practice being present

Taking yourself off autopilot and really noticing the world around you can have a profound effect on your physical and mental health. In this installment of our Power Up Program, WD Editor in Chief Meaghan B Murphy shares the science behind conscious living and offers proven strategies to help you capture the moments.

- 

In my acting classes, we used to do a repetition exercise in which you and another actor would stand facing each other and repeat the same word, changing your tone, inflection, facial expression, and other cues based on how your partner had said the word to you. We might only have been saying “Hello,” but it showed me what could happen when one was fully engaged, mindful, in the moment, and paying attention. If I was thinking about what I had to do tomorrow or what had happened yesterday, I'd miss important cues and details and wouldn't be able to express myself the way I wanted to.

Living Fully Charged requires similar awareness, because to consciously choose to look for, make room for, and let in positivity, it helps to get into the habit of living more consciously and mindfully. Research links being more mindful to higher levels of life satisfaction, positive emotions, self-esteem, behavior regulation, and vitality (i.e., energy). And it’s a lot easier for negativity to sneak into your psyche when you're not paying attention.

Meditation is one proven way to boost mindfulness, but it’s not the only one—and