Armah A Quick Guide
In recent years, mindfulness has become a popular self-help strategy to regulate one’s mental health and overall well-being. Establishing a daily habit of practicing mindfulness has a wide range of health benefits. Although developing the habit is a struggle, if you practice mindfulness regularly, its positive effect on life is worth the effort.
How to practice mindfulness effectively
Learning to practice mindfulness effectively for beginners is a challenge. Since there are certain things you need to keep in mind while practicing it and certain aspects to be avoided. To practice mindfulness effectively, keep the following Dos and Donts in your mind.
The DOs to practice mindfulness effectively
1. Establish your intention.
You need to be aware of what you hope to achieve from undergoing the mindful process before practicing it. For example, you want to practice it to reduce your stress/ anxiety/ cope with pain/develop a sense of compassion, etc. Asking yourself the following questions would help to clarify your intention:
- Why do I want to practice mindfulness?
- What do I hope to achieve at the end of the mindfulness exercise?
Similarly, you can use sentence completion for this as well. For example,
- I want to practice mindfulness because …
- After mindfulness, I will feel ….
- If I am more mindful, I will be able to…
2. Establish your long-term goal
Having a goal while practicing mindfulness will give you a target to work towards. It will also give you an idea about where you are now and where you need to go after regular practice. Thus, you will be motivated to stay committed to it and eventually reach the point where you hope to be. A few examples of such goals are
- ‘I want to generally be more compassionate towards myself’
- ‘My aim is to be more in tune with my body and experiences’
- ‘I plan to live in the moment rather than the future’
3. Develop a positive attitude
A lot of people hold negative perceptions about mindfulness and consider it an unhelpful activity. Such an attitude may prove their apprehensions when they first meet obstacles in their mindful journey. Although it is completely natural to view mindfulness skeptically and be unsure about whether it would be helpful, this attitude can be regulated. To manage it, adopt a more neutral attitude. For example, tell yourself ‘I am unsure whether mindfulness will be helpful for me, but I will try my best and see what happens’.
The DONTs to practice mindfulness effectively
1. Do not make goals that are unrealistic or unachievable.
A lot of people begin mindfulness with excitement and motivation. Based on that, they establish unrealistic and unattainable goals. However, when the excitement wears off and they are unable to achieve them, they set themselves up for disappointment. Thus, it is important that you begin mindfulness gradually and build upon it step by step. For example, ten minutes of daily mindfulness is a healthy and realistic target, to begin with.
2. Do not expect mindfulness to be a quick fix
Multiple individuals consider mindfulness to be a wonderful solution to all of their problems. However, this is a very unrealistic expectation. Remind yourself that mindfulness will assist and enhance your decision-making and problem-solving abilities. However, it will be possible after you practice it regularly. Even then, the success is associated with YOU and not the practice itself.
3. Do not skip on your commitment.
To get the full benefit of mindfulness, you cannot be selective about practicing it on only good days. It is especially integral that you practice it daily even when you feel anxious, depressed, or stressed. While it may well be challenging and a struggle, remind yourself that it is a strategy that will help you to regulate your breathing, thoughts, and emotions. Hopefully, you will feel much better at the end of practicing it. Similarly, train your mind to counter thoughts that delay or tell you to do anything but mindfulness.
4. Do not strive for perfection.
Many people set really high standards for themselves while practicing mindfulness. For example, they may criticize themselves when their mind wanders off during the mindfulness practice. Or they hope to achieve a calm, relaxed and peaceful state every time they practice it. Such are not realistic standards. Tell yourself that it is natural for thoughts to enter your mind during meditation. Accept that and acknowledge these thoughts while in the moment. Similarly, strive for good enough rather than the optimum state of peace and calm.
Watch: [How to Practice Mindfulness]
You may think that the above points are obvious. However, many of us are bound to make them our first mistakes when we begin our journey to be more mindful. Try to incorporate these in your overall style and hopefully it will assist you in getting the full benefits from mindfulness in your daily life. To learn more about mindfulness and related exercises, check out the following articles.