How Mindful are You?

A 12 Question Reflection for the Modern Human

What is Mindfulness, really?

Forget the "monk on a mountain" stereotype. Mindfulness isn’t about clearing your mind of thoughts or reaching a state of perfect bliss. Mindfulness is simply paying attention to the life you are actually living. It is the shift from "Automatic Pilot"—where you arrive at work and don't remember the drive—to "Active Presence," where you actually taste your coffee, feel the sun on your skin, and notice when your mind is drifting into a stress-spiral before it takes you under.

Why take this Self Reflection?

We spend nearly half our lives thinking about something other than what we are doing. This audit isn't a test; it's a mirror. It helps you see where your attention is leaking so you can start plugging the holes and actually show up for your own life.

Instructions:

As you move through these 12 questions, don't look for the "right" answer. Look for the honest one. There is no judgment here—only data. For each question choose the response that best describes your "default setting" on an average Tuesday. At the end add up your score to see how you are tracking.

Self-Assessment Questions

1. The Morning Transition When you first wake up, what happens?

(A) I’m on my phone before my eyes are fully open. (1 pt)
(B) I’m mentally running through my "To-Do" list for the day. (2 pts)
(C) I take at least three conscious breaths before touching the world. (3 pts)

2. The Sensory Check You are eating a meal you actually enjoy. What is your mind doing?

(A) Watching a screen or reading. I barely taste the food. (1 pt)
(B) Thinking about what I need to do after I finish eating. (2 pts)
(C) Noticing the textures, flavours, and the feeling of nourishment. (3 pts)

3. The Red Light Test You are stuck in traffic or a long line. How do you react?

(A) Immediate irritation. I reach for my phone to "kill" the time. (1 pt)
(B) I tense up physically and keep checking the clock. (2 pts)
(C) I use it as a cue to check in with my body and soften my shoulders. (3 pts)

4. The Listening Quality When someone is talking to you, where is your attention?

(A) I’m waiting for them to finish so I can say my part. (1 pt)
(B) I’m half-listening while thinking about something else. (2 pts)
(C) I am hearing their words and noticing their energy/expression. (3 pts)

5. The Body Connection Right now, in this exact moment, do you know where your tension is?

(A) No idea. I only notice my body when it hurts. (1 pt)
(B) I’m aware I’m a bit stiff, but I’m ignoring it to finish this. (2 pts)
(C) Yes, I can feel exactly where I am holding or releasing. (3 pts)

6. The "Mental Weather" When a difficult emotion arises (anger, anxiety, sadness), what do you do?

(A) I try to distract myself or "push it down" immediately. (1 pt)
(B) I get swept away by it and let it dictate my whole afternoon. (2 pts)
(C) I label it ("This is anxiety") and watch it move through me. (3 pts)

7. The Walking Mode When walking from your car to your front door, what are you doing?

(A) Walking as fast as possible to get to the "next thing." (1 pt)
(B) Checking my phone or rummaging through my bag. (2 pts)
(C) Feeling the ground under my feet and the air on my skin. (3 pts)

8. The Self-Talk When you make a small mistake, what is the "voice" in your head like?

(A) Harsh, critical, and repetitive. (1 pt)
(B) Annoyed, but I try to ignore the feeling. (2 pts)
(C) Observant. I notice the mistake and move on without the drama. (3 pts)

9. The Digital Boundary How often do you feel "pulled" to check your notifications for no reason?

(A) Every few minutes. It’s a physical itch. (1 pt)
(B) A few times an hour, usually when I'm bored. (2 pts)
(C) I choose when to check; the phone doesn’t choose for me. (3 pts)

10. The Space Between When a task is finished, what do you do before starting the next one?

(A) Jump immediately into the next thing. No gaps. (1 pt)
(B) Take a quick "fake" break (check social media). (2 pts)
(C) Take one clear, deep breath and reset. (3 pts)

11. The Feeling Tone (The Gut Reaction) Someone sends you a text that just says "Call me when you can." Before you even process it, what is the instant "flavour" in your body?

