3259: 4 Ways to Be Mindful by Shirley of Daring Living on Mindfulness & Meditation

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily, Episode 3259 4 Ways to Be Mindful by Shirley of DaringLiving.com and I'm Justin Malik This is where I read an article to you to give you a bit of inspiration, motivation, and or a little boost of happiness every day

[00:00:18] So with that let's get right to our next one as we optimize your life 4 Ways to Be Mindful by Shirley of DaringLiving.com We all know that staying in the present is important, but how do we really be aware of our thoughts and emotions in our daily lives?

[00:00:40] What is mindfulness? There are many moments in my life where I acted and said things impulsively during states of high emotion without realizing I was just triggered by external events to behave a certain way

[00:00:53] When you feel so much better to be in control of your own thoughts and emotions and understand why you are feeling and behaving the way you do Mindfulness, by definition, means to maintain a moment-by-moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations

[00:01:09] and the surrounding environment through a gentle and nurturing lens Instead of being provoked by external factors The mindful approach would be to step back and analyze the situation from a grander picture To be mindful means to be conscious and aware of the content in one's mind

[00:01:27] Note that this is actually different from being alert, which means to access the content in the mind as either helpful or harmful Why is mindfulness so important? Being mindful means to take notice of your current state and surrounding instead of thinking about what has not happened yet

[00:01:43] or repeating past scenarios in your mind thinking about the should-haves and could-haves It means to pay more attention on how you are spending your time and promise you to slow down and appreciate the little things as they come

[00:01:55] Some days when I'm feeling stressed out and my head is in the clouds I would stop myself and bring all my senses back to the present by asking these questions

[00:02:04] Wait, where am I right now? I am in my room. What am I doing? I'm sitting on my bed and about to go to sleep What do I hear sound of passing by traffic outside? What do I feel the soft bed sheet against my skin?

[00:02:20] This allows me to shift my focus to the present again and appreciate all the elements around me I believe that being mindful is the first step to making any change you want to create in your life It is about realizing what triggers you your fears anxieties and insecurities

[00:02:35] But also what makes you light up and feel good so that you can grow to understand yourself better Four simple ways to be mindful Mindfulness takes skills and a lot of practice to be more mindful

[00:02:48] You must purposely make the time and effort to practice the act of being mindful Here are some easy ways to start number one journaling Spend time each day to write out your thoughts into a journal

[00:03:01] You can begin by pouring out anything that's on your mind at the moment Often you don't really know what it is You're really feeling until you put them down into actual words on paper For me so many of my aha realizations about myself

[00:03:13] Happened during those precious moments as I'm writing in my journal I find this habit so helpful that I even added it into my morning routine So I can always start off my day more grounded and with a clearer mind number two meditation

[00:03:28] But I can't just sit here and think about nothing This is my immediate thought when I was first introduced to meditation I am someone who cannot sit still who needs to be constantly doing something

[00:03:38] But I've come to realize that meditation is not just sitting there and thinking nothing It's about separating yourself from your current state of mind and observing each of your thoughts as they pass by

[00:03:48] Simply accepting them and letting them go. It's a powerful way to practice staying conscious and aware of your thoughts There are many guided meditation apps out there to help you begin meditation. I used calm and headspace number three create me time

[00:04:04] Unplug and learn to appreciate your surroundings as you spend time with yourself Go out for a short walk in nature and listen to the birds chirping rustling sound of the leaves and your footsteps on the gravel

[00:04:15] Go to the gym and work on yourself as you focus on your every breath in action Cook and eat by yourself and really enjoy every bite in the flavor of the food Spend one afternoon to sit down and read a good book without distraction

[00:04:28] Immerse yourself in hobbies that you can do by yourself and really take time to enjoy being with yourself The more you're used to spending time alone in soft silence The more you will be aware of your presence in every moment number four be curious about your behaviors

[00:04:44] Constantly step back and question yourself. Why did I just snap at my sister during dinner? Because she said something that annoyed me. Why did I feel annoyed because I was in a bad mood

[00:04:54] Why was I in a bad mood because I'm anxious about my presentation at work tomorrow Why do I feel anxious because it is something I value and I want to do a good job But did I spend time preparing for this presentation?

[00:05:07] Yes, is there anything else I can do at this point? No. Oh Then should I keep thinking about it to ruin my night? probably not Definitely not all behaviors are this easy to interpret

[00:05:19] But the more you question your actions the more you will grow to understand why you are behaving a certain way Mindfulness has definitely created more clarity Gratitude and joy into my daily life is always a constant progress and practice for me every day

[00:05:35] It's all about taking the action to begin You just listened to the post titled four ways to be mindful by Shirley of Daring Living comm and I'll be right back with my commentary

[00:05:51] Think it a Shirley the first two journaling and meditation are the ones that I always recommend first You'll hear me mention them pretty frequently on this show because they work really well But they do take a lot of effort, but I think it's worth it

[00:06:07] For me what meditation has done is it's created space Typically as an example if someone I don't know cuts me off in traffic or almost causes an accident First I'll have an adrenaline rush which is good

[00:06:23] It makes us more ready to act and react in a difficult situation But then once it's over Generally will probably go straight to anger and frustration Blaming the other driver may be yelling honking talking to ourselves and so on and that mood can last

[00:06:44] anywhere from a minute to the whole day But in my experience meditation creates space between that Adrenaline rush and the anger. It's not immediate anymore There truly is a space there where we can decide what we want our reaction to be There's a choice

[00:07:03] And it's not dismissing our feelings or avoiding them But really just being practical about it and deciding in this moment What do we want to feel? It's neat how it just sort of happens the more I've meditated and I think it's the most powerful thing about meditation

[00:07:20] Because it can really change our moods for the better So I do recommend trying it out if you're interested Or there are other options that Shirley mentioned in this post all good things

[00:07:31] But that should do it for today. Have a great start to your week and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits