In today’s world we often forget the world around us and the people in it. This can make us tune everything out and oftentimes can make others perceive us as rude and make our lives generally more stressful.

This is what becoming mindful is. But what exactly is mindfulness and how do you practice it?

According to an article by Greater Good Magazine titled “What is Mindfulness”, being mindful is being aware of yourself and the things around you without judgment.¹ This is so important especially now when we seem to have lost our touch with the world and the people that surround us.

But why exactly try so hard to make that connection? How exactly can practicing mindfulness help you, you may be asking.

An article from the Mayo Clinic titled “Mindfulness Exercises” talks about many of these benefits. Some that I thought were pretty general benefits had been improving attention, sleep, and allowing for better acceptance in processing your emotions and thoughts.²

Practicing mindfulness helps in parts of your life and more importantly yourself. Much of the time we find ourselves so caught up in things we forget to take care of ourselves, especially our mental health.

So how exactly can you become more mindful or at the very least attempt to do so. According to an article from PsychCentral titled “7 Steps to Being More Mindful” some ways to begin are to realize what you want out of this and to clear clutter from your life.³

A part of mindfulness is meditation but there are also many ways to conduct it as well. But a big portion of doing any of these things is what you intend to get out of it.

By giving yourself a motive it helps to push you forward and progress. It also is one of the core things about mindfulness, accepting instead of judging.

Clearing clutter is also similar in the sense that it is a sign of progression. You are clearing the things from your life that have no purpose to you, allowing the focus to fall on things that are helping you.

There are also other ways to begin a more mindful life. Another article similar to Psych Central’s from Very Well Mind titled “How to Become More Mindful in Your Everyday Life”.

Some of the other ways this article mentions are to be more considerate of your actions, taking a moment to pause, and being more thoughtful of how you interact with others.⁴ Unlike the advice mentioned in the other article this more pertains to how we interact in our daily lives.

When being considerate of your actions they are talking about being more focused on what you are doing and instead of viewing something you do not like negatively do so positively. This will make you more attentive of your surroundings and associate what could have been as boring or monotonous as more enjoyable.

Now this may not work for everything, but it surely can be helpful in doing daily chores or homework. Being mindful will not be easy so taking breaks to remind yourself whether it be through mediation or doing something that grounds you.

This will help to move from task to task while still being in a mindful state. Just as with interacting with the things around you it is also important to be mindful with others as well.

But how exactly do you do that? Well, according to this article it is mostly about paying attention to whoever you are choosing to spend your time with and engage.

No one likes to talk to a wall so instead of mindlessly nodding through dialogue try to respond mindfully and be that engagement. In the end, being mindful is more of you being a more considerate person and choosing to enjoy life rather than let it take over you hatefully.

Being mindful is really up to you and whether or not you want to make your life a bit more enjoyable.

Cited Sources:
1: “What Is Mindfulness?” written by Greater Good Magazine
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition (What being mindful means)

2: “Mindfulness Exercises” written by Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356(benefits of mindfulness)

3: “7 Steps to Being More Mindful” written by PsychCentral
https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-to-become-a-more-mindful-person#tips-to-be-more-mindful (reflection, clearing clutter)

4: “How to Become More Mindful in Your Everyday Life” written by Elizabeth Scott from Very Well Mind
https://www.verywellmind.com/mindfulness-exercises-for-everyday-life-3145187(being mindful of your actions, pausing, be mindful of how you act)