How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life
TL:DR - Mindfulness looks different for everybody. It’s simply when our bodies and our mind are in the same place at the same time, which can be incredibly difficult in a world full of distractions. Creating a mindfulness practice is an act of self care that can be life changing.
If you feel you could use support creating a consistent mindfulness practice, Schedule a Free Discovery Session today and learn more about how coaching can help.
What is Mindfulness?
When I start talking about mindfulness, I feel like at least 65% of people start to tune me out. I don't think it's personal, at least I hope. I've attributed it to the intimidating sense that mindfulness means sitting for at least a half hour in a state of thoughtless nirvana that leads people to complete peace and tranquility.
The truth is that mindfulness is an intimidating word for an incredibly simple idea - mindfulness is simply, being present. Jon Kabat-Zinn refers to it as "the art of conscious living".
"It takes a certain degree of concentration to even notice how distracted you are". - Sam Harris
It's a simple idea, but rather difficult to do in practice. If you stop and notice (an act of mindfulness), we are regularly in a state of looking back at the past or looking forward to the future. Whether we are looking back and wondering what we could have said differently in a conversation with a boss or stressing about the upcoming conversation or presentation we have later in the day. Our minds are regularly pulled to be in the past or the future. Mindfulness is when our bodies and our mind are in the same place at the same time.
Mindfulness is taking a moment to break that automatic thinking. It means that, if even for one moment, we open up ourselves to the present moment. And there’s no right or wrong way to do it because mindfulness practices look different for everybody.
It may be that you decide to take a moment in the morning when you sit down to drink your coffee or tea. You might decide to leave all electronics in the other room so that you can be present to the experience each morning. It may be that you set aside 10 minutes a day when you're playing with your kids to disconnect and give them your full attention-- without thinking about what you're going to fix for dinner or regretting that you were late for pick up today.
Mindfulness may also look like meditation, but it's not the only way. If you can spend 5 minutes in your day sitting still and recognizing your breath-- that's great! It will only strengthen your relationship with your thoughts and mindset. But if that doesn't work for you, there's no shame in finding moments of presence in other ways.
5 Tips for a Daily Mindfulness Routine
Being mindful and pressing pause brings thoughts into awareness. It creates a more stable foundation to make decisions on how to respond. Mindfulness is taking ourselves out of autopilot so we can recognize what we need in each given moment, or truly soak into what we're experiencing.
Sure, mindfulness can get complicated, especially if you're reading books or listening to podcasts hosted by Sam Harris, but it doesn't have to be. Just as self care looks different for everyone, so does mindfulness. The real power of the practice comes with consistency, finding a way to create a routine and staying committed to it.
Below are a few tips to welcome mindfulness into your workday;
Block off time on your calendar for schedule mindfulness
Combine mindfulness with something already established in your daily routine (ex. that first cup of coffee)
Set realistic goals and start small - if the goal is out of reach, you'll lose motivation
Use technology to help, there are a ton of meditation apps out there (personally, I like Insight Timer, Breathe, and Headspace)
Give yourself grace. Adding something new to your routine is never easy, so be kind to yourself.
Why is Mindfulness important?
Mindfulness is one of the key ingredients to preventing burnout. It's incredibly empowering to be conscious enough to recognize when you need to take a pause. One element of burnout that shows up in nearly every coaching conversation is negative thinking or limiting beliefs, which create discontent in our daily lives. Awareness of these thoughts and practicing compassion towards ourself are antidotes to burnout.
Self compassion is the belief that we're enough-- that we're doing a good job. But we all know that even with our supervisors and peers telling us we're doing great, we often override their claims with self doubt and imposter syndrome, wondering, "when will I be found out?".
The good news is, our brain is like a muscle and we can strengthen and rewire our neural systems to build self compassion.
Similar to building any skills though, it takes work and consistency. This is why creating a daily mindfulness practice is critical to our wellbeing. Activities like compassion meditation, breath training, and gratitude exercises help develop a more positive mindset towards ourselves-- and once we believe in ourselves, we're unstoppable.
If you're interested in learning more and curious about how coaching can help you create a mindfulness routine that shifts your mindset to one that works for you, not against you, schedule a free Discovery Session using the button below.
