Mindful checking in 4 steps

Mindful checking involves knowing how you feel and why, and then knowing how you would like to feel, and identifying an action that gets you there. Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

Through the day, we can check our balance of mind in 4 steps.

We can stop, and ask ourselves, ‘How am I feeling?’ Then we can observe ourselves, and find an answer.

After that, we can ask ourselves ‘Why am I feeling this way?’ This puts us in touch with causes, and teaches us to explain our moods.

Then we can ask ‘How would I like to feel?’ We can set a target emotion.

Finally, we can ask ‘What can I best do to feel that way?’ We can think of an activity that brings us closer to our target emotion. We can then do that activity.

This 4-step process takes a few seconds. Once learned, it can become second nature. It brings us mindful self-correction, the ability to balance our emotions, and to stay mentally healthy.