Practicing Mindfulness in a Never-Ending Responsibility World

Source: Zero To Three

Mindfulness is a buzzword you can't avoid, thrown around by psychologists, personal trainers and health blogs. But, do people actually know what mindfulness and being mindful is? Mindfulness is about slowing down and taking advantage of the basic human ability to be fully present, fully aware and not overreact or become overwhelmed by what is happening around us. Mindfulness applies to working, eating, playing sports and many other aspects of our everyday lives.

Stress about jobs, family, school and the future dominates our lives and affects our wellbeing. Our lives are overwhelming and full of distractions; practicing mindfulness helps us take the spinning world around us and manage it healthily. Like any other skill or sport, it requires practice and time to build strength. Start small and build up over time – just as you would add weight to your exercise regime.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Between 200-500 million people meditate worldwide and, more than ever before. People are realizing the health benefits and increased quality of life it can bring. Judson Brewer has a great TedTalk on how mindfulness can improve perspective and help break bad habits. Here are eight reasons mindfulness helps both your mental and physical well-being:

1. Mental Focus – Clearing stress triggers can help us focus on the present and boost overall mental health.

2. Compassion – Cultivating a stance of being a witness to your own experience rather than being judgemental helps you recognize these thoughts as they come up and push them away.

3. Academic Success – Studies have shown that students who meditate or have designated quiet time have better academic performance. They also benefit from increased energy and self-assurance to help them plow through assignments and tasks quickly and efficiently.

4. Better Sleep – Mindfulness can reduce the wake time of people with insomnia by 50%. Being able to calm and center yourself is an all-natural, medication-free way to treat insomnia by reducing measures of arousal in the brain.

5. Physical Health – Eating well and exercising, obviously, improves physical health, but stress, anxiety and depression can have adverse physical effects. Meditative and mind-body practices can help students reduce negative emotions and their physical effects.

6. Confidence – Good physical and mental health and engaging in mindful practices such as journaling or meditation can lead to great self-appreciation and reflection. It reduces negative thoughts and helps us redirect them to the present.

7. Improved Memory – A study in Psychological Science found that students who did mindfulness exercises had increased short-term memory. They were also less susceptible to distractions and had improvements in verbal reasoning.

How to Incorporate Mindfulness into College Life

Students with so much to juggle daily may find making time for themselves hard. However, you only need a little time to increase your mental fitness.

Meditation – Although mindfulness and meditation are closely linked, they are different. Meditation is a set of techniques to develop mindfulness, promote calmness and increase relaxation. It is a popular way to practice mindfulness, but not the only way. Find a comfortable and quiet place. Shut your eyes and focus on your natural breath. Meditation begins and ends in the body and involves being aware of what is happening. When your mind starts to wander to intruding thoughts, bring your focus back to your breath. When we pay attention to our breath, we learn how to return to, and remain in, the present movement – to anchor ourselves in the here and now on purpose, without judgment. The Calm and Insight Timer apps, free in the app store, have great beginner-guided meditations that cover various topics like stress, body image, anxiety, inspiration, relationships and more.

Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night? The meditation apps also have sounds that help you fall into REM sleep faster.

Maintain a Gratitude Journal – I've used a gratitude journal for about a year now and find it is a great way to unwind before bed and get any wandering thoughts out on paper. Journaling, in general, is an excellent self-reflection practice that can help sort out feelings and keep your thoughts organized. Instead of only focusing on negative emotions, finding gratitude in the little things in life can be beneficial in cutting through the negativity and finding the good things in life to be thankful for. The Tiny Buddha's Gratitude Journal has questions, prompts and coloring pages to help recognize small blessings in one's life and draw focus back to how you're feeling in the present moment.

Pay Attention to Nature – Do you ever feel when you're rushing to make your 8:00 a.m. class, you forget to stop and literally smell the roses? Nature is a great way to be mindful of our surroundings and focus on our senses. What do you smell? The wet sidewalk after it just rained? The earthy leaves crunching as you walk through on the ground? Feel the sun on your skin and take in the elements with your senses. This is a simple way to slow down and pay attention to the world and the moment you're in rather than worrying about assignments you must do later or rushing through life.

Visualize – It might sound counterintuitive to combine visualization and meditation. After all, meditation is about letting thoughts come and go rather than consciously directing them toward a particular result, right? Famous athletes, high-powered executives and actors have long used guided visualization to calm nerves, curb self-doubt and prepare for a big game. Go through the details of a specific event and imagine the desired outcome you wish to achieve. See yourself acing a test, getting a good grade on a paper, or nailing that job interview. This helps increase confidence and lowers anxiety by calling your mind back to acknowledging the feelings in your body.