Mindfulness is an important quality for everyone but can be easily forgotten if you don’t stop and remind yourself of its importance. Your mind can get caught up in other feelings, like anger, anxiety and fear. When this occurs, you’re more likely to forget the positive in your life because it’s natural to dwell on the negative. This state of living hinders your ability to live in the present.
You don’t have to completely avoid the past or the future — after all, it’s important to learn from your mistakes and plan ahead to some extent, but if you become too preoccupied with the past or face too much anticipation for the future, it will affect your present life in the wrong ways.
This behavior is often referred to as forgetfulness. Let go of this behavior and focus on mindfulness — when your mind and body come together in fullness and live in the moment. Happiness is natural if you think mindfully. You’ll experience effortless ease and contentedness in your everyday life. When you’re mindful, you’ll hear the birds sing, feel the wind blow and concentrate more on the positive energy that surrounds you.
Fight to maintain this awareness so you can achieve insight through the power of concentration on your present life. Read on for four questions to ask yourself to see if you’re being mindful.
Are You Living in the Moment?
To live in the moment is to truly get the most out of life. Everyone is guilty of overthinking and becoming stuck on the unimportant things. Therefore it’s easy to miss out on the important things happening all around you. If you conscientiously make the decision to live more in the moment, you will. This will make you more aware when your mind begins to wander — because it will. Learn to wrangle it back in with your body — the connection between the two is what makes you fully alive.
If you’re out on a walk with your dog, pay attention to the flowers in bloom and the trees around you. Take in their beauty, and let it sink into your soul. While you take a shower in the morning, feel the water hit your skin and warm your body, while opening your lungs up to breathe.
Do You Feel a Sense of Peace?
Mindfulness truly starts with the breaths you take — celebrate being alive. Take deep breaths, and let it flow. You will feel joy, rejuvenation and peace. Sounds simple and silly, but paying attention to the way you breath, and focusing yourself on it will bring you the most empowering moments of peace.
Meditation is a great way to control your breathing and feel a sense of peace. Shut out everything around you so all you can hear is the fill and release of your lungs. Mindful meditation can happen anywhere, including in your car on the way to work, on a short walk outside during your lunch break or in the morning when you first wake up.
The practice of mindful meditation improves well-being, creativity and control over your emotions. Wherever you are, make an effort to focus on your feelings and what you’re experiencing in the present. When you do this, you’ll absorb your feelings, acknowledge them, and then make rational decisions on how to respond.
How Do You Feed Your Mind?
If you spend most of your day on the computer and on the phone, you’re not giving your mind the proper nourishment. Try to unplug at least a couple of times per day so your mind has room to think and rest. Don’t overwhelm it with social media, news, work or too much negativity. Although you want to stay informed with the world’s current events and your friends and family’s lives, too much can boggle you down.
Bad news sells, therefore bad news is what floods social media newsfeeds, television and magazines, but that doesn’t mean you have to let it into your life. Protect yourself from constant exposure to violence and negativity — your mental and emotional state depends upon it. Strive to feed your mind positivity, and learn to control what you allow in.
Do People Want to be Around You?
Positivity attracts positivity, and negativity attracts negativity. A good sign that you’re being mindful is if other people want to be around you. If you’re suddenly surrounded by friends who invite you out to brunch, gatherings or just want to hang out, you’re headed down the right path. Have a strong positive presence, and watch others gravitate towards you — and when they do, reach out to them. Ask them about their day. Ask them what they would like to do. Show others that you care.
It’s important that you respect others and stay aware of their feelings and opinions, especially at work. You likely spend more time around your co-workers than you do around your friends and family. Even though work may be the most stressful part of your life, focus even more so on mindfulness while you’re at the office. Breathe more. Concentrate more. Go outside and get sunlight. Eat a good breakfast and lunch, let your mind wander a little bit and let your creative side run free.
Remember to be mindful and aware of not only others, but yourself. You’re an important part of mindfulness because on the mission to happiness is you. Living in the moment is a huge part of this, so learn to limit your exposure to the past and the future. Feel the sun shine on your face, touch the freshly fallen snow on the ground, and like you’ve heard before — stop and smell the roses.
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