Mindfulness Matters: 4 Habits to Improve Your Life
Are you living or existing? Do you know the difference between the two? What makes them so different anyway? I’d say your emotions and the way you view your life are key. In order to get the most out of your life, sometimes you’ve got to stop and smell the roses. Some of you may be thinking, ok but what does that mean? It means that to improve and live a happier life, you have to practice mindfulness. Check out 4 habits to improve your life and be more mindful.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is defined as the “practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.” It’s about being in the present and not feeling overwhelmed about what may be going on around you. In addition, when you’re practicing mindfulness, you’re not consumed by the past or anxious about the unknowns of the future. You’re fully engaged in the here and now.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness can lead to many great benefits in your life. Before I list those benefits out, let’s discuss what can happen if you don’t practice being more mindful. Stress, anxiety, and depression are usually what follows. Why? Because most of the time you’re allowing yourself to get lost and caught up in things you can’t change or control. Being mindful allows you to be more in tune with yourself.
Here are some benefits of practicing mindfulness:
Improves mood
Boosts creativity
Increases focus
Lower stress levels
Better sleep
Reduces anxiety and depression
Mindfulness Matters: 4 Habits to Improve Your Life
Meditate
Meditation is a great way to practice mindfulness. In fact, many believe that it’s the most powerful tool you can use to achieve heightened awareness and being present in the moment. Meditating allows you to really delve deep into yourself and eliminate negative thoughts and worries.
Know Yourself
In order to be mindful, you have to be in tune with yourself. That means knowing how you're feeling, and recognizing subtle shifts in your moods and your thoughts. Do you feel off-balance? Why? What were you doing that made you suddenly become stressed? Who did you talk to before you felt a sadness creep in? Self-awareness born out of being mindful allows you to make better decisions, and you’ll act in a way that is better for your overall well-being.
Slow Down
We’re a society that’s always on the go. It’s so easy to be distracted by all that’s going on in your life and around you, that you end up forgetting to take care of yourself. Slow down, take a moment to breathe, and really take a moment to be more mindful. Take a few minutes to do some deep breathing, go for a walk, or some meditating.
Turn Off the Noise
There’s so much going on all the time. And thanks to advances in technology, information is constantly being pushed on us. Whether it is social media, news websites, television, etc. Sometimes it’s good to turn off the noise for a bit and welcome silence into your life. In doing so, you will allow yourself to see things more clearly, make sense of your emotions, and minimize distractions.
