By Leo Babauta

When we go through our day doing so many things, our minds are rarely fully on any of them. We’re thinking about all the other things we have to do, or what that one person said, or worrying about something coming up, or just distracted by technology.

What if you could put all of your attention on one thing at a time? What would that shift in how you experience each thing, and your day in general?

In one of his classic articles, the late Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

“If you are cutting carrots, you should invest one hundred percent of yourself into the business of carrot-cutting. Nothing else.”

Wow. How many of us do that?

He added:

“Live deeply that moment of carrot-cutting. It is as important as the practice of sitting meditation. … When you cut the carrot with all of your being, that is mindfulness.”

I’ve been coming back to this mindfulness practice, and finding it incredible (and challenging!).

If you try it, I want to remind you that the purpose isn’t to “do it right” or to be a better person. It’s to practice being fully present, and fully alive.

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

“The principle of the practice is simple: to bring our minds back to our bodies, to produce our true presence, and to become fully alive.”