- Mindfulness is the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis (Merriam Webster Dictionary).
- Being mindful involves being open, introspective, reflective, and self-accepting.
- Mindfulness can lead to increased positivity, better quality of life, more coherence, more empathy, healthier relationships, and greater hope.
- It therefore also enhances life satisfaction and wellbeing.
- Becoming mindful can help you become more self-aware. This leads to a reduction in stress and anxiety, which has psychological and physical benefits.
- Mindfulness reduces depressive symptoms.
- Mindfulness enhances the quality of our attention and our decision-making processes. It also improves the way we respond to setbacks, making us more resilient.
- Being mindful can help you become aware of – and use – your character strengths in a balanced way (remember that using your strengths too much or too little can result in frustration and underperformance).
- Mindful awareness is a type of experience that changes not just the structure, but also the function of our brain throughout our lives. Just like lifting a weight to develop a physical muscle, every time we pay attention to the moment in a non-judgmental way, we enhance the areas of the brain dealing with self-regulation and compassion.
Which are the disempowering words or sentences that you might sometimes use about yourself, but would not use when speaking to a friend?
Your inner voice will now be forbidden from using these words/ sentences.
Which is the kind of thoughts, words and affirmations that can replace your negative ones?
Use the kind of words and phrases that you will use about yourself from this moment on.
How will your life improve if your self- talk becomes more positive?
How will you stay mindful of your inner voice?
Inspired by Lisa Avery