What Is Mindfulness?

And How Can It Be Strengthened?

Many of us may wish that our lives were different for a moment, we may regret what we have done and what we have said at some point, and the behavior of those around us may make us think ‘what if things were different’ about them too.

And sometimes we may find ourselves being physically present at some place but our mind would be wandering in it’s own thoughts. For example, when we become happy about something, we may spend our time thinking about the past and the future of the event which made us happy and all the things and people that are related to it, sometimes we may even fear that our happiness would not last for long if some sudden event or someone interrupts it, or even in some cases we may even think about bad energies like the ‘bad-eye’ catch it, if too much happiness is there… So as a result we may be happy in a moment and be fearful of being happy in the next moment, thinking about ‘what if’ something shadows our happiness in any way, and ‘if’ it happens ‘What should we do?’ or ‘How should we prevent it?’ and many more things that come to our mind about that ‘what if’ question, which does not allow us to just be simply present and enjoy the happy moments that we have.

This is because some of us just don’t know how to be ‘present’ in the ‘moment’! Or be fully aware of everything going on at the place that we are in during that time, and we can not put our ;complete; attention, to enjoy the moment, or put all of our attention at what we are doing at ‘that’ moment.

Being present in the moment and taking control of our thoughts and feelings really matters in our personal development, because ‘NOW’ is ALL we have in reality, and sometimes we tend to forget about it!

When the subject of taking control of our busy lives and cultivating it rises, Mindfulness, is usually one of the main topics that comes up, as it has many benefits for our health, well-being, relationships and career.

In this article, we will delve more about ‘what mindfulness is?’, and ‘how can we become more mindful’.

What Is Mindfulness?

The Oxford Mindfulness Foundation’s definition of mindfulness, describes mindfulness as “A natural capacity we all have to pay attention, without judgment to the present moment” which is accompanied by compassionate curiosity, and by cultivating awareness, we learn how to live in the present and stop thinking about the past and avoid worrying too much about the future.

So in simple words, your mindfulness is proven to you when you are aware and in control of your thoughts, feelings and actions. In other words, when you fully feel your thoughts, feelings and actions in any situation, you can say that you are being mindful.

To experience mindfulness, you can do this simple exercise: Empty your mind of any thoughts and focus on your breathing for few seconds. Pay attention to the feeling of breathing. Listen to the sound it makes and concentrate on the air flow in your chest when you inhale and exhale. Try to put one minute to do this exercise and just think about breathing while doing it.

This short and simple meditation practice is an example of mindfulness, and is about paying attention to what you are experiencing in each moment.

In today’s busy life, practicing mindfulness can be challenging. We are constantly distracted by smartphones, social media, increasing workload and the relationships that we have. There are duties that come with each part of our life which need to pat attention to. Mindfulness helps us to gain the ability to be fully present in our busy everyday-life and helps us to enjoy all kinds of experiences while we are being present in the moment.

What Are The Advantages Of Mindfulness?

Mindfulness has many important advantages:

It helps you live in the moment!

When you cultivate mindfulness in yourself, you pay attention to the things that exist around you at that moment, and you no longer think about the things in the past that you wish you could do or change, and the things that need to be done about the unknow future events that you cannot fully predict at the time.

According to the results of some studies, mindfulness is associated with strengthening emotional intelligence (EI) too. So when your emotional intelligence is high, you are more aware of your thoughts, feelings, words and actions and understand their impact on others. This self-awareness means that while being mindful, you can pay full attention to others, and you don’t say things that will unintentionally offend others. You also will be able to appreciate the positive events in your life because you are present in the moment when they happen.

Mindfulness also helps your well-being. According to the findings of a study, increasing mindfulness over time leads to a reduction in stress and a better mood. The results of another study show that mindfulness helps to foster empathy and increases altruistic behaviors such as unconditional kindness.

Another advantage of this habit is the positive effect mindfulness has on the brain. Researchers have found that mindfulness increases the gray matter density of the brain in areas related to learning, emotion control, and memory.

Mindfulness can also be useful for the body. There are research findings on participants who practiced mindfulness meditation for few weeks were associated with experiencing positive effects. Effects such as a significant increase in antibodies that are related to the immune system.

