Mindful living can have a profound impact on your overall well-being. It reduces stress levels and boosts your productivity and creativity. So, if you want to make a real difference in your life and career, it’s time to get serious about mindfulness.
“In today’s rush, we all think too much—seek too much—want too much—and forget about the joy of just being.”
— Eckhart Tolle
Furthermore, it’ll help you realize what thoughts are reoccurring and altering your mindset so you can stop them. Mindfulness ensures they don’t bother you anymore.
Living a more mindful life has a multitude of benefits. People have studied it for thousands of years and it’s proven itself worthy of our time—even today.
It isn’t risky and there’s plenty of proof that it’s beneficial to health, happiness, work, and relationships. So, what have you been waiting for?
What does being mindful mean?
Mindfulness is the ability to stay present in the moment and remain free of negative thoughts, no matter what’s happening at the time. As a result, you’ll be more aware and compassionate to others and yourself.
Mindfulness is defined by two aspects: awareness and acceptance. Awareness is the ability to focus on the present moment. Acceptance is observing and accepting your thoughts without judging or avoiding them.
Mind-boggling benefits of being more mindful
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
— Buddha
The science behind how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors affect you is vast, but the takeaway is that everything we think or do impacts our lives.
This simple practice can reduce anxiety, sleep issues, and depression. It can even improve your relationships and open the door for new job opportunities. When you’re more aware, you can connect with people on a deeper level.
Some common advantages of mindful people are the following:
- Reduced stress
- Improved mental health
- Weight loss and boosted metabolism
- Improved physical health
- It teaches you how to let go
- Enhanced productivity
Not to mention, it’s free and it takes almost no effort. Anyone can do this and that includes you!
So, let’s get to it.
5 Ways you can become more mindful every day
Mindfulness is an essential part of learning to be more in touch with your emotions and feelings. For example, you could meditate, practice yoga, or simply focus on your breathing. , There are many ways to practice being mindful.
1. Start with short, simple exercises
“We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.”
—Jack Kornfield
Mindfulness meditation is a great way to start. All you do is focus on taking a deep breath through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth. Try it for 10 breaths and increase it from there.
Don’t start by vowing to meditate for an hour every morning, because you’re probably setting yourself up to fail. If you can do that, then maybe you should be writing this blog instead of me! So, aim to pay attention to your breathing and allow thoughts to pass by without judging them.
Otherwise, you can try out some simple exercises like counting to 10 or repeating something in a calm voice.
2. Find (or create) a special place to be present every day
It’s important to find a place where you can practice mindfulness. Choose somewhere quiet where you can sit and focus without distractions. It should be a convenient place so the chances of you going there every day are higher. For instance, you could choose your car on the way to or from work. Or you could take your lunch to a park nearby and do some mindful walking.
3. Process unpleasant emotions
It’s natural to avoid negative emotions but that’s how they’re able to fester and grow into much worse problems. So, don’t fall into the trap of dwelling on a situation, resenting that it happened and fueling your anger towards whoever was there. Instead, detach your emotions from it, so you can be calm enough to process your emotions with compassion.
Acknowledge the negative experience but don’t play the victim. Change your perspective and think about how you could have handled it better. Ask yourself, what might have happened to the other person to make them behave that way? Chances are, it wasn’t good. So, forgive them and yourself for what happened. Then, release it.
4. Keep a mindful journal
Journaling helps you to take the time to think about things and sort issues out. You can use it to document your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It’s so valuable to write about your journey and discover new things about yourself.
5. Set a time every day to practice being mindful
Everything takes practice and mindfulness is no different. But you pretty much just need to remember to do it and that’s why it’s best to dedicate time for it. When you do it every day, you notice your outlook is brighter and the things that used to bother you now have no effect anymore. Over time you’ll feel healthier and happier than you ever thought was possible.
Good luck and don’t forget to subscribe to Motivated Progress for valuable articles like this delivered to you each week!
How will you become more mindful? Share in the comments!
