Mindfulness is a practice that helps us become aware and to be present at the moment. Developing this skill of mindfulness is not easy and requires a lot of practice. But once the skill is developed it’s quite helpful in dealing with the negative thinking patterns.
Have you ever been thinking about the past? If yes, what were you thinking? It’s always something negative. People who overthink tend to remember only the negative events and while thinking about the future too they are thinking about what if everything goes wrong despite planning everything. These negative thoughts can be avoided only by being present in the moment and thus mindfulness becomes a very important practice to follow.
How to practice mindfulness?
These 3 important techniques can help you be mindful.
· Stop being judgemental
Stop being judgemental of your thoughts, observe things without any judgements in your mind and without creating stories. This is an important technique to stop the racing negative thought train. Also while listening, be a keen listener, listen to what is being said and process only those exact words don’t try to read between the lines. Don’t judge yourself or others if you want to stop thinking negative. If you are getting negative thoughts don’t judge yourself for them too. Just accept who and how you are and try to bring necessary changes without looking down on yourself.
· Practice mindful breathing
Breathing is an important technique when it comes to being mindful. This exercise can be done standing up or sitting down, and pretty much anywhere at any time. All you have to do is be still and focus on your breath for just one minute. While breathing, make sure you are letting go off all your negative thoughts, breathing is an automated process and we hardly ever pay attention to how we breathe thus focussing on our breathing helps us be aware and know ourselves better which eventually helps us become more mindful.
· Observation
When you find yourself stuck in the strings of negative thoughts, allow yourself to observe the environment around you. Our all your senses at work, your eyes, your nose, your ears, your skin and your tongue. Observe things around you not just with eyes but also other organs. There is this common technique that says to use 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method. You describe five things you see, four things you hear, three things you feel or can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. When you follow this technique you are distracted from the negative thoughts that were running in your head and also now you are thinking about positive things present around you.
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