What is Mindfulness
What is Mindfulness?
First of all, let’s discuss what mindfulness actually is.
It might come across a little intimidating – at least it did to me at first.
Kind of like meditation or yoga – it just sounds like an activity that’s exclusive to
those with some kind of special “insider” knowledge.
Well, it’s not!
Being mindful does not require any special skills or knowledge other than this:
Anyone can do it, no matter what– including you.
According to Oxford Dictionaries, mindfulness as,
“a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment,
while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily
sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”
Mindfulness is simply the state of being aware of the present moment.
It is not the absence of all thought, but rather the acknowledgment of all thoughts
without judgment.
That’s it. It’s that simple.
So simple it can actually be quite challenging, especially in the beginning. But it’s
worth it – there are so many amazing, science-backed benefits of mindfulness!
How Being Mindful Improves Your Life
Have you ever walked into a room and forgot what you went in there for?
That type of forgetfulness can be indicative of too much stress.
When you’re overwhelmed, your brain can’t function well. It can’t remember why
you went into the room, it’s too busy thinking of 5,864,001 other things!
Being mindful helps us to be less forgetful. Because we are more present, we are
more aware of our thoughts and our environment, letting experiences fully imprinton our minds.Another benefit of mindfulness is that it helps us to focus on one thing at a time.
When you’re being mindful, you’re not multi-tasking.
You are letting your brain do what it is made to do – focus on one thing at a time.
This in turn allows you to be more focused, efficient, and productive.
Yet another amazing benefit of mindfulness is that it helps us gain emotional
intelligence.
Being mindful teaches us to separate our emotions and understand that our
thoughts are not facts.
This also helps when dealing with anxiety – which inherently involves worrying
about the past or the future.
When we’re mindful, we’re not ruminating about the past or catastrophizing about the future.
We’re focused on the now
Other benefits of mindfulness include:
- Improved focus and concentration
- Relationship satisfaction (due to improved communication and ability to
manage stress of conflict) - Enhanced self-insight and intuition
- Increased immune system functioning
- Decreased symptoms of depression
- Less fatigue
- Improved self-esteem & body image
- Increased resilience
- Less anger, more patience
- Enhanced appreciation of simple things, leading to a fuller, richer life
- Increased compassion & empathy- less judgmental towards ourselves and
others