Mindfulness is the mental state of being fully connected to the present moment, and carries with it huge advantages for daily focus and happiness. This guide explores how you can start practising and why it’s worth the effort.
The mind is the lens which affects how we experience every second of our lives.
A healthy mind allows you to appreciate your family and friends, achieve your ambitions at work, and start each day with positivity and purpose.
And yet, how often do you treat it with the care which reflects this importance?
Rushing through today’s world of endless tasks, pressure and digital gratification, it’s easy to see why you may not.
How can you relax when you have that big presentation at work? And when you aren’t working, don’t you deserve to just relax in front of the TV?
We accept that we can’t change what happens to us in life, and we just have to endure the fallout.
But this is only half true. And we already have what we need to change this script completely.
This article explores how mindfulness can help us take a step back, and explores the advantages that this perspective brings to daily life.
What is “Mindfulness”?
“Mindfulness in its most general sense is about waking up from a life on automatic, and being sensitive to novelty in our everyday experiences. . . . mindfulness helps us awaken, and by reflecting on the mind we are enabled to make choices and thus change becomes possible”
In short, Mindfulness is the state of being fully connected to the present moment.
Sounds confusing, right?
If so, think about these questions:
- Do you spend time regretting moments in the past, or worrying about the future?
- Do you often get carried away by your emotions?
- Has your mindspace ever felt out of control and overwhelmed?
Chances are you’ve felt this way at some point. We all have.
However, mindfulness provides a way to disconnect from our “autopilot” and always-on state in a healthy way, without running or hiding from your emotions.
By cultivating our ability to take a step back from these auto-responses while remaining aware of them, we can prevent ourselves from reacting in a way that doesn’t really benefit us.
It’s not about becoming a non-judgemental robot, devoid of emotion. It’s about learning to respond wisely to any given situation, rather than reacting blindly.
We can compare our mind to a hamster wheel.
The uncontrollable events of life and our spontaneous thoughts continue to push the wheel, refusing to allow it to stop.
Mindfulness is the ability to get OFF the hamster wheel, and just watch our mind spin without judgement.
Once we get off, we find the opportunity to take a breath and regain focus. More importantly, we discover that doing so robs the wheel of its driving force.
This can change your life – you learn how to deal with everything life can throw at you, especially those challenges that have caused you pain and affected your happiness.
The advantages of mindfulness take many forms – from consciously tuning our mind into our physical senses like taste and touch to magnify them, to re-evaluating the positive parts of our lives we can be grateful for.
The list below examines the benefits of this mental state, and even raises the question:
Is mindfulness a superpower?
(If you want to get started straight away, you can skip ahead here for tips on how to become more mindful.)
The Benefits of Mindfulness
Live in the now
1. Leaving the past where it belongs
Certain past failures or events can stubbornly refuse to let go.
They continue to spark negative emotions long after the dust has settled, and even transport you back into how you felt at the time. Recognising this is happening and separating yourself from this cycle is not easy and takes time, but completely possible through mindfulness.
2. You can’t control the future
We can spend our entire lives worrying about the future. “If I just buy that new product, or get that new job, I’ll be happy right?”
Spoiler alert: there’ll always be something else you don’t have.
In fact, it’s scientifically proven that humans are designed this way, to always want something bigger and better. Buddhism calls this insatiable craving “Tanha”.
Once you discover “the grass is always greener”, you’ll realise there is only one point in time which matters.
Otherwise you’ll spend your life looking forward to being happy, instead of actually doing it.
3. It’s called the “present” for a reason...
It’s ironic how little time we spend actually enjoying the present moment.
When you engage your senses to focus on what is happening right now, everything feels better. Food leads to an explosion of taste. Nature becomes the most beautiful thing you’ve seen.
And you’re damn right I’m going to put a cheesy quote here. Because I can.
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”
Understand your mind and find calm
4. Quiet your mental chatter
Our mind can feel like it’s pedal-to-the-metal all the time, relentlessly whizzing from one thought to another.
Naturally, this can make it near-impossible to think, focus, relax, or sleep… Pretty much everything we need to function. The sleep alone is a real bummer.
Practising mindfulness allows you to recognise what is happening in these difficult moments and take a step back, gaining clarity and focus.
Once you have this new perspective, you can then employ your own method to calm this chatter, for example through meditation.
You’ve found a way to get off the hamster wheel, just by witnessing your own experience.
5. Be your best self
“Hindsight can be a wonderful thing”. Know why?
Because our human nature to react emotionally can blind us to being rational.
It’s only after the dust settles on your argument or mistake that you realise you could have acted in a better way. At which point you may wish for a time machine.
