How to be More Mindful in Relationships

Do you ever

•  fly off the handle at the people you love?
• grow a temper over petty fights?
• wish you could control your emotions better?

*In my best infommercial voice: *

 "If you answered yes to any of the above questions, becoming mindful may help you stay calm in stressful situations"

Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) can improve your relationships with

• your hunny
• your friends
• your family
• the slow cashier at the grocery store
• and even the terrible driver in front of you on your commute to work

After a long day of work, I came home to find the apartment a huge mess. The dishes were piled up in the sink, there were damp towels on the bathroom floor, and the trash hadnt been taken out for starters. Andrew was sitting on the couch watching a football game.

My initial reaction was to let out a LOUD sigh and start whining to him (AKA have an adult temper tantrum). My thoughts at first were "If only Andrew would get up and help me..."

Instead, I counted my breathes until 10 and started picking up. Instead of dwelling on the fact that Andrew was watching the football game, I concentrated on what I was doing in the present moment. Being aware of when your not in the present moment lets you become more aware of what is going on in that moment.

Within minutes, Andrew was helping me clean anyway. Moreover, I realized it didn't take a temper tantrum to get him there.

Mindfulness is all about stepping back and taking in the present moment before you come to any hasty conclusion.

It feels good to not let my blood pressure creep up several points every time something isnt going my way!

"The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing." -Jon Kabat-Zinn

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Day 6 of the challenge: Write 30 interesting facts about yourself.

I'll start with 7..

1) My real name is Lauren Eliza - but I go by my middle name Eliza! My parents decided they wanted to confuse me change my name to Eliza Lauren but I have never gotten around to changing it legally. Seems like a nuisance.

2) I was on an Oakhurts Milk commercial when I was 6 or 7. My mom and I went shopping ALL DAY the day before for cute and super girly outfits for the commercial. They ended up keeping me in the black and white  striped overalls and red turtleneck I had came in! Haha.

Source

3) I got lost with my best friend in Paris for an hour. It was a scary experiece I will never forget.

4) I was an emo kid in high school! Andrew was too, so I think that is half the reason we get along so well :)

5) My sister is only 15 months older than me and is one of my best friends.

6) My friends live too far away from me and I miss them and think about them every single day.

7) Since New Years, I havnt eaten any time of  meat. I am not sure completely why yet, it just felt right.