(A) Unpleasant: My stomach drops. I assume it’s bad news. (1 pt)
(B) Neutral: I barely notice a feeling; I just plan when to call. (2 pts)
(C) Awareness: I feel the "zing" of energy and notice my mind trying to label it before I even know the facts. (3 pts)

12. The Perception (The Labeler) You hear a loud, sudden bang outside. What happens next?

(A) I’m already halfway through a story about what it was (a crash, a gun, a fall). (1 pt)
(B) I jump, then ignore it once I realize I’m safe. (2 pts)
(C) I hear the "sound" first as just a vibration, then watch my brain search for a label to put on it. (3 pts)

The Big Reveal

12 – 19 Points

The Automatic Pilot The Vibe: You are essentially a passenger in your own body. You wake up, the "program" starts, and you react to life like a pinball hitting bumpers. You’re "doing" a lot, but you aren't actually there for any of it. Your stress isn't coming from the world; it’s coming from the fact that your habits are driving the car while you’re asleep in the back seat. It feels like life is happening to you.

The Truth: You are currently a slave to your own knee-jerk reactions. But here’s the reality: the "autopilot" is just a habit, not a permanent state. You have the power to reach out and grab the wheel, but it starts with realizing you’ve been drifting. The control starts the second you decide to notice the next breath.

20 – 29 Points

The Awakening Vessel The Vibe: You’ve got one foot in the dream and one foot in reality. You’re starting to catch the "glitches in the matrix"—noticing the exact second your stomach drops when a notification pops up, or realizing you’ve been holding your breath for the last ten minutes. You have moments of total clarity followed by hours of "zoning out." It’s frustrating because now that you’ve seen the "stillness," the "chaos" feels much louder.

The Truth: You are in the most important phase. You’ve realized you have a choice. You are no longer a victim of your moods; you are the one observing the moods. You have the control to stop the "story" before it becomes a drama. The only thing left to do is stop treating presence like a hobby and start treating it like your home.

30 – 36 Points

The Golden Thread The Vibe: You’ve stopped fighting the waves and started becoming the ocean. When someone cuts you off in traffic or a plan falls apart, you see the "unpleasant" flash, you notice your brain trying to invent a label for it, and you simply... let it pass. You move with a quiet, "vibrant" authority. You aren't "peaceful" because life is easy; you are peaceful because you’ve stopped letting your mind's labels define your reality.

The Truth: You have claimed your seat at the center of your life. You understand that "Perception" is just a filter and "Feeling" is just energy. You are living proof that we don’t have to be owned by our history or our impulses. You have the ultimate control: the ability to remain unshaken in a world that is constantly shaking.

*** Why did 'Neutral' score lower? > Because 'Neutral' is often just the mind on standby. True mindfulness isn't just about feeling 'fine'; it's about the vibrant awareness of the moment, whether it's pleasant, unpleasant, or somewhere in between. We want to move from 'Zoning Out' to 'Zoning In.'

Where to from here?

The score you just received is a snapshot, not a life sentence. The journey isn't about reaching a finish line; it’s about learning to stay awake for the ride.

If you’ve realised you’re tired of living on Automatic Pilot, we have three ways for you to dive deeper into the stillness:

1. The Tools

Bring the practice into your physical space. Whether it’s our guided card decks or somatic tools, we create "physical anchors" to remind you that presence is a choice you can make anywhere—from your meditation cushion to the grocery store line.

2. The Collective

Don’t walk the path alone. Our community is a space for those who are "Mad About You"—the real you. We share insights, navigate the "unpleasant" tones of life together, and hold space for the shifts that happen when we finally stop running.

3. The Deep Dive

When you’re ready to move past the basics and investigate the "Golden Thread" of your own existence, check out our latest workshops and guided sessions. This is where we stop talking about mindfulness, where we start embodying and taking back control of our lives.

4. The Be Mad About You Collective

Join our FREE Mindful Refections Group and let us know - how mindful you are right now. And watch out for our upcoming 21 Day Mindfulness Challenge which is guaranteed to get you thinking about how best you want to spend each moment.

"The only moment you can actually live is this one. Don't miss it."