Have you ever realized that the feeling of emptiness inside us – it’s what drives us to find fulfillment in the short term? An empty stomach will lead to eating junk food mindlessly and a blank mind will turn to social media to distract it from that empty feeling.
But we must be careful what we fill our minds and bodies with. After all our life is the sum of both these occurrences.
This consciousness, carefulness, and self-awareness of how we will our minds and bodies is MINDFULNESS. Being self-aware of every thought, word, and action, being conscious of our decisions, and taking control is mindfulness.
Mindfulness comes from a place of abundance, fullness, focus, inner peace, and happiness.
So how do we go from distraction, emptiness, and scarcity to focus, fullness, and abundance?
Here are 7 ways to become mindful. Remember that being mindful is a state of mind and continuous progress. These ways can be taken as steps to repeatedly return to a mindful state.
7 Ways to Become Mindful
1. Focus on the Present
Since our imagination is so powerful we tend to live in an imaginary world. In this world with its million opportunities and probabilities come all the anxiety and stress.
Focusing on the present helps us to focus back on reality and get rid of the distractions in the mind. A great way to focus on the present moment is to take deep breaths and become aware of your body, the space around you, the noises you can hear, the feelings inside your body, and where you can feel them.
For example, is the anxiety more in your arms and legs or in your tummy, where do you feel the stress most – head, neck, or back? Try massaging that area, take a warm bath, or go for a walk in nature.
To know more about this, read the blog: Power of the Present
2. Practice Acceptance
When we choose acceptance, we choose peace.
by Prachi Bansal
Here acceptance doesn’t mean taking any bullshit, it means understanding the reality, acknowledging it, and accepting it. Once you have stopped seeing the person, situation, or world with rose-colored glasses – you know what it really is. You begin to take steps to deal with it.
When you accept a situation, you can mindfully CHOOSE a response. That choice gives you peace. Your ability to deal with it, problem solve, etc becomes manifold because your mind is calm and focused, and ready for anything.
3. Deep thinking
In his bestseller book – Deep Work, Cal Newport writes about the power of deep thinking. It is the deep focused thinking we do while planning, creating, and writing – where the mind is fully in the present and awake. Here he speaks of replying to emails, calls, and messages as mundane and shallow work.
When our mind is fully engaged and in the present – we do our most productive, thoughtful, and mindful work. It is also when we do this work – we feel deeply satisfied with our lives and find more self-respect for us.
This thinking makes the impossible – possible!
4. Diet and Exercise
Being mindful is a choice just like being conscious of what we put in our bodies. We all know the foods that are good and bad for our bodies, now it depends on us – how conscious do we want to be?
Do you eat something to nourish your body or numb the pain, anxiety, and stress?
Ask this question every time you eat, and ask yourself if the taste is worth all the diseases it will bring to your body.
With a healthy diet comes the need to keep your body moving. A regular exercise schedule keeps the endorphins running, and helps to focus and be determined. It creates opportunities to show ourselves – self-care and self-respect.
5. Sleep
A good restful sleep is vital to the mind, body, and soul. It gives us the rest to be more focused, thoughtful, engaged, and productive in our daily lives.
It is cited by experts as the most important activity for humans. Good sleeping habits go a long way in keeping us healthy and mindful. Since the body is rested, it is easier for it to focus and work.
6. Gratitude
We cannot be angry and feel grateful at the same time. Gratitude comes from the feeling of abundance. It makes our minds peaceful and accepting. Creating the right environment for a calm and focused mind.
Since mindfulness is feeling full, gratitude is the vessel that can make this possible.
7. Self Awareness
Lately, I have been on the thought process that self-awareness is the path of our own self-evolution, self-realization, and ultimate happiness. To be self-aware of your thoughts and actions is to be mindful and vice versa.
Personally, I love to write my thoughts down so I can analyze them and understand my perspective on different situations. This is thinking about thinking. The one gift we humans have. The ability to plan, execute, analyze, and express our thoughts. This helps in asking the right questions and determining the correct path.
This is different from overthinking because we are not running in circles but going forward in a thoughtful way.
To know more about this, read the blog: Self Awareness: A Path to Happiness
To conclude, being mindful is a choice.
It is how we choose to think, talk, eat, sleep, act, read, write, hope, love, create, and be.
As humans we have been given the power of choice, let’s choose wisely, peacefully, and mindfully.