Step 2 · Noticing
Mindfulness
What do you notice, in yourself and around you?
Time for yourself can do you good. But distance can also creep in without you having chosen it. This page helps you notice the difference in yourself: with six statements, three questions and a snapshot that judges nothing.
- About five minutes
- Six statements, three questions
- Just for you, to begin with
What it is about
Time for yourself, or distance you did not choose?
Time for yourself can be chosen and restful, especially when a lot is going on. But sometimes we only notice later that we have withdrawn further than we wanted to, and that we miss contact. From the outside the two look the same, and from the inside you cannot always tell them apart straight away. What matters is not how much time you spend alone, but how you feel about it. No single sign decides that; only you can answer it. Two ways of looking can help.
Looking inward
What body and mind show
- You sleep badly or wake up tired.
- Your jaw, neck or shoulders are tight, your breathing becomes shallow.
- Little things irritate you more quickly than usual.
- You keep to yourself more than you used to: longer at the office, in the basement, on your phone.
- When someone asks how you are, “I'm fine” comes out automatically.
Looking outward
How the people around you react
- Your partner asks more often. Or has stopped asking.
- Conversations at home are only about logistics: who picks up whom, who does the shopping.
- The children go quiet when you enter the room. Or louder.
- Friends get in touch less often because you have cancelled several times.
- Colleagues ask whether everything is all right.
Tool · Mindfulness check-in
What you notice right now
Six short statements on body, mood and surroundings, then three questions on how you are experiencing time for yourself and free moments right now. Answer the way it has been over the last few days, not the way it should be; you can change every answer later. At the end there is a snapshot: no score, no level, only what you selected, and questions to reflect on.
Your answers stay while this page is open. If you like, your browser can remember them on this device.
1 of 4
Body
How much has this applied to you over the last few days?
I sleep badly or wake up tired.
My jaw, neck or shoulders are tense, or I notice that I'm breathing shallowly.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| I sleep badly or wake up tired. | – |
| My jaw, neck or shoulders are tense, or I notice that I'm breathing shallowly. | – |
| Little things irritate me more quickly than usual. | – |
| I withdraw from conversations or shared activities more often. | – |
| At the moment I have less contact with people who matter to me. | – |
| Whatever is on my mind right now, I tend to keep to myself. | – |
| Is time for yourself doing you good right now, or are you missing contact you actually wish for? | – |
| If you have less contact with others right now: did you mostly choose this distance yourself, or did it mostly just happen? | – |
| When a moment without tasks or appointments opens up for you: what usually happens then? | – |
Snapshot
Your snapshot
It appears as soon as you have answered all four sections. Progress: 0 of 9 answered.
If you like
Pause for a minute
Entirely optional, and independent of what you selected above. 4-7-11: breathe in for four seconds, breathe out for seven seconds, three or four rounds. Sitting or standing, nobody notices. The long out-breath interrupts the moment before everyday life carries on.
More exercises in the app: Box Breathing, Anuloma Viloma, Kapalabhati. To practise regularly, with body, breath and attention: Yoga courses, Vinayaki-Yoga style, Pranayama in the wiki.
For everyone, whatever your snapshot
Getting help is not a step backwards
If strain lasts for weeks or becomes heavy, it makes sense to bring someone in: your family doctor, a counselling centre, a person you trust. That applies whatever you selected above, and it says nothing about strength or weakness.
Coaching can accompany you along this path. It does not replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment.
Help right now
When things are too much right now
Whichever side you are on: sometimes no text and no appointment is enough. Then the right thing is to talk to someone straight away. The Telefonseelsorge, Germany's telephone counselling service, is there around the clock, free of charge and anonymous. For questions about children, family counselling centres can help.
- Telefonseelsorge
- 0800 111 0 1110800 111 0 222
- Emergency
- 112
- Children & young people
- 116 111 (Nummer gegen Kummer)
What comes next
Two paths, both open
You can also continue the journey without a snapshot.
Onward on the journey on your own: Emotions and feelings
What do you really feel, and may you show it?
This step was about noticing. The third stage goes from the body to what lies behind it: pressure, tightness, irritability, before a feeling has a name. At your own pace, with no preconditions.
The topic page is in the works. The link takes you to the stage on the map.
Talking about the topic in coaching
What do you see when someone looks with you?
If you would rather not look at your snapshot alone: bring it along to the free introductory meeting, as a PDF or in your head. It is not a must for the journey; you can just as well continue it on your own.
Process and costs: Coaching offer →