In this article, I will talk about awareness in general. Over the weekend someone told me that we always have access to awareness. That awareness is always available to us. And this has inspired me for this article. Because that statement is SO TRUE! Yes, awareness is always there when we need it! But actually, how many of you are using your awareness to improve the quality of your life?
General awareness
Awareness, in general, is very important and can be helpful especially for someone who suffers from anxiety. When we are becoming more aware of our surroundings, we are more in the present mode. Being more present makes us more focused on the ‘here and now’. When we bring our awareness to the here and now, there is no room for anxiety. Simply because we are stopping worrying about ‘what it will be’; or all the ‘ifs’, and ‘buts’.
Our minds can concentrate on one thing at a time. We can have only one thought that leads to another, but still, there is only one thought at the time. Our mind is incredible, it can do anything for us, and for our mind everything is possible. But when we don’t control the mind, it can go wild a bit, it will wander off, and bring intrusive thoughts. When I say intrusive I mean unwanted, negative thoughts that are not pleasant.
However, this is quite normal, because all human beings have the tendencies to focus more on the negatives. Although staying positive is always an effort especially at the beginning, it can be something worth working on. Because once ‘staying positive’ will become our habit, it will no longer be an effort.
Train your mind as you do your body
Let me give you an example when you decide to go to the gym, you don’t expect a six-pack tummy the next day after your first day. You know it will take time… consistency and determination are crucial in order to see some good results. In the beginning, it will be a struggle, it will be a huge effort, but you don’t give up at this stage. You keep going, even though it is not easy. However after a few weeks, you are starting to see some changes, and you noticing that going to the gym isn’t so much an effort anymore… Why? Because it became your habit, it blended with your daily routine, and now going to the gym becomes your routine.
With training your mind is exactly the same! It will take time, it will require your hard work and determination. But it can be done, you will see good results. Be patient, keep training your mind as you would train physically. I promise it will bring you the desired outcome.
So how can you train your mind?
Stay focused! Don’t think what will happen tomorrow, don’t think what other people might think of you, stop worrying. It will not change anything. Instead tell yourself: Whatever tomorrow will bring, I will deal with it tomorrow. If you are watching tv, watch tv, don’t think of what John told you yesterday. Or what happened last week at the party. Whatever happened last week, it is already in the past. You won’t change it. You can’t change the past! But you can change your tomorrow, by staying focused. By enjoying your day today!
If you are going for a walk, observe, look at what is around you. Notice the colors of the sky, trees, nature. I, personally love October, it is a beautiful month, and it brings lots of changes that are so easy to notice… Go for a walk, and be there… look at the leaves, look at the pathway, ask yourself what do you see? Stay with that, ask yourself, what exactly you do or do not like in what you see? Be in control of your mind, be in control of your thoughts.
If you notice yourself slipping back to the negative thoughts, don’t be hard on yourself! Show some compassion to yourself. You deserve to be nice to yourself. Say to yourself: ok, let’s not go there, let’s focus on … the weather, the sky, on the things that you are doing right that moment.
In my book Grow into your happiness I am talking among other things, a lot about self-compassion, self- care and mindfulness, which is helping us be more present. You will find a link to my book below…
You can write in the comments below your own experience of how you are training your mind…
https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it