What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness. It’s a pretty straightforward word. It suggests that the mind is fully attending to what’s happening, to what you’re doing, to the space you’re moving through. That might seem trivial, except for the maddening fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand. Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and soon we’re engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened, or fretting about the future. And that can make us anxious.

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.

Yet no matter how far we drift away, mindfulness can help re-direct us back to where we are; to what we’re doing and feeling, instead of being lost in outer space.

Here’s an all-purpose definition that treats mindfulness as a quality that every human being already possesses, rather than something we have to conjure up:

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.

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques. Particularly: seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (it’s also possible lying down, but for me that often leads to sleep); short pauses we insert into everyday life, and merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

When we meditate, it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just do the practice; and yet there are benefits, or no one would do it. When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others’ well-being.

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness—to ourselves and others.

8 Things to Know About Mindfulness:

1. Mindfulness is not obscure or exotic.

It’s familiar to us because it’s what we already do - how we already are. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.

2. Mindfulness is not a special added thing we do.

We already have the capacity to be present, and it doesn’t require us to change who we are. But we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and neighbors, the people we work with, and the institutions and organizations we take part in.

3. You don't need to change.

Solutions that ask us to change who we are or become something we’re not, have failed us repeatedly. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.

4. Mindfulness has the potential to become a transformative social phenomenon.

Here’s why:

5. Anyone can do it.

Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it’s easy to learn.

6. It's a way of living.

Mindfulness is more than just a practice. It brings awareness and caring into everything we do, and it cuts down needless stress. Even a little makes our lives better.

7. It's evidence based.

We don’t have to take mindfulness on faith. Both science and experience demonstrate its positive benefits for our health, happiness, work and relationships.

8. It sparks innovation.

As we deal with our world’s increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.

Sherri Elliott-Yeary, CEO of Generational Guru is an award-winning speaker, professional business consultant, and published author who energetically engages international audiences with her practical strategies for attracting, growing, and retaining top talent and loyal customers from every generation. Sherri brings over twenty years of hands-on experience to support you in designing generational solutions that address:

• Cross-Generational Leadership Challenges

• Generational Blind Spots in Sales

• Effective Recruitment and Retention

• Marketing to Millennials

For more information, please contact Sherri via email at sher@generationalguru.com or text/call her at 469-971-3663.

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