Mindfulness: It’s something that we could all do with more of but that most of us struggle to attain. In the process of becoming more mindful, however, you will notice a few changes in your life .Moreover, to become more mindful, these very same changes can be implemented before you’ve reached the height of your mindfulness journey. Think of it like a hack to get you to the state ofmindfulness that you truly wish to achieve. So, let’s dive right into 10 things that mindful people do differently.
Forgive Themselves Quickly
The first order of business for the mindful individualis forgiveness. Being able to forgive yourselfquickly and move on from feelings of self-judgment will keep you living in the present moment. It’s allabout being able to say, “The day is done. I did my best. I made some mistakes, but it’s over now.”Lingering on the past and ruminating on conversations or previous mistakes will only lead to your lifewasting away while you look in the rear-view mirror.As an aside, looking toofar into the future canhave the same effect. The whole purpose of being mindful isto beable to live in the now. The nexttime you’re beating yourself up over something, try thinking about the fact that we’re all human andwe all make mistakes. The Universe is not going to punish you for choosing one path over another.
Dive Deep into their Curiosities
Curiosity and a desire to learnarevery important elementswithin the mindful individual’s persona.When you seek knowledge and remove the rigidity of wanting to be right all of the time, you giveyourself the chance to find opportunities for growth. When your mind is actively looking for ways tobroaden itself,you will truly live in the moment and say “yes” to every opportunity that comes yourway. Tap into the curiosity that comes with a forever learner’s mindset and you will find yourself onthe path to mindfulness in no time.
Show Compassion towards others
The problem that many non-mindful people face is the inability to grasp a moment. To suspend, youcan try to suspend your ego. The simplest way to do this is to show compassion to everyone andeverything around you.This, inturn, will help you tackle your own difficult emotions. Instead ofplacating yourself and distracting yourself so that you don’t have to face the emotions of others or yourself, compassion will allow you to accept those emotions and move through them. This brings us to our next point: respecting your own emotions.
Respect Their Own Emotions
Respecting your own emotions is just as important as showing compassion to others.The problemthat many of us face is strongly tied toour upbringing. If you were told to “stop crying” or “stopwhining” or anything of the sort when you were younger, the chances are that you didn’t learn toregulate your emotions. As such, any emotion that isn’t pure joy might feel uncomfortable to you.What do we do when we’re uncomfortable? Well, we do anything possible to comfort ourselves. Formany adults across the world, this involves distracting themselves from the emotion that they’refeeling. Learning how to sit with your uncomfortable emotions and work through them withoutnumbing yourself is the key to becoming more mindful.
Surrender to Vulnerability
True in-the-moment connection comes from vulnerability. If you’ve struggled to create realconnections with people around you and your relationships never seem to go much further beneaththe surface, you’re most likely not surrendering to vulnerability. Baring all doesn’t make you weak. Ifanyone manipulates what you’ve shared with them, that’s on them! That shouldn’t stop you frombeing an authentic, vulnerable version of yourself. When you’re not constantly on guard with whatyou’re saying and how you express it, you will be more present in your actions and more mindful inyour approach to life.
Observe the Natural Flow of Life
Understanding that nothing in your life is permanent is vital to your success with becoming moremindful. Seasons change, friends leave, relationships end, children grow up and move out–everythingcomes to an end eventually. We know this to be true, but we never truly take stock of it. When youcansit down and fully understand that tomorrow is not promisedto any of us, you willeventually findyourself pausing to experience life more sincerely. Instead of burying your face in your phone andmindlessly scrolling for hours on end, you’ll find yourself whipping out a board game to play with thekids, or calling a friend up to ask how they’re doing. You will begin living in the present moment.
Embrace Imperfection
If you find yourself looking in the mirror and wishing you had clearer skin, thicker hair, fuller lips, abrighter smile, a straighter nose, or anything else for that matter, you’re likely to avoid certainsituations where those “imperfections” will be pronounced. If you feel like you could lose a fewpounds, you might turn an invitation to the beach down. If you feel like your skin isn’t as clear as youwould like it to be, you might avoid attending certain events if you don’t have the resources to get afull face of makeup done professionally.Embracing your so-called imperfections and accepting thatsocial media isnothing but a highlight reel will set you free. If you had toconsider the time that youhad left on this earth as currency, you wouldn’t waste another second worrying about how othersmight judge you.
Stay Away from Multitasking
Multitasking is the thief of joy and progress. When you’re multitasking, you’re not actually gettinganything done to the level of precision that you would prefer.Out of all of those tasks, there could beone or two that you could actually enjoy if you reallysinkyour teeth into them. However, you don’tgive yourself the time to fully explore those activities when your mind is in a million places.Practicefocusingon one activity and seeing it all the way through to the end instead of juggling multipleactivities. Do this and watch how much more mindful and productive you become.
Set Intentions For their Day
Taking the time to take stock of your feelings when you wake up and setting positive intentions foryour day are part and parcel of becoming a more mindful person. Create a mind map of what youwant to achieveinthe next couple of hours. It doesn’t have to be something relatedto work or yourcareer. It could be something as simple, but all the while important, as enjoying a new hobby or tryingthe new restaurant that just opened up down the street. Committing yourself to embraceeach dayand everything you desire will make youa present and content individual.
Practice the Pause
This is a biggie! So many of us don’t know how to pause before we speak. Yes, being vulnerable andnot overanalyzing our thoughts is essential, butso is taking the time tounderstand what people aresaying to us. More often than not, our past experiences and perceptions of people can interfere withhow we receive information from them. Taking the time to pause and think about what is actuallybeing said before responding isa great way to be more mindful and build solid relationships.There you have it: The 10 things that mindful people do differently. Try practicing these steps everyday of your life and watch how your mindset begins to change.Over time, these will become secondnature to you as you become more mindful and more present.