In this exercise,
I'll share how mindfulness can help you become however you want to be,
Rather than simply reacting to the stressors of work,
News and responsibilities.
By now,
You're probably feeling a little more comfortable with mindfulness practice and you may also feel the potential of what mindfulness can do for you.
For example,
What would it be like if you weren't worried about work or your mortgage?
Or feeling overwhelmed all the time?
Or feeling tired from all of your chores?
What if,
Instead of feeling overwhelmed,
Bored or stressed,
You were able to step back and say,
Oh,
OK,
That's overwhelm!
Or,
Oh,
OK,
That's worry!
OK,
That's just stress,
I got this!
Rather than saying,
I am stressed,
Rather than feeling as though you're in the middle of it all,
Instead,
Just recognizing that OK,
That's a thought or that's a feeling.
For some of you,
That may sound weird or crazy,
Woo-woo!
And you may well think,
Yeah,
But you don't know my crazy situation!
And you're right,
I don't!
But remember,
It's really important to see that this practice of mindfulness takes time for change to happen,
But change does happen.
For people who are successful at what they do,
It's a habit of a lifetime.
Or at least a habit of a good few years.
We're not just talking about doing better at work or feeling less stressed.
This is about living on your own terms.
This is about choosing how awake and present you want to be for the life you're living right now.
This is about enhancing your presence,
Your wisdom,
Your compassion and your effect on the world inside of you and outside of you,
To the absolute best of your ability.
How do you want to be when you're older?
Mindful.
Every time you realize you're distracted and you're taking the time to acknowledge it,
Something is changing,
Not only in thoughts and consciousness,
But also in the brain itself.
If you experience stress,
Overwhelm or anxiety a lot,
Then it will be really uncomfortable and you'll probably want to get as far away from it as possible,
And that's understandable.
But it's also really important to acknowledge that you can't stop anxiety.
Everyone's tried it,
It doesn't work.
What you can do is develop a different type of relationship to it,
Where you eventually feel at ease with it and potentially can even start to embrace it as a way of further understanding the mind.
So as you move through your day today,
Remember that idea of being aware.
Simply being aware,
Being present for the sensations in your body.
Whenever you remember to do this,
It's quite an amazing thing because all of a sudden,
You're actually present.
Again,
It's as though you cut the negative feedback loop.
You step out of the loop of thinking,
Which fuels the emotions of stress and overwhelm and instead,
You're actually present with your body and what you're doing.
On the one hand,
It's a very ordinary feeling and yet on the other hand,
It's an extraordinary feeling because we experience it so rarely.
Just remembering to be present,
Simply being aware.
Excellent,
Well done!
So,
To recap.
If you experience stress,
Overwhelm or anxiety a lot,
Then it will be really uncomfortable and you'll probably want to get as far away from it as possible and that's understandable.
But it's also really important to acknowledge that you can't stop anxiety.
Everyone's tried it,
It doesn't work.
What you can do is develop a different type of relationship to it,
Where you eventually feel at ease with it and potentially can even start to embrace it as a way of further understanding the mind.
So,
As you move through your day today,
Remember that idea of being aware,
Simply being aware,
Being present for the sensations in your body.
I hope some of this has been useful for you.
Thank you for your mindfulness.
