Like many of us, when I first heard about mindfulness I thought it was weird and unnecessary.
Now in the present day, everyone is more open to the idea of mindful living because of the
vast benefits it provides.
In this video, I will go over what mindfulness is and 7 ways it empowers us to live a better
more fulfilled life.
Mindfulness is the practice of being present and attentive to what we are doing.
When someone is mindful, they are fully immersed in the activity.
Someone that is in this state usually feel less stress and perform better.
They are super aware of what is going on around them like how something feels, tastes, and
its other features.
All of your focus is directed only on the event happening in front of you.
An example of a time someone could be mindful is when say that person sees something breathtaking
like the grand canyon and they are absorbed in the moment.
Think of it as the opposite of zoning out.
It sounds pretty easy but with all the distractions around us today, it is harder than it looks
when you are trying it for the first time.
We all have the ability to be mindful but you have to practice and cultivate the ability.
The best proven technique for this is meditation.
Meditation is basically sitting still and focusing on your breathing.
If you find your mind wandering, focus your attention back on your breath.
The basic idea of meditation is to be mindful of your thoughts and let them pass.
There are many types of meditations so choose what you are comfortable with.
If you want to understand what mindfulness is better, you have to try it out for yourself.
As for the benefits:
Mindfulness reduces anxiety.
People are usually anxious because they are trapped in the past or are constantly worrying
about the future.
By being mindful and staying in the present, it prevents you from worrying about the past
and future.
Your mind is focused on the present and the experience in front of you so there is no
room to worry.
Mindfulness will also help you adapt to the situation better by giving you the ability
to let go of the thought which I will explain further later.
Mindfulness reduces stress.
Stress is good for you but too much is bad for you.
There are a lot of things that stress us out in our day to day lives.
While mindfulness may not reduce the number of things that stress us out, it can help
us respond better to stressful events which will help reduce our overall stress.
Mindfulness helps us see our thoughts as they are beginning so you can choose to let go
of it.
You can tell the stressful thought is coming and just let it pass.
Mindfulness improves focus.
There are distractions everywhere ranging from your own thoughts to the technology around
us.
Mindfulness is like a super power that lets us focus our attention where we want.
It gets rid of the distractions in our head that prevents us from focusing by just letting
it pass.
We are then able to put all our focus towards one thing and get more stuff done faster with
a clear head.
Mindfulness helps you fall asleep faster.
Even though you might be exhausted, sometimes your mind just wont let you go to sleep.
The problem is that there is something bothering you from within.
You may be physically tired but your mind is overactive.
By being more mindful, you can clear your head faster and go to sleep.
You can choose to let go of those thoughts that are bothering you and relax.
If you ever tried meditating before you go to sleep, you might find that it helps you
sleep easier.
When I tried meditating before I went to sleep, it definitely helped me sleep easier.
Mindfulness helps you lose weight.
When we go through life on auto pilot we often just eat freely as we wish.
We might eat that snack we are not supposed to and consume extra calories.
If you are more mindful, you will be more self aware and you can stop yourself from
making bad food choices.
You are more in tune with the world around you and yourself so you can choose to not
eat that snack.
By being more mindful, you can prevent impulse eating which will help you lose weight.
Mindfulness helps control your anger.
Unchecked anger will be a problem in all areas of your life.
Mindfulness lets you know that you might feel a certain feeling ahead of time.
Say someone cut you off on the road.
You are most likely pissed because its the normal reaction.
If you are not mindful, there is no buffer between the stimulus and your emotion - it
just happens instantly.
If you are mindful, you might notice your chest is buzzing or your teeth are clenched
and you then realize you are angry.
But now you dont have to act on it because there was a buffer.
Mindfulness is not there to make you non judgemental but it is there to help you respond better
to things that happen around you.
Mindfulness improves happiness.
People who meditate and are mindful are often more happier.
They get to enjoy their moments to the fullest and feel satisfied.
When someone goes through a certain experience, if they are not mindful, they usually end
up craving more and it leaves them feeling a bit empty.
If someone were to be mindful, they can be fully immersed in the experience and there
is no more room to ask for more.
The constant feeling of wanting more is one of the biggest reasons why most people are
unhappy and mindfulness helps stop it because it helps fill your brain up with just the
experience so you dont have the feeling of wanting more.
Are you often mindful or do you need to practice it more?
Leave a comment below and if you enjoyed this video check out my other videos.