Mindfulness, it seems to be the buzz word right now, and rightly so, we are talking about our mental health more than we have ever done. There has always been a sort of taboo to talk about this topic and to actually admit that you are struggling and need some help. I think over the last 5 years there has been a real shift in how we perceive our own mental health.
Mindfulness is an awareness of right now, of how we are feeling, what thoughts we have right now, and a focus on now rather than the future or the past. To be mindful is to realise we have the power to control our thoughts. It’s about understanding that we have a choice in how we react to situations. Every action you take is done twice, first as a thought and then as the reality. When you think of it like that it empowers you to be responsible for your thought patterns.
Sound exhausting to be analyzing your every thought as it happens? It’s not quite like that its about finding a happy medium that works for you. It’s a great way to be in tune with your whole self, rather than just your physical body. Have you ever caught your reflection in your phone when you are scrolling through social media and your face is all knarled up and tense and you suddenly become aware and relax well its doing this more often.
Mindfulness is being awake in this very moment. Worrying about past situations will not change them but the feelings associated with this will still affect you. The same happens when we pre-live future events or situations we naturally attach previous feelings & emotions to them before they have happened. Its a torturous vicious cycle implementing fearful outcomes. Worrying it will rain tomorrow won’t stop the rain but taking an umbrella will prepare you for that. We are human beings and we need to do more of the just ‘being’ part. A few simple techniques can help to become more mindful.
DAILY MEDITATION - 10 minutes a day can really help you to let go of unwanted thought patterns and get your focus on what you do want.
DAILY GRATITUDE - On waking, think of 3 things you feel grateful for and these can be really small things like - I love how comfy my bed is, I love cuddling my children or I’m so grateful to have my cute little pet wake me up. Then do the same before you go to bed and think of the top 3 things that happened that day that you are grateful for.
WRITE YOUR OWN RULES - Get yourself a pad and write down where you are at in your life. What’s the score in your game of life? Then think what do you want that score to be. What would be the point of watching a football match with no score? Think about it what would each side be playing for, what would they achieve? This is a simple way of being aware of where you are right now.
SET YOURSELF A POSITIVITY ALARM - This is a great way to remind yourself to be grateful for being you. Think of 3 positive words to describe you or who you want to be and set an alarm on your phone at 3 intervals throughout the day. My reminder is ‘I am creative, grateful & authentic’
This will put you in a place of calm appreciation rather than fear. We always make better choices from a place of calm.
Research over the last decade has found a significant increase in mental health issues in young adults. This spike has occurred particularly in this age group while the other groups have remained the same. I agree with the findings that there is a strong link to social media & technology advancements. Our brains are literally overloaded with information whenever we need it with our smartphones.
How we look.
Who we are friends with.
How we spend our time.
What we have or don’t have.
The Instagram lifestyle which in reality is a mirage. We don’t live perfect lives we are all just doing our best to be happy. Mindfulness is needed more than ever for the generation that has 15 seconds to prove themselves.
Its time to disconnect
Press the pause button and just BE.
As always my lovelies, I hope you are loving the blogs.
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Lots of Love
Lynette
RubyLoves xxx