Finally, mindfulness can improve your professional and personal relationships. When you are fully present in a situation, you can deal with people with empathy, compassion, honesty, intelligence and consideration. This habit causes trust, fosters realism and increases understanding.

5 Tips To Strengthen Mindfulness

You can strengthen mindfulness in yourself by using the following methods:

1. Practice Mindfulness

Many of us spend a large part of the day thinking about the past and the future, and usually, we do daily tasks automatically and without much focus. Our brain can accommodate endless streams of thoughts that observe and judge the world around us.

Instead of letting your thoughts distract you, be patient and observe the colors, people and objects around you and be fully present in the current events. By this you can pay attention to your surroundings.

2. Pause

Mindfulness is about being present in the moment. By being present in the moment you have to be in control and make a conscious effort to pay your attention to your presence. Simply think about your senses, such as what you can smell, how you feel, what noises you hear, and the things that come to your eyes and you see, at that moment. Instead of focusing on your thoughts and being emotionally absent while you are physically present, be completely present in the moment.

Try to finish each of your tasks in their turn with all seriousness. Multitasking makes you feel disordered and confused, and this situation affects the quality of your work. It is better to focus particularly on each of your tasks in their own turn.

It is ok to get distracted, don’t judge your actions and don’t feel bad if you find yourself being distracted from time to time. It is enough to pause and slowly re-direct your attention in the right direction when you get distracted, for this you can work with motivation and pay more attention to focusing your mind on the things that you want and preventing it from getting distracted every time.

3. Pay Attention To Your Schedule And Daily Tasks

One of the ways in strengthening your mindfulness, is to schedule and choose the things that you do on a daily basis, but it is better to be flexible, it is ok if from time to time you think about doing the tasks in a different way than what you have scheduled before as long as they are being accomplished. For example, the time in taking your coffee during your break-time at office, the way and time of washing your dishes, the plants you put on the table and use for decoration, or the way and time you schedule to clean your place, all can be included to your schedule and you can be flexible about them too.

Paying attention to the activity and putting your focus on the task that you are doing at the moment, such as feel the texture of materials, paying attention to the senses such as feeling the cold water while you wash your face, or feeling the heat of the mug in your hands while you drink your tea or coffee, listening to the sound of the leaves as you walk on them during the autumn, or listening to the sound of the rain, all can be ways to help you to exercise your mindfulness.

Maybe putting an alarm for every 5 to 10 minutes while you are doing a task would be a good idea to help you keep it’s track, put your complete attention on the task, and be more mindful about it. By doing this you will feel better after completing the task, because trying to focus on daily activities in a mindful manner that works based on your own timing, is a beneficial way for bringing in more positivity and mindfulness to your daily schedule.

4. Accept Your Feelings

How many times do you judge your thoughts and feelings during the day? For example, saying to yourself: “I should not have this feeling right now” or “I should have mentioned ‘this’ instead of ‘that’!” during a conversation.

Part of mindfulness is being mindful about your feelings. You can do it by not judging your thoughts, emotions and feelings as “right” or “wrong”, and instead of overthinking about your emotions, you can be mindful about them by accepting your true thoughts and feelings and try to remain neutral about them. If you feel that you have to learn something to improve yourself in an area of your life, simply learn and implement it to your life.

5. Meditation

Practicing meditation on a daily basis for a few minutes a day is one of the best ways to cultivate mindfulness.

You don’t need to try to get into a certain yoga position as soon as you sit down for meditation. Because in a normal day, your mind is probably busy with plans, imagination and memories, and many other things. When you get caught up in these endless thoughts, don’t judge your thoughts or your abilities, just become mindful about them and bring your attention back to the present moment. Think about your breathing, think about how your current senses and feels are, and focus on what you can see and hear at the moment.

The purpose of practicing meditation and being mindful is not to “stop thinking”, rather, the goal of being mindful is to be present in the moment. And as we all know, practice makes perfect, so over time, your awareness will increase during your meditation practices and the energy will be transferred to help you become more mindful during other times of the day.

(Read this article if you want to learn more about mindfulness exercises.)