“Mindfulness” has become a buzzword recently, used to describe everything from meditation to healthy eating to yoga. But what does it really mean to be mindful?
Throughout the day, we all do things without thinking, which can lead to mistakes, bad habits, or unintended consequences. Mindfulness is about experiencing each moment fully and, as a result, making decisions that are positive, purposeful, and not based in fear. It is about directing our energy in ways that support our growth.
Here are 3 tips to help practice mindfulness every day:
1. Get curious about yourself and the world around you. As children, we are aware that there is so much we don’t know, so we ask a lot of questions. As we get older, we take for granted that we understand how the world works and that there’s nothing new to discover. We start to accept things as fact or the way they need to be instead of questioning them. In reality, there is so much depth and potential to uncover, even within ourselves.
Many times, we barrel through life without stopping to really think about things, both positive and negative. We get busy, distracted, or overwhelmed and don’t take the time to check in with ourselves. But when we get curious about ourselves, we start to ask questions and our brains start to look for answers, and then we start finding different solutions.
Be curious about your reactions and your intentions, both when you do something positive and when you make a mistake. Instead of dwelling in regret or shame, focus on trying to understand what you’re doing and why you are doing it. The answers can be very revealing! When you question with intention, you are less likely to fall into pitfalls. In fact, just by being curious and aware of yourself, you are asking for assistance from the Creator, and this is the only way for us to reach our true potential.
2. Set your intentions before you set your goals. It’s great to have goals, but they can actually limit us in some ways. Sometimes, we work towards a specific outcome that we think will make us happy, and all of our energy gets devoted to the end goal. If we don’t achieve that goal, we get down on ourselves and believe we are a failure. Goals can create pressure and guilt and can diminish inspiration.
Intention is a different energy. It’s about being instead of doing. Who do you need to be in order to achieve your goals? For instance, if your goal is to create a successful business, but your intention is to help your employees, become a stronger leader, and learn a lot about business, you will be successful through the process, even if the company does not thrive simply because you’ve grown in some many areas. Intention makes everything you do purposeful, even if the goal is not achieved. The benefit of living with intention is that you are always growing, so you can never fail!
Set your intentions every day. Make your first thought of the day one with purpose and positivity. The first thought in anything sets up everything to follow. Ask yourself: who do I want to be today?
3. Start pursuing your goals instead of talking about them. A little less conversation, a little more action, please!Have you ever met someone who always offers to help but never actually comes through with it?Having good intentions is only half the battle – we have to actually follow through with our actions. When we talk about our intentions and our goals, it can actually trick our brains into thinking we’ve already accomplished it. It gives us a premature sense of completion.
While other people can support us in our journey and hold us accountable for our actions, sometimes it’s better to keep our goals to ourselves. The more we talk and talk about our intentions, the less we pursue them. Don’t fool yourself into replacing talk for action.
Our intentions are a major component of our well-being and our spiritual growth. Practicing mindfulness every day helps us to experience life to the fullest and to direct our energy in the most productive way possible. Get curious, set your intentions, and take action!
