Perhaps the Most Important Self-Practice Today: Mindfulness

Sections of this topic

    © Copyright Carter
    McNamara, MBA, PhD

    Sections of This Topic Include

    What is Mindfulness?

    Why Is It So Important Today?

    Test – How Mindful Are You?

    How Do You Practice It?

    Additional Aspects of Personal Wellness


    What is Mindfulness?

    The editorial staff of the Mindful magazine defines mindfulness this way: “Mindfulness
    is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what
    we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going
    on around us.”
    What is Mindfulness?

    This definition is written in Psychology Today: “Mindfulness
    is a state of active, open attention to the present. When we are mindful, we
    carefully observe our thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or
    bad .. It means living in the moment and awakening to our current experience,
    rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.”
    What is Mindfulness?

    As usual, Wikipedia gives us a comprehensive and yet specific explanation of
    mindfulness.
    Mindfulness

    What
    Is Mindfulness? Nobody Really Knows, and That’s a Problem

    Why Is It So Important Today?

    It is ironic that in trying to calm the very hectic pace of our lives — in
    trying to feel more serenity in our lives — we do that by adding yet more things
    to do: reading more self-help articles, taking more classes, and undertaking
    even more stressful diets and exercises. Yet, for believers in mindfulness,
    the “answer” to finding more serenity is just not trying to find
    it. It is in just noticing what’s around us now without a lot of thinking about
    it. Practitioners of mindfulness have found that living in the present is much
    more serene and satisfying than constantly living one step ahead of yourself.

    They have also found that they get just as much — if not more — done in their
    lives and what they get done is often more important, than just urgent. But
    most of us are not at all receptive to a practice that is so contrary to what
    we’ve been taught and how we’ve lived our lives so far. Without knowing it,
    we’re doing that old adage of working harder, rather than smarter; of doing
    the same thing over and over again, and of expecting different results each
    time.

    For too many of us, we realize that insight only after suddenly suffering a
    significant physical ailment. Yet, we believe that “solutions” to
    complex problems have much have complex solutions. Or, at least, they must come
    from experts, certainly not from ourselves — and they should be darn expensive,
    as well.

    For some countries and cultures, they have practicing mindfulness, especially
    through the form of meditation, for millennia. Much longer than our country
    was formed. Perhaps they learned the practice through frustration, confusion, and pain like many of us are experiencing today. Yet today, research continues
    to show the benefits of more mindful approaches, such as meditation and Eastern
    practices such as Tai Chi and Yoga — practices you can understand and do with
    yourself or with others.

    Test – How Mindful Are You?

    Take this mindfulness quiz.

    Mindfulness
    Quiz

    Based on the results, you might consider the suggestions in the following articles.

    How Do You Practice It?

    Mindfulness
    is not a fad. Try it.
    How
    to Practice Mindfulness (The Ultimate Guide to Being More Mindful Throughout
    the Day)
    How
    to Practice Mindfulness: A Beginner Guide

    7
    Easy Ways to Be Mindful Every Day
    Five
    Simple Mindfulness Practices For People Who Hate To Meditate
    Mindfulness
    exercises
    Top
    10 Difficulties in Mindfulness Practice and How to Overcome Them

    Yet, it’s important to see both sides of mindfulness practices.
    The Problem with
    Mindfulness
    The
    Little-Known Downsides of Mindfulness Practice
    Is
    Mindfulness Making Us Ill?


    Additional Aspects of Personal Wellness

    Also, consider
    Assertiveness
    Attitude
    Authenticity
    Awareness
    Bullying
    (Addressing)

    Cynicism
    Emotional
    Intelligence

    Financial
    Fitness

    Job
    Satisfaction

    Motivating
    and Inspiring Yourself

    Physical
    Fitness

    Self-Confidence
    Stress
    Management

    Work-Life
    Balance

    Workaholism


    Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Personal Development

    In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs
    that have posts related to Personal Development. Scan down the blog’s page to
    see various posts. Also, see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the
    sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in
    the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

    Library’s
    Career Management Blog
    Spirituality in
    the Workplace


    For the Category of Personal Wellness:

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