We can’t always avoid negative things, and accepting only good things is unrealistic. So, do we achieve a balance of the two? Below are three easy tips anyone can practice to achieve mindfulness and improve your performance:
1. Accept Reality
Our fight-or-flight human nature might lead us to run from the struggles or avoid the stressors. In an already isolating pandemic, it could be easy to isolate yourself and try to only feed the “good wolf”. However, this is not sustainable long-term and it does not set you up for success when the pandemic is over. For tips on how to avoid burnout at work or at home, check out this blog from December.
You don’t have to embrace a new lifestyle or live in denial. Accept the negatives of the pandemic as the world you are living in but don’t fixate on it. Seek ways to adapt what you do to suit your needs within this difficult situation. And take heart – we are all in this together.
2. Show Grace
While you’re accepting reality, make it a habit to practice grace. Emotions can be charged to extremes in the current environment. Before you react, take a moment to breathe and forgive yourself, your kids, your neighbors, etc. We are all human beings trying to survive. Extend the grace you know we all need before something is blown out of proportion.
3. Meditate
You don’t need a yoga studio or have to be religious to meditate. Meditation can be as simple as sitting down and breathing deeply for two minutes, clearing your mental slate of all thoughts, negative or positive. Meditation could also be focusing for a minute on something that makes you happy, like a flower or a pet. Meditation is simply giving yourself a mental break (minutes or hours) from all the stressors and chaos in the world.
Studies have shown that mindfulness improves our ability to focus, and the quality of relationships, and increases our ability to face emotional and psychological pain.
Sometimes, it takes courage to face reality. It is a conscious choice to face life head-on. If you take small steps to achieve mindfulness, you will set yourself up for success when you are faced with difficult decisions.
