Unfolding Mindfulness as an Anchor to Present Serenity

Have you ever felt the rush to jumpstart your year with a list of resolutions that handles more like a high-speed chase than a purposeful journey? Join me, Keona Talana, on the Hearts Hello Show, where we challenge that notion and embrace a more tranquil approach to setting and achieving our goals. As the confetti settles, I share my trials with keeping a routine and offer tailored strategies to help you realign with your ambitions. We'll talk about the power of pacing ourselves, the art of breaking tasks into bite-sized pieces, and the beauty of progress over perfection. It's a conversation that promises to make you feel understood and empowered to move forward at a speed that honors your rhythm.

Then, let's take a meaningful pause together to practice mindfulness—a transformative tool for staying anchored in the now. I'll guide you through a simple exercise that reconnects you with your senses, allowing you to find immediate calm amidst the chaos. By tuning into the subtle details of our surroundings, we discover an oasis of clarity. This episode isn't just a podcast; it's an invitation to a community of hearts saying hello to growth, vulnerability, and self-love, one mindful step at a time. So settle in, and let's navigate the new year with intention and compassion, learning from each other along the way.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hey Heartseekers, welcome to the Hearts Hello Show, where we believe that our hearts are the foundation of our well-being and happiness. I am your host, Keona Talana, you all. I am trying to find my focus at the beginning of this year and most of the time when we talk about all of these big, audacious goals that we have, all of these things that we have set out to do, because we feel like we are starting this new year and it's just something that we should be doing. But can we just talk about the fact that we finish up a year where we go through the holidays and it's a lot of transition, a lot of things going on, and then we enter into this new year just because there's oh, it's a new year. I feel like I have to be doing something new, I have to be doing something different, and so we put this expectation on ourselves that we just have to get it right at the top of the year. Can I just tell you that for the last two weeks, I just didn't feel like it. I didn't feel like having to get into a routine of doing something new just because it was the start of the year, and so I had to get to a place where I was okay with that and not be so down on myself, because there are goals and desires and things that I have for this year, but I just didn't feel like it. So I know that if I'm feeling this way, then there are so many of you all who are also feeling like you had this great optimism of what this year was going to be, and then you sometimes get down on yourself when the very things that you said, that you have set out at the beginning of the year, are just not transpiring.

Speaker 1: 2:06

Let me just say this give yourself some grace. Just give yourself some grace and it's okay. So there, we're in a leap year. So that means we have 366 days to get it together. And no, I'm not saying that it should take you the full year, but what I'm saying is, if you needed the first couple of weeks in the year, or if you needed the first month to get yourself together, to relax, to clear your mind, to find your focus, it's okay. We don't have to buy into the phenomena of it's the new year and we got to have all of these things in place. No, not necessarily. Yes, it's a new year. Yes, we have this bright outlook on what our year will be. But let's find our focus first. Let's find those things that are going to sustain us throughout the year, but also realizing that, as we're going through this process, it's not always going to be perfect, they're not going to always get it right and there are going to be times when we just need to rest. So I just want to say, if you were like me, it's all good.

Speaker 1: 3:34

I took last week to really get into a groove and to find my routine of what I needed to do and what was going to be important. Yes, I had fallen off on my workouts. Yes, my eating habits weren't the best. Yes, I wasn't taking the necessary time to make sure that I was spending time in the word and spending time with God, but I granted myself grace and guess what? I'm back on track. Not that it's all going to be perfect, but I'm beginning to find my routine. And in me finding my routine, I'm realizing that there are going to be some things that I need to tweak. There are going to be some things that are just not important right now. Not that I won't get to them, but I'm putting pieces in place that are going to help me in the goals that I have set. So I want us to get to a place where, when we feel like we may be off, to ground ourselves and find our focus. You know, sometimes, when we are even just thinking about the goals that we have set, and because they are sometimes so big and so ambitious, it can be overwhelming. And so, even as we're thinking about how we are setting these clear goals and how we're going to achieve them, let's make sure that we even break down those, those huge goals that we have set, into smaller and manageable tasks.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Like I shared with you all, I had to recreate a routine for myself that fit where I currently am. I couldn't necessarily just have the same routine that I had before, because it wasn't meshing with the things that I needed to accomplish right now, and I had to realize that it was OK. What I did realize is being able to work out every day was so helpful. It was helping me to not only just get to a place where that's all I had to think about in that moment was only working out, only figuring out which exercises I was going to be doing that day, what I needed to meaning what muscle I needed to focus on that day and not thinking about OK, great, well, how many more times do I need to do this in order for this to look right? No, I had to remind myself to be present in my moments. I've said to you all before and I'll mention it again If you need to sometimes look down at your feet and figure out where you are, we oftentimes look so far in advance that we can't even focus on our present moments, and so when we're trying to focus and we're trying to get to these goals that we have set, we have missed the moments that we need to be present in the moments when we need to pick up the phone and just chat with a friend or go hang out for brunch or whatever that may be, that you need to just do for yourself, but be present in the moments.

Speaker 1: 7:26

If that means for some of you all and I know for me is making sure that my phone is on, do not disturb at nine o'clock. Whatever, whoever needs to reach me After nine o'clock, I'll chat with you tomorrow if it's not an emergency. So we have to make sure that we are focused. So this whole episode today is just making sure that we're focused, and focused on the right things, not focused on the things that we can't achieve at this time or focused on what everyone else is doing around us. We can only control what we can control, so focus on what's right in front of you and, as we are just thinking about what those strategies are, to find our focus. You know I've already shared just being able to break down those big, ambitious goals that we have into smaller ones.

