Mental Fitness Mondays: Mindfulness
It’s all in your head…
Ahhhh Mindfulness…one of the Mental Fitness components that people tend to score themselves lowest on (based on our questionnaire). In today’s Mental Fitness Monday I look at this often misunderstood, and definitely under-valued, component.
When I talk about mental fitness with groups, sometimes people think being mindful means being polite and respectful…. being ‘mindful of your manners’. Others think it's something to do with being busy and your mind being full. More often, people think it’s about being a bit of a hippie and saying ‘Om’ a lot, usually instantly dismissing this component as ‘not for people like me’. It’s fair to say that there are a lot of misconceptions about this topic!
Are you paying attention?
When I talk about mindfulness what I’m referring to is simply being present. Paying attention to the here and now. When you’re lost in thought, or barely aware of your surroundings, you’re not practising mindfulness. Mindfulness is about being able to zoom out of your narrow focus to take in more information. It’s incredibly useful to be mindful, and good for you!
Welcome to your autopilot
The brain has what's known as a default mode network (DMN) which is rooted in your frontal lobes. It’s when you're on autopilot, usually when you're doing things that you've done hundreds of times over, like taking the bin out or feeding your dog. If you've ever been on a journey and then thought ‘I wonder how I got here!’ or ‘I can't remember whether I brushed my teeth or not this morning’ you were probably in DMN at the time. This isn’t a bad thing at all, it can help us to have positive insights and come up with new ideas. Sadly though, much of the mind-wandering that happens when we’re in DMN is unhelpful because we tend to dwell on the negatives, or we stop engaging properly with the people around us. All of us, including me, slip into it very, very easily.
Woo-woo nonsense?
Mindfulness is not a ‘woo woo’ concept. Mindfulness is rooted in science, particularly neuroscience. The evidence shows that mindfulness can increase connectivity in the brain between default mode and other modes, helping us to focus better and improve our quality of life. (See https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17325-6)
How do we grow muscles? By working them
Being more mindful gets easier the more you work on it, just like you can lift heavier weights if you start lifting weights. Rhonda Byrne, author of The Magic and The Secret, says that she frequently asks herself ‘am I aware? How aware am I right now?’ That's a great question to ask because it gets you immediately back in the present moment. Activities like mindfulness practice and meditation practices can all help as well. I plan deliberate mindfulness moments into my day, by doing focused breathing sessions and sometimes just gazing out of the window observing whatever I see.
How about you exercise your mindfulness muscles today? Become aware of where you are right now, as you're reading this, and ask yourself ‘what's happening now? How am I feeling? What can I see? What can I hear? How are things with me?’
Build up that habit and notice the difference it makes!
A coaching question for you: How will you be more present and aware today?
