Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and focusing on your thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It can be helpful to think of mindfulness as training your attention muscle. Just like any other muscle in your body, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. There are many benefits to living a mindful life, including reducing stress, improving your mood, and increasing your overall well-being.
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Start the day with a positive affirmation.
How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Have you ever woken up late, panicked, and then felt like nothing good happened the rest of the day? This is likely because you started out the day with a negative emotion. Instead of letting this dominate you, start your day with positive affirmations. Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if you feel silly.
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Focus on the good things, however small.
When you encounter such a challenge, focus on the benefits, no matter how slight or unimportant they seem. For example, if you get stuck in traffic, think about how you now have time to listen to the rest of your favorite podcast.
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Turn failures into lessons.
You’re going to make mistakes and experience failure in multiple contexts, at multiple jobs and with multiple people. Instead of focusing on how you failed, think about what you’re going to do next time—turn your failure into a lesson.
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Negative self-talk into positive self-talk.
You might think I’m so bad at this or I shouldn’t have tried that. But these thoughts turn into internalized feelings and might cement your conceptions of yourself. When you catch yourself doing this, stop and replace those negative messages with positive ones.
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Have faith in your own ability.
Commit yourself to having faith in your ability to learn new things and change. Guard against being side-tracked or demotivated by other people’s negative comments. Although constructive criticism is always helpful, it’s important to develop and listen to your own voice.
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Emphasise growth over speed.
It’s good to remind yourself that you are cultivating a growth mindset, not a ‘quick fix’ mindset. This is a continual process where you keep on learning and growing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t get discouraged if some new skills and behaviours take time to master. Adapt to your own pace.
