It’s so easy getting caught up in the things that go on in our lives and letting them bring us down. We get so caught up in our own heads that the event could have happened a long time ago and we are keeping it alive in our heads to such an extent we still FEEL the experience.
Mindfulness can bring us back to the moment, into our bodies and less in our heads and thoughts. Conscious living means you’ll have more control over your actions rather than reacting to whatever life throws at you.
Some things I find that help me out and might help you out in your day are:
Breathe
So often we aren’t in tune with what our bodies are doing. When we focus on our breath it’s amazing how much better you feel. If you’re having a stressful day, 1 minute focused on your breath can make such a difference! Just focus on the feeling of each in-breath, taking your time doing this and breathing fully out, pausing at the end before starting again. You will feel powerful and full of life again in no time!
Get grateful – look for the lesson
If something happens that doesn’t make you happy or feel good, it’s easy to react and get angry. Sometimes these things happen not to try you, but to teach you that you’re able to handle more. So instead of getting angry look for the lesson in the experience. The best way to build confidence is to be in situations that you’re not comfortable with, and feel out of your comfort zone and take action to handle the situation anyway! I speak from experience with this and focused for a number of years building my confidence by pushing through my fears.
Don’t take it personally
Shit happens. Sometimes you just have to pick your socks up and try again. I ran a company at 16 that made money and then lost money. I failed, but I didn’t take it personally, I knew I could’ve done better. If you’re failing, it’s a sign you’re trying. It doesn’t make you a failure, it just means you can do better! I’ve done a post on not taking things personally here!
Don’t judge
Too often we judge a situation, person or event as bad, terrible, stressful etc. But we don’t have power over what happens to us, only how we react. So reacting differently and again, looking for the lesson or good in the situation, can produce a better outcome! So instead of finding a situation as stressful, find something good about it, something you can be thankful for and use that to react better! It goes the same for people we judge. If we think they’re bad, make you angry or make you stressed, find the lesson! If they make you angry, they’re teaching you patience, you just don’t know it yet!
Don’t get attached
In life, if you don’t achieve the outcome you wanted or were aiming for, you feel bad and feel like a failure! Above I said not to take things personally, but it also comes down to being attached to the outcome. If the outcome is all you’re focused on, you forget the journey, the lessons and the experience along the way! Even if you fail, you’ve a lot to be thankful for during the journey to achieving your goals, don’t forget that!
If you think you can add to this list I’d love to hear from you!
