1.

Mindfulness represents a powerful activity which allows the mind to notice and to be aware of
any thought, accepting it and allowing it to come and pass. Mindfulness is a practice for the
mind to reduce stress and anxiety because through acknowledging your thoughts and not
judging them, you begin to feel more relaxed and manage to get rid of any anxious feelings –
you are present in the moment. Furthermore, by being mindful you can significantly improve
your life and your performance in your daily activities. It is recommended to take 10 minutes
each day and practice mindfulness until you master it, which isn’t about disconnecting from the
world, but quite the opposite - connecting with everything around you, training your mind to be
relaxed by doing nothing, and not trying to block your worries and thoughts, but allowing them
to come to your mind and embracing them, and as you practice mindfulness, every negative
thought will have 0 influence to you as you and your mind will feel relaxed and anxiety and
stress will vanish away. This brings me to 3 exercises that can make you more mindful:
2. In order to be more mindful (besides practicing mindfulness meditation), I would try to limit my
screen time. By doing so, I will be more connected to everything that is going on around me. For
instance, instead of spending time scrolling on my phone while eating, I could try looking
through the window and admiring the landscape of nature, observing or analyzing people or
animals, or just relaxing my mind and not staring at a device. Another exercise to be more
present at the moment could be going for a walk. As I truly enjoy working out and spending time
outdoors, going for a walk would be a great exercise as I connect with nature and notice what is
happening around me. Last but not least, another activity that I believe is healthy and more
challenging than a walk, but relaxing for me is working out. Going to the gym and training my
body is very important to me, and the feeling of accomplishment after a session, discipline, and
most importantly, the happiness and relief I feel when I am at the gym make me feel at ease. I
truly believe these are great ways to engage with the environment and be present, and
especially help your mind relax a little bit and take a pause from the anxious thoughts it has
during the day.
3. One activity that I think would be a great start in order to be more positive is finding any little
thing to be grateful for. I believe this is how you can train your mind to be more positive – by
being grateful for anything – the weather, your accomplishments of the day (big or little), the
food, for basically anything. Another exercise would be accepting the fact that I am not in
control all the time. Working on myself for accepting that some things happen and I cannot
change them is crucial for a positive mind, and I can only change my view of them. I can
definitely have a more positive mind if I take any experience as it is and just accept it and learn
from it. The last activity I think would work for me to have a more positive mind is a breathing
exercise. Studies show that a couple of deep breaths can really make a difference and let that
negativity go away as more oxygen gets into the brain and stress and anxiety are significantly
reduced. So, every time I feel anxious or I find myself having negative thoughts, I take a break
and do some breathing exercises in order to feel relaxed and be more positive.
4. One activity that helps me get into the flow is swimming. I was a professional swimmer for
almost 10 years, so swimming is my favorite sport. Anytime I have a busy day, I start by going to
the pool for 1 hour and that gets me going for the entire day. Anytime I cannot go swimming for
any reason, I find the time to take a shower instead, and it is the perfect way to start my day.