After we train, we rest to let our muscles recover. We change the oil of our car once in a while. We format our computer from time to time. But we never take the time to format our mind.
Are you not sleeping at night because you are thinking too much? Are you tuned out sometimes when people talk to you? Do you find it hard remembering things?
Mindfullness
It is what CEOs in large corporations train themselves in; it is what soldiers exercise in before they go to war or what leaders of countries do to be able to make important decisions and not fail under stress.
Now what is mindfullness exactly?
In short: It is living in the now. Carpe diem (enjoy the day). But it is more granular than that. Enjoy and be aware of every minute of your life.
It is also
– being aware and attentive of what is happening around you
– being aware of your actions and reactions. Towards yourself and others
– knowing that you have a choice in life
– realising that there are no problems now
– being happy with what you have now and not attaching happiness as a thing of the future
– clear comprehension of what is happening
THE STATE IN WHICH GREED, HATRED AND DELUSION HAVE BEEN OVERCOME
Mind you, the Mindfullness or Awareness that I am talking about, has nothing to do with religion.
Why should I try to master it?
It is a great skill to have because it will ensure that you don’t take yourself, the world and the people around you too seriously. It will allow you to concentrate longer and split the important from the unimportant.
It will give you the tools to not let events phase you and create your own happiness in live. To be the best representation that you can be of yourself.
It is what Mahatma used to preach. It puts things into perspective. Gives you the ‘calm’ that people have been looking for their whole lives. People are restless. They are insecure. They are scared. It is why religions are invented. Why wars still exist and why there is so much hatred and inequality in the world.
In your job, it will make that people will look at you for direction. They will feed off your calm and direction; your positivity and pursuasion; your happiness.
Our worst fears lie in anticipation.
There is never a problem now. You fall in a puddle of mud. You are in it. Accept it and move on. All you need to do is decide to get out of the puddle and take actions to do so. Change your clothes. Take a shower.
Now what if you don’t have a shower? Or new clothes. Mindfullness doesn’t make you rich or gives you a roof above your head. But mindfullness will make that you can still be happy without that roof. That doesn’t mean I am denying how hard some situations can be to overcome.
It is not the silver bullet. It needs hard work and dedication to train yourself to think this way.
So how do I become mindful or aware?
There is heaps of places that you can start. Try an app – read a book. The best one? Give Headspace (on-the-go) a try. http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/shop/headspace-meditation-app.aspx
