Did you know that adding in the simple practice of mindfulness can improve your happiness? In 2020 that is a benefit that is much needed for everyone.
According to PositivePsychology.com, “happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. From this definition, we can glean a few important points about happiness: Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn’t a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state. Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings. Happiness can be either feeling or showing, meaning that happiness is not necessarily an internal or external experience, but can be both.”
What we can take from this information is that happiness is an emotion. It is not a constant guarantee. We cannot force happiness, but we can cultivate happiness by adding mindfulness practices into our life.
What Is Mindfulness
Being mindful means that we are focused on what is happening at this moment. We are not distracted by the activity of life, priorities, people, events of the past, or the future. We are in the moment right now.
Staying in the moment is a practice. Being mindful & in the moment you are living in right now can be a huge happiness gain. Your happiness can improve from using mindfulness activities
The Benefits Of Being Mindful
Having a richer life experience by turning off “autopilot.”
Less stress and anxiety.
Improved focus and attention
Increased self-awareness.
Increased happiness.
How Mindfulness Improves Your Happiness:
Visualization Helps You De-Stress
Take time each day to practice visualization. Focus on what you want to accomplish, manifest, or create in your day. You are setting the tone for your day when visualizing. This is a form of mindfulness meditation. Many times, in life we stress out about the things we have no control over. Being mindful pulls you back into the moment. Attending to what you have going on now in a positive way is a great way to improve happiness.
You Get To Experience The Joy Of Moments In Your Life
Being mindful helps you to tune in to the experiences you have each day. Picture this; an overworked executive is constantly on his phone during his children’s school play.
Choosing to live a mindful lifestyle allows you to experience the emotion of whatever moment you are having instead of being on auto pilot and often times tuning out the experience you are having by being distracted and consumed by other things.
Mindfulness Is A Radical Act Of Self Care
Self-care is defined as any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Mindfulness is one common self-care practice. By taking part in self-care it means you are taking care of yourself so that you are healthy physically, and mentally.
You are at your best so that you can work, interact with friends and family, and you can do all the things you need to and want to in a day. Knowing that you are doing something that is good for you is an awesome mood lifter. Also, having better health and wellness improves your mood and state of mind.
Being mindful and mindful is a great way to make happiness gains! Knowing yourself and having control over your thoughts is one facet of a healthy mind. Mindfulness takes work and practice to make it into a habit that you practice regularly. Using mindfulness helps you to feel calmer and have more peace. Start improving your happiness with mindfulness practices today.
Sources:
https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-happiness/
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-07754-000