Increase Your Well-being with a Mindful Moment

Research shows that mindfulness improves your creativity, health, and well-being increasing your resilience through the many life and career changes you experience. “Research in mindfulness has identified a wide range of benefits in different areas of psychological health, such as helping to decrease anxiety, depression, rumination, and emotional reactivity. Research has also shown mindfulness helps to increase well-being, positive affect, and concentration.” UCLA Mindfulness Research Center. 

 Mindfulness has benefits even when practiced for a few minutes. Being in the present can decrease worry and anxiety. Mindfulness can clear your mind of concerns about future events that may not even happen. Focusing on your senses; body, breath, or touch relaxes your mind and body. Mindfulness can be experienced outdoors by observing nature in the moment. 

Observing nature and finding even small things to be grateful for will take your mind off of yourself and creates a more relaxing body and mind. Sometimes empty spaces can be as enlightening as spaces filled with rushing rivers and ocean waves. The shadows and spaces between the leaves on the trees serve a purpose and can remind us that along with growth, motivation, and learning we need to let our minds relax from our lists, events, and future uncertainties. Mindfulness is about experiencing the moment and being in it. I can easily find my mind wandering to past concerns and feeling like I have not done enough or stressing over what will happen in the future. Stopping, meditating, clearing my mind, and experiencing the empty spaces can open myself to creative possibilities that I hadn’t before imagined. 

I enjoy walking and listening to a book or podcast and learning or being enlightened, but constantly filling my mind without practicing quietness, mindfulness, and presence can actually leave me feeling empty. Taking a “Mindful Meditative Walk’ clears my mind. I am lifted up from myself when I observe nature like the sparkling sun on morning dew, the golden trees lit up by the setting sun evening sun, or gray clouds hanging on a blue sky. 

My creative mind soars when I leave room for new insights. “Sleep and any form of mindful practice that doesn’t involve active thinking of the creative task is helpful. Walking meditation is great for reducing stress and anxiety that may arise when ‘doing nothing’. Relax and let the insight come naturally!” Crystal Goh, (2016) Calm, How to Apply Mindfulness to the Creative Process. 

 By observing the ever-changing days and seasons that continue year after year, I get a sense of the natural order God created through birth, growth, death, and regrowth. Change can bring feelings of uncertainty. Grounding yourself in a mindful moment can give you the peace and focus to begin managing the many changes in our lives and careers. The practice of mindfulness, deep breathing, clearing the mind, and relaxation will improve your health, creativity, thinking, and attentiveness. Whether you are a career professional, entrepreneur, employee or job seeker, the health and relaxation that results from the practice of mindfulness will improve your confidence and performance. 

Need help working through unwanted thoughts or feelings? Contact Nancy J. Miller, Master Life Coach to leave a message or schedule an appointment.

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