You’re probably familiar with the word mindfulness already. It has become a real buzzword in recent years, but it’s so much more than that! Mindfulness is a fantastic life hack that can improve just about every area of your life. It’s kind of a superpower.
In short, mindfulness is the practice of being fully in the present moment. It teaches us to take the steering wheel of our attention. It helps us wake up from autopilot mode.
What makes it such a brilliant life hack? Let’s take a look.
1. Decreases tension
In a way, mindfulness teaches you to avoid reacting to situations based on impulses. You’re less likely to jump to conclusions about what could happen. Instead, it helps you accept them for what they are without going into overdrive.
How can this help you? When your mind and body are tense, thinking straight is hard. You avoid missing details, and you get tired a lot faster. On the other hand, when you’re relaxed, you perform any given task much better and express yourself with ease.
2. Increases focus & productivity
Ever notice how getting distracted interferes with your productivity? That’s where mindfulness works wonders. You learn to focus on the present moment without giving in to outside distractions by practicing it.
That’s one hell of a skill to have in the 21st century, ruled by technology and short attention spans. Being able to focus for a long time increases your productivity and serves as a competitive advantage in the workplace and just about any other area of your life.
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3. Helps adopt a more positive attitude
We all get stuck in negative thought loops sometimes. It’s not pleasant. It can also easily ruin any day of your week. Shift your attention from negative to positive and watch how you notice more positive things happening to you.
Negativity simply isn’t healthy. Mindfulness helps you focus on those things that serve you and let go of those that don’t. You don’t have to carry all that weight on your shoulders! When you feel lighter, your reality will become lighter too!
4. Improves relationships
Whether it’s a friendship or a romantic relationship, mindfulness has the power to deepen it and strengthen it. When you’re mindful, you’re much more aware of other people’s feelings and needs. You’re much more empathetic. Empathy is vital for mutual bonding.
Also, you’ll be less likely to get involved in toxic relationships because you’ll be aware of the effect they have on you. Just like I mentioned before, you will learn to let go of what no longer serves you. Plus, let’s admit, life is more enjoyable when you have awesome friends around you, don’t you think?
5. Helps connect with your inner self
A mindful practice such as meditation will help you quiet that monkey brain that constantly tells you something is wrong or that you’re not good enough or that you should have done or said this or that instead of what you did.
That’s when you can really hear your heart speak. Understand your own feelings and needs and develop empathy towards yourself, which can help you achieve your dreams.
6. It Makes it easier to control your emotions
Harness the power of the simplest things of all – breathing! It’s a widespread mindful practice that can calm you down in a matter of a few minutes.
Stress does you no good, and when you can control your emotions, you can get rid of a lot of unnecessary tension in your life. “Difficult” situations become a lot less scary and complicated when you can remain calm. As they say, if you can’t calm the waves, calm yourself until the storm passes!
7. Builds discipline
For starters, just the fact that you practice something regularly already builds a sort of discipline. When you push yourself to achieve something, that is discipline. If you can show up for those few mins of mindful practice every day, you’ll learn to stay consistent. You’ll learn the art of self-control. And that can turn your life around!
You can apply it to anything when you have self-control and reach your goals faster. Without it, it’s easy to get distracted and lose focus on the things that matter to you. That project you’ve been working on for ages but never seem to finish? That promotion you’re dreaming of? That summer booty? They all require discipline, or in other words, self-control!
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8. Boosts your mood
Our mood is a tricky thing. It can go from “today is the best day of my life” to ‘don’t look at me, or I’ll scream very quickly. One unfortunate event can send our thoughts into a downward spiral and take all the fun away for the rest of the day. Or more!
Mindfulness is an amazing tool that can break that spiral. It teaches you to become aware of your emotions and your reactions to them. This allows you to maintain a sort of distance between yourself and the situation, so you don’t get affected so easily.
9. Increases endurance
Sitting still when your mind is racing and your body is restless forces you to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Now that’s a skill you can apply to any area of your life.
Struggling at a new job? Learning a new skill? Training for a marathon? Hitting the gym? Whatever challenges you come across along the way, mindfulness practice will get you prepared to tackle them head-on!
10. It’s all about self-love
If you’re on the path of self-love, mindfulness can be really effective in opening that door. Through mindful practices, you learn to not only accept the situations but also yourself. All of it. The good and the “bad.”
And that, my friend, is the key to fulfillment!
How can you practice mindfulness?
If you’re new to this whole concept, you might not know where to start. Let me help you out here. More than a life hack, mindfulness is a life-changing skill, and there are many ways to practice it. Some choose to do it through meditation, but it’s definitely not the only way!
Here’s what else you can do.
Take a walk
Yep, this is one of the most effective ways to practice mindfulness. Just make sure your phone is on silent. Meditation doesn’t have to be still! If sitting cross-legged with your eyes closed isn’t your thing, try this.
Go outside and just put one foot in front of the other. You don’t need to have a particular goal, just keep walking. Focus on bodily sensations and your breath. Whenever you feel your mind wandering, simply go back to your breath or even counting steps!
Write a journal
Dedicate time each day to put your thoughts down on paper. Don’t think about how it’s going to look or whether what you’re writing makes any sense. Simply let your thoughts out, write whatever comes to mind and don’t judge yourself for it.
Focus on your surroundings
Feel the floor underneath your feet, look at what’s around you, focus on the sounds, notice if you smell anything. Focusing on your senses will help you get outside of your head and focus on the present moment.
Enhance your practice with crystals
Rose quartz crystal is great for working with all matters of the heart. Loving yourself is key to self-awareness. This makes rose quartz one of the best and most effective options for meditation. Another good idea is to wear rose quartz jewelry so that you can harness its peaceful and loving power when you need it most.
Consistency is key
Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to stay consistent. Practice being fully in the present moment for at least a few minutes every day and watch what happens. It can be tough at first but don’t push yourself too hard. Take it slow, and no one is going to judge you here, so why do it yourself?
Once you’ve got mindfulness as a skill under your sleeve, you can use it as an awesome life hack that will help you improve the quality of your life and become the best version of yourself. You deserve it, so go on and start your mindfulness journey today.
You got this!
