Do Less, Be More: Presence is a Practice. ELEPHANT JOURNAL

I made a decision to repeat the words “I am enough, I have enough, I do enough,” every morning to remind myself that I am good enough right now—not because of what I’ve accomplished or what I plan to do, but simply because I am worthy just as I am right now, waking up bad-breath’d and bed-headed.

Ever since I began to begin my days with this mantra, I have naturally created a more sustainable pace in my daily schedule, and ultimately, my life. This mental training takes practice. The practice leads to a mindset, a mindfulness mindset that actually makes my life feel more full, while doing less.I am not quite perfect at it yet—like any practice, I must repeat often and regularly. It helps me to believe, and I really believe that every moment of every day is an opportunity to start the day over. Sometimes I get halfway through the day and repeat the “I am enough” mantra, because I have forgotten self-kindness, and I fall back into the striving for something different…or better…or more.Sometimes while waiting at a traffic light, I want to reach for my cell phone to check the ubiquitous text messages or change the song or make a call, and I remind myself that this moment is enough. I remind myself to simply drive when driving. When I am standing up while eating my hurried lunch for the fourth day in a row, I remind myself to just eat while I am eating.“Do this to just do this. Don’t do this to do that,” I heard actor Willem Dafoe say in an interview not too long ago and it spoke right to my core. From the way that I connect with others, to the way I have approached sports, my career and relationships—I have often spent too much time longing for the way things were or imagining how they could be better.READ THE FULL POST AT ELEPHANT JOURNAL »