In 2018, Lebogang was in a bad place: he was overweight, in debt, a smoker, and a procrastinator. He felt stuck and he didn’t know how to change.
I recommended Lebogang attend a course covering the basics of mindfulness to help him overcome his rut and change his habits for the long-term. In one year he quit smoking and started running. He ran a marathon, started waking up earlier and eating healthier. He is a totally different person forming good habits and Living the Mindful Way.
The course he attended is right here in Johannesburg costing R5 000 for 8 weeks. Facilitated by the highly renowned Dr Jonathan D Moch. The new programme starting in 2020 consists of an 8 week course entitled: Living the Mindful Way covering subjects such as:
BREATHSCAPE – the mindful anchor of everyday lif
BODYSCAPE – complete body scan and focus on body sensations
SOUNDSCAPES and SIGHTSCAPES – hearing vs listening, seeing vs perceiving.
WALKING and STRETCHSCAPES – slow body movement as focus of attention
MINDSCAPES – decentering from the inner world of turbulent thoughts/emotions
SENSORYSCAPES – multiple dimensions of tastes, smells, and tactile
POSTURESCAPES – sitting, lying, standing
Nine ATTITUDESCAPES – taking your practice forward for the rest of your life.
I firmly believe that you don’t have to change everything at once. The first place to start is with the help of a professional tutor like Dr Moch. He will show you The Art of Mindfulness. Slowly, mindfully every step of the way. He will also teach you how to be consistent and practice regularly.
Consistency is the Key
All of us have encountered a big change in life – especially this time of year. Once you’ve committed to change, it’s easy to want to tackle everything at once. But the key to changing a habit is working with one habit at a time before moving on to the next.
Start small.
Choose the single smallest habit change you’d like to make and start with that. Make it something you can’t say no to. For example: decide to start every morning with a cup of ginger water instead of coffee. Or dedicate 2 minutes every morning to mindfulness meditation.
Make it a habit.
Stick to it until it becomes the new norm before moving on to the next.
Drastic changes rarely fit into our lives, and are much less likely to become habits. Think of habit-changing as an interactive process; one foot in front of the other.
Another big step forward to end the year and create a good habit is to cut the clutter.
We spend our hard earned money on useless material items cluttering up our lives, homes and cupboards. Every nook & cranny is bursting with surplus amounts of clothes, shoes and all sorts of things we never use. only to throw out in the end – what a waste!
Simplicity: Identify the essentials and let go of the rest.
Less is better than more