Mindfulness is that time machine – but for future events, if you know what I mean…
It allows you to take a step back, realise what the best way to act is, and then act with that wisdom.
Permanently have more control over your aggression, show more kindness to others, reduce your bias and make you more committed to healthy habits.
Mindfulness helps guide us on the journey of becoming who we ultimately want to be – and the people around you will then.
6. Discover self-acceptance and honesty
If you are anything like me, you can be your own worst critic. That judge-y voice can become a part of everyday life, berating ourselves into the ground about every little thing.
Mindfulness shows you why self-judgement is counter-productive, and not even a thought we summoned ourselves.
After-all, how can you focus on improvement if your mind keeps distracting you with self-criticism?
Finding happiness in daily life
7. The power of gratitude and appreciation
The recent pandemic has placed things sharply into context – there has never been a clearer opportunity this generation to be thankful just for being alive.
When life becomes so fragile and there is so much suffering in the world, spending some time mindfully thinking about what you have to be grateful for can have a hugely positive impact.
Family, friends, your health, a home…
Is there anything that can make you happier than being truly thankful for what you have?
Once you become mindful of how lucky you are, each day can take new meaning
8. Stop taking the negatives to heart
If there is one guarantee in life, it’s that things will always go wrong at some point. At these times it can become frighteningly easy to be trapped in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts.
Awareness of your emotions and thoughts, and their auto-reactivity, does not make you immune to pain and hardships – you aren’t becoming a robot after all.
However, mindfulness allows you the ability to notice where the balance has tipped in the wrong direction, and set your mind to correcting the change.
Through this action, you prevent yourself from spiralling to a place that is even more difficult to come back from.
9. Facing your internal struggles
Mental disorders affect one in four people. Let that sink in for a second…
The mind has the potential to bring us an extreme amount of pain and unhappiness, through no fault of our own.
The internal nature of these challenges means that change has to come from the individual, whilst simultaneously making it extremely difficult to actually take the first step.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the process of questioning your automatic thoughts, which in turn changes the way you think. By doing so, you can make consistent small steps to dealing with the established thought processes that are causing conflict.
Sound familiar? Mindfulness works in a very similar way.
Whilst it is far from an easy journey, practising mindfulness allows you to start on the road to recovery. Your mind is a lot less intimidating when you can understand it and take a step back.
This article also explores more ways you can look after your mental health.
What is Meditation, and How Is It Different to Mindfulness?
Meditation is a mental exercise used to train your mind in specific types of mental processes, (such as mindfulness).
Through the act of concentrating your attention on a specific aspect like the breath or parts of your body, you can achieve a state of mind with much greater concentration, calm and clarity.
Meditation is particularly effective because it encourages you to disconnect from distractions and other senses (like closing the eyes).
By continuously practising this skill, the practitioner is also better able to consciously adopt this state of mind, with all its benefits, during everyday life.
Still slightly unclear? Another way to explain it is this:
Meditation for the mind is similar to a gym for someone who wants to work out.
The gym, with all of its expensive equipment, scientific supplements and personal trainers allows the most effective environment to exercise the body. These qualities also make it the best place to get started.
Meditation can be used to practise multiple mental states. Most common are:
- Mindfulness
- Progressive Relaxation
- Loving-Kindness
Hence the term “Mindfulness Meditation” – meditation, training for mindfulness.
How to Get Started with Mindfulness Meditation
Of course just like any new skill, it can take time to find your groove and get comfortable.
If you already struggle with sitting still or setting time aside, the first few times you meditate probably won’t be easy. You might be tempted to drop the whole practice completely.
However, you have to remember that the benefits only come from the consistent application.
In addition, here are some things you can do to strongly increase your chances of success:
- Download a meditation app or choose a youtube guide: Having a framework will take the guesswork and anxiety out of the process. Just sit back, and follow the instructions
- Pick your time and place, and try to stay consistent: Meditation is like any habit – you MUST keep doing it to see the benefits. You don’t need to commit daily either. Just setting aside 5-10 minutes a few days a week is a great way to start.
- Your mindset plays a key part: Thoughts like self-criticism and frustration are exactly the kind of thoughts you are trying to separate yourself from. So remind yourself not to let your mind get carried away in counter-productive cycles.
- Appreciate your progress: A key element of mindfulness is celebrating your victories, and distancing yourself from the negatives. During your meditation practise, recognise when you catch your mind wandering, or successfully complete a session. Progress is the sum of lots of parts.
Discover 14 tips to getting started with mindfulness meditation here.
Looking for mindfulness gift ideas to treat your loved ones? You will find them here.
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