Speaker 1: 8:38

Being able to create a routine that is going to emphasize the importance of the daily routine that we need to maintain in order to focus. Some things you may need to cut out, and that's okay. Are you being mindful? Are you being present in your moments? Are you making sure that you are meditating, and what do those practices do for you to help you to center your thoughts and to sharpen your focus?

Speaker 1: 9:14

One of the things that I had to get back into a routine, or adding to my routine daily, was my worship. My worship is a non-negotiable. That is my personal time with me and God, and can I just say that he has broken me down more times this year than I can even imagine, but it's okay. It's necessary and needed because, as I am thirsting more for Him, I need to be in a place where I can hear. I need to be in a place where I can be vulnerable. I need to be in a place where it's okay for me to sit in a place and be able to intercede. That's a good place to be.

Speaker 1: 10:09

So, when I'm talking about finding your focus, what is that for you? What does that look like for you? It may not be as extensive as you think it is. It could be something just as small, sitting and closing your eyes for five minutes out of the day and not thinking about anything, only about where you currently are. And so I'm just excited, because, when I was thinking about what to talk about for today's episode and how to make sure that we are optimistic about the goals that we have set for the year and making sure that it's a new year, a whole bright outlook and all of these amazing things that we can talk about, can we make sure that we are focused, can we make sure that we are focused on the right things and those things that we need to delete. It's okay, delete them, and it's also okay to talk about if you're being overwhelmed with just the possibilities, the possibilities of life, the possibilities of the fresh start, the pressures that can sometimes be placed on you just by life, just by life-lifing.

Speaker 1: 11:45

So I want to make sure that y'all are good. I want to make sure that you all are in a good head space. I want to make sure that, as we are going along this journey, that you are making sure to take time to just focus, listen, clear your mind, what's going on in your head, because it's going to be important, as we continue to go through this year and as we maintain, tweak the goals that we have set, that you are focused. So I understand that if you may be overwhelmed with possibilities, because, yes, sometimes a new year can bring about this abundance of ideas, goals and resolutions and just a multitude of things which can make it difficult for you to choose where to direct your attention and direct your energy. But let's not get to a place where we are so caught up in all of those things that now we have decision paralysis, because we have so much going on that we can't even figure out which way to turn, which way to go. When there are too many options, it becomes harder for you to select the one that you need to focus on. So I need you this week to take some time to write down what's going to be important, what's important right now and what are those things that you can get to. Because, as we're thinking about all of this stuff, we want to make sure that we are still in a good mental space so, when life does show up because it will, that we are not just completely destroyed because we have so much going on and we already weren't able to figure out in which way to go.

Speaker 1: 14:14

So I need you to take some pressure off of this fresh start. It's not all that it's hyped up to be. Your year can start whenever you choose to. It doesn't have to be at the top of the year. So if you're just not feeling it this month, take your time to rest and relax. If that means just for you that you need to take some time off of social media to clear your mind, then do so. Do whatever is going to work best for you. If that means you need to take some time to fast, do so. Look at where your boundaries currently are. What are some of the things that you need to say no to, and it's okay.

Speaker 1: 15:19

So I don't want you to think that this concrete planning that you have needs to be concrete, because it doesn't, it does not. We can still create clear steps to our roadmap, which is going to allow us to have the direction that we need and still give us the flexibility to make changes. So, as we are turning our optimism into focused and actionable plans, make sure that we are taking the time and making space for changes, because changes are going to be constant. Changes are going to be the things that transpire in our life all the time, just like the weather changes. We sometimes don't know when it will happen. Yes, we need to be prepared, but we also have to be flexible enough for, when things do pop up, that we can shift some things around to make it work. And so I just want to give us the opportunity to have a quick mindfulness activity which will help you to ground yourself, but help you to also be where your feet are. So it's called a 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.

Speaker 1: 17:13

So, first thing we're going to do, we're going to acknowledge five things that we see around us. Just pause for a quick second and look around. What do you see? Take a mental note of the five things that you see. It's just ordinary things. It could be a chair, a book, a cup, but what do you see around you? What are the five things that you see around you? Then we're going to acknowledge four things that we can touch. Focus on four things that you can feel and touch right now, just where you are. This could be the texture of your clothing, it can be the surface of your desk, it could be you just feeling your own hair. But I need you to acknowledge four things that you can touch.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Then I need you to acknowledge three things that you hear. So, if you are in a safe place to do so, close your eyes and concentrate on three sounds that you can hear in your background. You can hear the sound of traffic, birds chirping, the humming of your computer, but just acknowledge those three things that you hear. Then I need you to acknowledge two things that you can smell. Whatever those two things are, immediately, whatever it is that you can smell. And if you can't smell anything, I need you to recall two of your favorite scents.

Speaker 1: 19:07

And then I need you to acknowledge one thing you can taste. It can be a lingering taste from a meal, a drink or just a sensation in your mouth, but whenever you think about needing to be present in the moment, come back to this episode and acknowledge these five things that we just did. It's just simple things that we can do throughout our day to make sure that we are focused in, on where we are in the present moment and helping us to be grounded and focused. So I just want to thank you all. I want to thank you for joining in and I want to thank you for joining me for another adventure of the Hearts Hello Show. We're together, we embrace vulnerability, learn from each other and spread love. One heartfelt hello at a time.