Getting Out of Your Mind and into Your Life: A Guide to Mindfulness

“Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing”. Mindfulness helps us to live in the present moment irrespective of the situations and current circumstances. Practicing mindfulness is an ancient practice that, if practiced regularly, helps in improving our overall sense of well-being and enjoying the moment we are living in at the present moment.

Your focus and complete attention on the present without contemplating the past or worrying about the future makes you feel happier than before. Your buoyant energy aids in alleviating your mood and improve your focus and concentration ability to perform tasks much more effectively.

Being mindful reduces the activation capability of the amygdala (part of the brain that deals with stress, anxiety, fight, or flight response). Hence, people who suffer from stress, anxiety, or depression find great help while practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness aids in getting out of mind and into your life as now you can better focus on your work and the present moment without worrying about life as a whole.

Mindfulness helps in protecting your mental health by reducing stress, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Improved mental health help in alleviating the mood and inculcate positive energy in you. This also positively impacts your physical health, as a cheerful disposition is suitable for your general health as well.

Part of the brain called the insula, is associated with empathy. As mindfulness changes insula, you feel more compassionate towards yourself and the people surrounding you. Love and kindness help generate the feelings of happiness and inner wellness that make you a better person.

Getting out of mind and into your life, being mindful while living in the present moment, and listening to your body’s state of hunger helps you prevent overeating and weaning down on junk food items and high-calorie intake. Our body naturally adapts to the favorable situations in our life. Our sleep cycle is improved when we have healthy choices in our life. Healthy dietary habits, regular exercise and meditation, and reduced stress levels help us feel happier and relaxed, thus improving the overall sleep cycle. Healthy sleep is essential as it nourishes our minds and body.

Regular practicing mindfulness and getting out of mind and into your life has helped people in getting relief from chronic or long-duration pain. There are pieces of evidence of improved immune health of people who regularly practice mindfulness. Low levels of stress, anxiety, and depression give you a more positive outlook in life.

How to practice mindfulness?

Mindfulness is an improved state of mind that helps us live in the present moment and enjoy the situations of life in the form they come to us. To practice mindfulness, first, try to clear your mind about the thoughts you want to change. The negative thoughts in mind, self-doubt, and a pessimistic outlook in seeing through the situations should have no room or space in your thoughts or life. The ruminating thoughts about the past or unusual worrying about the future hamper our life negatively. Hence, try to live in the present situation and appreciate what you receive in your life.

Meditation is the practice that helps in relaxing your mind, body, and soul. A regular meditation regime enables you to evade unwanted thoughts or worries that come into your mind. If you strictly follow the regime and practice meditation regularly, changes happen in your brain, and you start with a more positive outlook.

Your attitude and perspectives are the deciding factors for your happiness in life. Positive thinking helps you grow but does not mean you ignore or avoid problems or pretend nothing is wrong in your surroundings. Reframing the positive things in life will not change your situation but will change your way of reacting to the problem. Self-compassion infills positivity and will deviate your mind towards the next better opportunity. 

Distractions could be better and will always disturb you from the inside out. But focused distractions help redirect your thoughts and improve the frame of mind so that you can now think much better. Your motivation and productivity level for the tasks to happen increases with time if you are mindful and try to live in the present situation.

Conclusion

Being mindful and living in the present situation should be followed by everyone. Worries and tensions are only a part of life, so try not to affect your happy moments with such situations. Get out of your mind and into your life to live a more content life.