With Christmas around the corner, meditation and wellness professional Dermot Whelan jokes that nobody wants "anything to do with him" at this time of year.
"If they see me, they're afraid I'll be judging the mindless partying, but I'm not! People want to let their hair down at this time of year and say they'll circle back to their mental health strategies on 1 January," he laughs.
The Mind Full podcaster has teamed up with coffee brand Brevato to spread the word that mindful moments don't have to wait until the new year. In fact, you can fit them in over a cup of coffee.
"I'm fed up with the image of the beautiful person sitting on the yoga mat in €300 yoga pants," he says, noting that the people who really need a moment to themselves are too busy to have climbed their way to some scenic mountaintop.
"We used to have a neighbour who had twins, and she used to walk by our window, out on the street, and her hair was everywhere, she had just managed to get herself dressed, the twins would be screaming in the buggy as she passed - that's the person who needs it!"
To Dermot, mindfulness should be something that makes life easier, not harder. Fitting a moment into your day shouldn't be an additional stress, but something that fits into your existing routine.
"You may only be able to steal the length of a cup of coffee - or, indeed, half a cup of coffee - before you have to jump back into problem solving and ticking things off lists," he acknowledges.
Rather than using your coffee break to scroll through social media, the podcaster recommends turning your focus to your immediate, real-life surroundings.
"I'm a big fan of giving yourself a focus that isn't your phone," he says, explaining that it can be anything from people walking down the street to the dog pottering around the kitchen.
"Just look at your surroundings, you'd be astounded by how little we even do that," he insists. "Pick a jaunty angle! I realised one day, walking to work, that if I tilted my head ever so slightly and looked at the buildings above eye-level, this whole other world opened up for me."
Essentially, Dermot wants us all to put the phone down, stop problem-solving, and give our brains a break for even just a few minutes every day.
Additionally, he hopes that people avoid making shame-filled resolutions to transform their lives on 1 January. Rather than aiming to be the most productive version of yourself all of a sudden - a plan destined to fail - he suggests building small and sustainable habits right now.
"Big things can happen in the smallest of spaces," he promises. "Don't leave it to the new year, start now. Find small spaces, whether that is a walk by yourself for 20 minutes before everyone else gets up or enjoying your cup of coffee without distraction."
"Start to notice those little spaces now so that by the time the new year rolls around, you'll already have started to appreciate things that are a little bit more important."
Brevato coffee has landed in over 30 locations across Ireland, from Dublin to Galway, Donegal to Kerry, in selected EUROSPAR, SPAR, Londis and MACE stores.
