7 Steps to Improve your Mindset - Part 2
- Sonia Scussel
- Nov 14, 2022
- 3 min read
The key to improving your mindset is working on self-awareness and committing to implementing the changes you want for yourself. Part 1 explored how positive self-talk, self-compassion and gratitude improve the quality of your life. Part 2 introduces other fundamentals to complete the journey into a more fulfilling life.
Act of Kindness
Everyone appreciates acts of kindness. An act of kindness is selfless and done out of love and care.
Being kind to others can make us genuinely happy in many different ways. Deciding to be generous or cooperate with others activates the area of the brain, responding to things we find rewarding and pleasurable.
Reflecting on being kind in the past can be enough to improve one’s mood. Likewise, helping others has more impact on one’s spirit than focusing merely on yourself.
Kindness Contribution to Improving Mindset
Kindness comes back around.
Reduces sense of isolation
Gives a positive sense of identity
Helps make meaningful connections
Improves sense of belonging
Helps keep things in perspective
Improves self-esteem
Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment. One can practice mindfulness while you perform everyday activities, like cooking, cleaning, or walking. Mindfulness and meditation are often confused, but mindfulness is the sensitive awareness that allows observing yourself non-judgmentally, and meditation is a practice through which one learns to live mindfully.
Therefore, one can live mindfully without meditating, but one cannot meditate without being mindful.
The challenge behind being mindful comes from the mind’s nature of thinking and figuring things out. That’s its job. The mind naturally looks for new things to think about and ways to be entertained. Practising mindfulness with patience and self-compassion can teach the mind to be fully immersed in the present moment. This is what’s known as actual presence. Below are only some of the many benefits of living mindfully.
Decreased depression.
Reduced rumination
Increased emotional regulation.
Reduced anxiety and stress.
Improved memory.
Stronger relationships.
Improved attention
The attempt to escape from pain, is what creates more pain.
Gabor Maté
Meditation
Daily meditation supports the brain’s ability to regulate emotions allowing greater mental clarity, lower levels of stress and reduced anxiety. Practising mindfulness brings about positive changes; meditation deepens the connection with the self.
There are many ways to practice meditation, and most think they are not good at meditation because they cannot empty their minds, however, emptying the mind is not what meditation is about.
Meditation teaches your mind to be more aware of the present rather than removing all thoughts.
Meditation can provide many benefits, including:
lowering blood pressure
reducing stress
managing anxiety
controlling pain
improving attention
strengthening memory
improving self-image
enhancing self-awareness
improving sleep
If you cultivate the attitude of indifference towards the mind,
gradually you will cease to identify with it.
Annamalai Swami
Limiting worry and rumination
This practice is closely related to mindfulness. Worrying about the future or ruminating about past mistakes is unsettling and very unhelpful. Obsessive thoughts tend to be very intrusive, time-consuming and draining.
Introducing postponement exercise is an excellent way to recognise how much we overthink. The postponement exercise aims to limit the time dedicated to worries and rumination.
The Basics of Postponement Exercise.
Schedule a daily “worry time” for you to do nothing except allow yourself to worry.
The “worry time” shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes.
Have something you can record your notes on, like paper or a phone.
When you worry about something, decide if it is an immediate problem or can be postponed.
If it can be postponed, write it on your notes and deal with it as scheduled.
At the scheduled time, take your notes and review your worries. Is there something you can do about them? Can you resolve any of them? Are they still relevant?
Use all the time you have decided to invest, and remember that it cannot be more than 30 minutes.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
Final Thoughts
Consistent practice over a few months is essential. Gradually, you'll notice your reactions changing until you recognise substantial improvements in your approach to life.
When unpleasant feelings rule your day for too long, it’s time to reach out to someone you trust. When you don't have someone to talk to, contact a helpline, a support group, or a professional. Your GP or a counsellor can make a difference in your wellbeing.
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