Can Mindfulness Make you Happier?
Change What We Focus On
Mindfulness is an increasingly popular wellness practice among entrepreneurs, it is a dynamic and personal process that can mean a great many things depending on who you ask. Essentially, mindfulness is a tool and like any tool, it can be used in numerous ways.
Specifically, mindfulness can be used to change what we focus on and to change the way we think.
Too often we don’t pay attention to what’s going on inside our mind, and that makes us victims of our emotions. How often have you found yourself in a beautiful place doing fun things with friends, only to find yourself thinking about work and getting stressed — not actually enjoying the situation you’re in?
Likewise, you can have everything you could possibly want in life and not be happy. It all comes down to what you choose to focus on.
So why not use mindfulness as a daily tool for making yourself happier and more at ease with your life.
Gratitude Attitude
A ‘gratitude attitude’, means that you’re putting yourself in a state of mind where you’re focusing on the things you’re grateful for and you’re happy for. One way to do that is simply to take five to ten minutes out at the end of your day to write down in a journal things or people you’re grateful for during your day. It is similar to making your daily to-do list to help manage your workload the next day.
Another thing you can try is to write three things that you’re thankful for and reflect on them, after time, you just may find your happiness level rising. Try to make these three thankful things different, each day, so you won’t be repeating the same three things every day.
Your list may be made up of obvious things: like your health, like the people you love, and the fact that you have access to food. If they keep recurring every day, try to find different aspects of them to focus on. For example, if you’re focusing on people you like, focus on one person each day, not all of them at one time! Focusing on the people you love in particular is a great way to be more grateful to them and this can end up actually improving your relationship with them.
At the same time, you may also be focusing on smaller silly things. Maybe you’re grateful for the delicious cereal you’ll have tomorrow? Maybe you’re grateful for the fact that there’s a new film coming out that you’re very excited about? Maybe you’re grateful for just waking up to a new day. These are all legitimate things!
Now try to carry this over into your daily life.
Each time you think of something you don’t have, or that isn’t the way you want it to be, try to think as well about the things you’re grateful for and what you do have. Don’t have the latest cell phone? Well just be grateful you have a cell phone on which you can text, email, and watch pretty much anything on YouTube. You may not have the world at your fingertips as fast as you’d like, but you still have access. Be grateful!
How You Use Your Words
Likewise, you should try and think about the words you speak and the way you use them.
As well, language can have a huge impact on gratitude, and on the way, that other people think about you. For example, try not to complain or be negative instead, be constructive when speaking, if you can’t, it may be best not to say anything at all. If you feel compelled to say something negative, think before speaking, and try to find something positive to say first, as a buffer, then if you still feel you have to bring up the negative its impact may not be as blunt to the listener. You’ll feel happier and people will think of you like a more positive person they want to be around!
“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn
Meditation is a habit that may come easily to some. I have been meditating for over five years, but there were many days I found myself slipping. These days, not so much, not since I completed the no-cost Action Habits Challenge by Connie Ragen Green, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, independent publisher, and serial entrepreneur. You can check it out here.
If you’re interested in revitalizing your life through meditation and would like to learn a virtually risk-free, and cost-effective practice, that people of all ages can do with a little patience and guidance and that will serve you for the rest of your life, I would love to connect with you. You can connect with me here.
I’m Donna SLam, who loves to blog about how meditation brings self-compassion, peace of mind, and clarity to my life and others by sharing tips and strategies on how to live a fulling and purposeful life. I enjoy championing others to lead a healthy and happy life through meditation, walking, self-development, and spending time with loved ones.
