Overcoming Attention Biases 63
Outsmarting Anxiety Skill #1:
Pay attention to your anxiety.Suggested Practices
Before going into the first exercises, we would like to give
you some general guidelines for mindfulness practice.
Set aside five to twenty minutes each day for a full week
for the purpose of applying these simple mindfulness exer-
cises to your daily life. Choose a time that works well with
your schedule and when you are not likely to be interrupted.
If you can, choose a time that will work well for you every
day of the week, such as soon after you wake up or after you
come home from work.
Try to be consistent with your practice. Life will invari-
ably present you with many obstacles, big and small, but try
not to let these get in the way of your practice. Remember,
the benefit of practicing mindfulness is to learn to attend to
your life experiences in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive
way. We encourage you to practice mindfulness no matter
what’s going on in your life. Do you have a cold? Practice
mindfulness. Are you stressed at work? Practice mindful-
ness. Did you just win the lottery? Practice mindfulness.
Regardless of any excuse you have— good or bad— practice
mindfulness!
Develop strategies for reminding yourself to practice
each day, such as writing the time on your calendar. Practice
only for the amount of time you choose (you can use a
kitchen or smartphone timer to help you practice for the
same amount of time each day), and practice in a quiet and
comfortable setting.