tiny habits I had successfully taken on to enhance my mindfulness practice. The post, inspired by an experiment from BJ Fogg's at Stanford University, got some attention. The 3 tiny habits were:

1. Right after I open my eyes, and before getting out of bed in the morning, I state my intention to be mindful for the day. I appreciate my intention.
2. Right after I finish getting dressed in the morning, I sit on my meditation chair, and I practice mindfulness for a few seconds. I appreciate myself for making it to the chair.
3. Right after I turn off the light at night, I do 30 seconds of loving kindness practice, wishing myself and other beings well. I appreciate myself for remembering to practice.

That was five days worth of tiny habits, then. 

Well, I am happy to report that two months later, my 3 tiny habits of mindfulness are going strong. Every morning, as I awake, the word 'mindful' pops up in my mind, automatically just like that. From there, attention goes straight to the breath, taking its rightful place away from 'being lost in thoughts' to 'dwelling in awareness'. Same thing with sitting first thing in the morning. Finishing getting dressed, body knows where to go next, without any need for the mind to make any effort to remember. A new imprint has been created, in the brain. Last, turning off the light at the end of the day, it is time for 'kindness', a smile in the darkness that seals the day with sweetness and makes it easy to drop into sleeping.

Tiny habits, powerful changes in daily mindfulness practice.