Mindfulness is a form of meditation, which has increased in popularity in the U.S. in recent decades. While it’s not a miracle cure, it’s a great tool for cultivating wellness, awareness, and acceptance in one’s own life. The basic lessons of mindfulness are the most powerful when applied to the frustrations and stressors of everyday life. Developing a consistent mindfulness practice in any form can have significant mental health benefits. It can help you adjust your perspective, which then will change how you experience the world. One of the biggest threats to mental health is when you experience the world with a lack of hope and optimism, or when your expectations and hopes clash with reality. Mindfulness cannot change your reality, but it can change how you experience it. So how specifically can the everyday benefits of mindfulness help you?
Watch: The Difference Between Mindfulness and Meditation
Taking a pause
One of the most basic lessons and benefits of mindfulness is that we need to learn how to “pause.” We live in a fast-paced world and often feel we can’t stop and take a breath when we need it the most. A mindfulness practice makes “pausing” a priority. This can be done by sitting to meditate, eating a meal mindfully, or walking mindfully. By intentionally focusing all of our attention on the present moment, we can “pause” and see things as they really are. The meditation teacher Tara Brach calls this waking up from a “trance” that we get stuck in when we get so caught up in our thoughts and we check out from reality.
Read More: Slow Down Your Breathing to Feel More in Control
Noticing without reacting
A mindful practice means making an intentional effort to notice and acknowledge whatever is happening in any given moment or activity. For example, if you experience chronic pain; meditating and noticing your pain might lead to thoughts of “I’m broken” or “I’m defective.” Mindfulness teaches us that – surprise – we don’t need to believe our thoughts! Instead, mindfulness empowers us to notice our thoughts, let them go and move on. This also applies when negative thoughts come up in everyday life, for instance, when we take a risk and fail or when we hurt someone we care about. We never have to identify with thoughts of “I am bad” or “I don’t deserve anything good.” When we can recognize that we’re in a thinking “trance”, we can make an effort to let go of destructive thoughts instead of identifying with them. A great example of this is the RAIN meditation practice, which you can read about here.
Responding instead of reacting
Mindfulness teaches us that there is a difference between reacting and responding. When we react, it is often quickly, without thinking and in response to negative emotions. We often even react before we even realize we’re upset, angry, or disappointed – and by then it’s often too late to take back an unkind word or thoughtless remark. Responding does not rely on blame, judgment or speed, but instead, it relies on compassion, respect, and reflection. For example, if you’re fighting with your partner, can you hear the difference between “You’re so judgmental just like your mother” and “When you raise your voice, I feel sad and far away from you”? Learning to respond is a key benefit of mindfulness.
These three points merely scratch the surface of both the everyday and mental health benefits of mindfulness practices. It’s important to remember that practicing mindfulness is a process and you won’t become enlightened overnight. No matter where you are at, even if you’ve never tried integrating a mindfulness practice into your daily life, it’s never too late to start.
What’s your mindful practice? How does it help you? Or if you don’t have one, what gets in the way of establishing a mindful practice?
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8 comments
Hi,
Great post. (When I remember) I find mindfulness exercises to be invaluable. What gets in the way is my difficulty to be consistent and to trust that the 5-10 minutes will be helpful enough for me to make time. When I do it, I always feel better.
Thanks!
Love this blog!! It’s really important to remind ourselves to slow down.
These are great tips on how to practice mindfulness. Many people think mindfulness only happens when we’re meditating and so I appreciate that you show we you can be mindful in any moment. The piece about the difference between reacting and responding is super helpful for dealing with conflict, too. Thanks for the great post, Martha!
This is such a helpful explanation of mindfulness! I especially like the distinction made between “reacting and responding.” It’s wonderful to think of mindfulness as a way to thoughtfully engage with the world around you.
Great blog!! It’s crucial to know and learn about the benefits of mindfulness in order to navigate our everyday stress and anxiety,
Great resource! This is a good reminder that during stressful or difficult moments a simple mindfulness practice takes little effort and is always within reach.
I felt myself slowing down and feeling calmer even reading this blog! Thank you for this informative reminder of how important it is to take the time to slow down and integrate mindfulness into our daily lives. I especially appreciate the distinction between reacting and responding.
A great reminder of how powerful a passive and subtle awareness is in treating our anxieties and fears. I feel it’s under rated in our field and you bring a reminder of how important it is in our work with others and the importance of it in my own life.