Life neither exists in the past nor in the future; one has happened and one hasn’t yet. Mindfulness takes you to the present moment, the only place where Life exists. When the mind dwells in the Present, you connect with your Inner Calm, which brings clarity of what is real and what is not.
Over time, the negative thoughts disappear, making space for purpose, and meaning in life. One becomes more clear about the goals and how to achieve them, building up the Performance. Consistent mindfulness practice helps reduce anxiety, stress, and depression; it takes away jealousy, envy, and insecurity, helping one become more productive and happier. Below are the three tips to get started with Mindfulness:
1. Mindful Breath
Breath is very intimately related to our emotions. We get angry, we breathe faster; when we are in control of our breath, anxiety or anger is also under control. The continuous practice of mindfulness breathing brings that wisdom to discriminate. Once you start to ‘experience’ the separateness that you are not the body, neither the mind nor the thoughts, you are separate from all this, and you will have control over how you react to situations. No amount of words will do justice to this particular benefit of the mindfulness breath. You try it and see it for yourself.
How to do it?
- Sit straight. keep back, chest, and head in a line
- Hands on the thighs, and palms facing the sky
- Inhale as deep as possible
- Hold for as long as you comfortable with
- Exhale as slowly as possible
- This one breath should take 30 seconds. Over time you will see your capacity will increase. Do it for 10 minutes, daily.
For performance and productivity, think of board room situations, or an important meeting, for students think of exams, or a presentation.
2. Routine & Discipline
We observe that in the last 20yrs mental health issues have risen exponentially in society. A lot has changed; increased digitalization, rise in social media, News overdose, new trends in Music/Media, and Choice overload. It directly impacted our lifestyle and mindset. Routine and discipline is the silver bullet that will help navigate these changes. Below is a three-step process to anchor yourself and consciously evolve:
- Start Small
Pick one thing, something small. It could be getting up at 5 in the am, doing gratitude meditation before bed, having coffee just by yourself, or going for a walk. Put this task above everything else – friends, family, gatherings; and do it with discipline.
- Build on it
Once you are regular with this habit for 21 days, start building on it. Few examples are:
- If you are a working professional, spend 30 minutes daily away from your desk just by yourself – a walk, coffee/snack by yourself. Think about your project.
- If you are a student, assimilate one topic and teach it to your friends. Do this once a week. You will see, you will build trust, improve articulation, and master the topic.
- Be Flexible and Evolve
Based on what stage of your career or personal life, be flexible and evolve the routine. Know why you are doing it, start small and grow more elements into it.
3. Mindful Social Media
It is natural to spend prolonged time on social media these days. And it has its Pros-and-Cons. Today, It is big corporations through which you communicate with friends/family, consume news, educate and entertain yourself. And every app-company’s sole goal is to keep you online for as long as possible.
And the price you pay for this is your mental health. For Mindful Social Media, list down all the apps that you have and answer questions one by one.
How to do it?
Questions
- Does this platform add value to my life?
- Yes – Keep
- No – Delete
- Does this platform make me doom-scroll?
- Yes – Delete account/change feed
- No – Keep
- Does this platform make me spend more time on it than planned?
- Yes – Delete/Put times
- No – Keep
- Do I compare myself with others after using the platform?
- Yes – Change feed/Delete
- No – Keep
Basic Hygiene with Mindful Social Media
- Unfollow accounts that give you anxiety, negative thoughts
- Put a daily limit on the usage
- No social media for the first hour of your day
- Wind down social media at least an hour before bed
- Follow accounts that bring good news, and positive news to your feed.
In the end, working with a mindfulness coach can provide you with personalized guidance and support. They can help you identify areas where you may be struggling and provide you with specific tools and techniques to overcome the challenges.
There is ever-flowing, ever-constant, infinite Calm inside you. Connect with it and you will radiate with strength, confidence, and positivity. You will not go unnoticed.