Now more than ever, we are all traveling at a million miles a minute, in the fast paced environment we call normal. We are multitasking more often, thinking about what is for dinner later while we are at work and trying to be as efficient as possible. Staying up late overthinking and worrying has become more and more common. Never pausing for a moment to take a breath and let our brains turn off. This can lead to multiple mental health issues such as depression and uncontrollable anger. Enabling yourself to be able to change perspectives in any given situation and analyze things from a different points of view, is called mindfulness (2). The mindfulness concept is essentially taking back control of your own mind. If you are walking through your life physically present, but not mentally present. Are you really experiencing your life? How many times have you been listening to a friend vent about their issues, but you were not truly listening to hear them? That is mindlessness, which in today’s society has become far too common. Being mindful does not just stop at that though. So often, we never stop and give our thoughts a rest, but we expect our brains to keep up with us (1). This is why we need to focus more on the tasks we are participating in now to improve our own quality of life.
In contrast, being in a mindless state, people cannot analyze situations in many different point of views and tend to act before thinking. This could be due to several things like being habitually not present in your own life or learning this mindset through childhood experiences. A Harvard study was done and on average our minds are lost in thought almost forty-seven percent of the time. This is also a direct cause of unhappiness because we are not living in the moments we are experiencing (1). For example, if someone is constantly thinking about what someone else may think of them. The person will then stress about this while participating in other experiences and then begin to stress over their stress causing an endless spiral. As long as the goal is turning off their brain, mindful minutes can look like many different things depending on the individual. This could look like meditation, quiet relaxation, or just
Jordan (2009, p. 168) defines mindfulness “as an individual learning process characterized by a heightened awareness of the specific circumstances in a given situation”. Being mindfully present is an integral part of my nursing practice and helps me deliver safe, effective and quality care. I am aware that being present for each individual patient is key and that I also must try to avoid generalizing from my personal experiences (Weil, 2004). This allows me to also mindfully communicate and be open minded and flexible not only with my patients, but also myself and fosters a kind and compassionate environment.
Being mindful is about taking the time for what matters. It is about understanding your surroundings and knowing the effect one can have on the world around you. It is about taking a sensible, nonjudgmental focus on situations that may arise. Be mindful to other people. Be mindful to the places that are around you. Also, be mindful to objects and to yourself.
There are many reasons why you might feel like your efforts to incorporate mindfulness into your life haven't worked for you. Here are some common mistakes that interfere with successful mindfulness practice followed by effective ways to avoid and overcome these obstacles.
Lissa Balisson came into class to discuss the significance of mindfulness. She described mindfulness as being in tune with yourself, but most importantly being in the present. One of the benefits being presently mindful and aware was to lessen the likelihood of being turbulent and agitated throughout the day. Often, we do things without thinking much about it, and we lose appreciation of the experience.
The study showed that mindfulness mediation requires in increased ability to engage in self-reflection and self-regulation acquired through self-experience (Grepmai, Mitterlehner, Lowe and Nickel,
The book provides the basis for establishing mindfulness programs in our classrooms, as well as providing simple exercises that can be used to improve educational outcomes. Students that receive and practice mindfulness outperform their
Mindfulness has its roots in ancient spiritual traditions, namely Buddhism (Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011), and is commonly defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding experience moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 145). Definitions like the preceding are common in contemporary literature, however many authors have suggested that mindfulness is a
In this day and age practicing mindfulness has become more common in pop culture, but many eastern cultures have had mindful practice embedded in their culture for centuries. Some may achieve a mindful state of mind when they aware of the present moment, can calmly acknowledgment others feelings, and bodily sensations. Many people use in their everyday life to help them with physical and mental health issue they may have. Some benefits are reduced anxiety, improved sleep, OCD, reduce chronic may, and many more. However, researchers have said that over practicing mindful thinking could actually harm you more than it is helping you.
If mindfulness is being more centered within and aware of other, then this is a practice we need to embrace to prevent reacting, while focusing on responding, that is what Brach (2015) talks about in her video. What meaning come to mind after viewing the video?
(2015) states, “Stress costs American companies an estimated $200 billion to $300 billion in lost productivity each year, and research suggests that mindfulness could be an effective antidote.” According to Hansen (2012), many researchers have conducted tests with results suggesting that becoming mindful reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and decreases depression and anxiety levels. Other benefits include the ability to build self-confidence as a leader (Smith, J.A, 2014). “The Benefits of Meditation,” (n.d) suggests that there are many physical and physiological benefits when an individual becomes mindful: the following lists are suggested
You have probably heard the phrase “to be mindful” at least once or twice in your lifetime. As familiar as it sounds, mindfulness is a concept many people seem to overlook despite it being an attribute they should seek. In everyday tasks, therein lies an array of small, subtle technicalities that highlight a significant moment. When we are unaware of the meaning of mindfulness is when we need to be mindful the most, because to be mindful is to be aware of all thoughts, all actions, all of the world— and if you are aware then you are able to view the world with vigor and perspective, encourage study and knowledge, and experience bliss and wonder.
The practice of mindfulness meditation, even for twenty minutes per day, has been proven to increase working memory, strengthen focus, and decrease stress levels. The recent increase in popularity of this practice has led to significant findings achieved through numerous empirical studies pertaining to the effect of meditation upon the various aspects of the mind.
Mindfulness effect work, school, and personal life by affecting how you manage behavior, navigate social complexities. We enter the workforce knowing how to read, write, and report on bodies of knowledge, but too often, we lack the skills to manage our emotions in the heat of the challenging problems that we face.
Mindfulness is the state of being cognizant of the present moment; it is the opposite of mindlessness, which means to not pay attention to the outside world. To be mindful, is to be aware of an ongoing experience through active thinking, emotional reactions and bodily sensations (Compton & Hoffman, 2013). “Mindfulness means seeing how things are, directly and immediately seeing for oneself that which is present and true. It has a quality of fullness and impeccability to it, a hinging of our whole heart and mind, our full attention, to each moment” (Goldstein & Kornfield, 1987). There are two distinct perspectives on mindfulness: the Ellen Langer approach and the Buddhist approach.
Many people think that mindfulness meditation consists solely of sitting still and thinking about nothing for twenty or thirty minutes and are put off by the thought. In fact, mindfulness