When is the last time you sat and focused on the task at hand? Without doing something else, or thinking about something else, or not wholly doing the job on autopilot.
I can answer that for many people, and it’s either never, or a very long while. I too was a victim of the hustle and bustle of today’s world. I either did everything on autopilot, or I was multitasking because I just had so much to do and so little time to do it.
I never stopped to take the time to enjoy the things I was doing. I lived like this for a very long time, as do many other people.
It wasn’t until I embraced a concept that, at first, I thought was impossible. This practice turned out to be not only possible but life-changing!
My therapist wanted to try something new on me, and we started practicing mindfulness. It not only helped me better appreciate people and things in my life, but it also turned out to be very beneficial physically and mentally.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the state of being fully aware. Notice it is a state, a being, not a trend or a fad. It is something that needs to be achieved. It’s something to be worked at with effort.
It is not something that you are born with, yet something that you can obtain. It means allowing yourself to be in the present moment without thinking and dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It’s about being completely aware of yourself and your surroundings.
Mindfulness can also and is most commonly used as a meditation method. You have to be in the present moment and become fully aware of everything. From the way, your body feels to what’s going on across the room. You have to notice and acknowledge your thoughts and emotions about what you are experiencing but without judgment and instead acceptance. Your mind may drift from the present moment and, that’s completely normal, gently direct it back and try to stay in the present moment.
How to Practice Mindfulness?
Practicing mindfulness is challenging at first, like with anything worth having, but it is something that gets easier as you work on it.
The primary goal to remember with mindfulness is that you are just living in the present letting thoughts come as they please. Your objective is to not get caught up in these thoughts and to acknowledge them and let them pass. It will help you to eventually be able to “observe” a situation or event from a distance without emotions clouding your viewpoint.
In a sense, you are making emotion regulation which will help to improve your moods. Learning mindfulness and practicing it comes with a host of other benefits as well.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Mentally it can increase compassion, kindness, and acceptance, reduce stress, help you recognize damaging thinking patterns if you have any, improve your memory and concentration, control anger management, and increase self-awareness.
When you are aware, you can prevent things, such as negative thinking for instance. If you catch negative feelings early on and have an open attitude about them, this will teach you how to accept whatever happens for what it is instead of suppressing it and harboring negative feelings and emotions. Harboring that negativity can eventually lead to internal conflict.
Physically, practicing mindfulness works wonders for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It can lower your blood pressure, lower levels of stress hormones in the body, decrease pain, help with insomnia and fatigue, lower your heart rate, decrease your breathing rate, and even alleviate discomforts that may affect in your gastrointestinal system.
Mindfulness is especially great if you are on medications to fix certain medical issues. You may be able to cut back on the drugs or completely come off of them with the supervision of a licensed professional.
With mindfulness being able to contribute to alleviating physical ailments it’s a wonder it hasn’t become more of a known practice. Taking care of your physical well being will increase your chances of longevity and who doesn’t want to live longer.
Overall, mindfulness is a practice that everyone should get into the habit of doing. It not only has excellent mental benefits but remarkable physical benefits as well. Practicing mindfulness may be challenging to get into the habit of doing at first, but stick with it even if it doesn’t seem like it’s working at first. It does get easier!
Mindfulness will help you in becoming a better person by improving your overall well being, increasing your self-awareness thus making you more compassionate towards yourself and others, and it will give you a serenity you never knew existed.