Mindfulness is often defined as 'paying attention on purpose with an attitude of non- judgement and acceptance.' An important element is that we don't force our mind to pay attention. It's more about a gentle attention and just noticing when the mind wanders with non-judgement and acceptance, and bringing the attention back to the task at hand over and over again.

You may have noticed how modern life seems to perpetuate distraction. Think smart phones and busy schedules that illicit multi-tasking. When we're distracted and not paying attention to the present moment, we typically operate on auto pilot, or what's also known as the default network mode.

The problem with operating on the default network mode is that's where we tend to judge, self-criticise, tell ourselves stories that are not helpful and go into endless mental chatter. Research shows when we're operating on auto pilot there is also an emotional cost, in that we typically feel less happy.

Along with operating on autopilot, what's also becoming more common is an attention deficit trait. Attention deficit trait manifests when we're constantly bombarded with sensorial stimulation and demands resulting in our attention never fully being on one thing in the present moment. Instead, we tend to switch quickly between one task and another, resulting in reduced cognitive performance, and impaired work & study performance.

When you train your mind to be more mindful, you're rebuilding and strengthening your attention muscle, which improves cognitive performance and has an emotional benefit of feeling happier.