Why Practice Mindfulness

A few years ago I didn’t even know what mindfulness was. Nor what this being in the present moment is all about and why it should help me.

How does that help me to get my shit together and building a better life? I don’t want to be in the present, it sucks. I want to be in a better future.

Reading articles and books didn’t help. I was left more confused by all this esoteric and feely fluffy stuff. That’s nothing I can connect to.

It raised the same probs as this passion thingie. Confusion, not finding the thing, and starting to think what’s wrong with me.

Luckily, nothing as I found out later.

The introduction was just wrong and something had to make click in my mind first. It’s like you had to turn a switch on first to turn the lights on.

It’s also exhausting to wade through these things to find some nuggets that help you. Sure, I found some tips and they helped.

Anyhow.

The change happened when I went to a course to become a mental trainer. I thought it would help me with motivating myself better and that is how I “read” the syllabus.

Turned out, motivation was a part of it but I learned way more. The things that turned the switch on like the power of our subconsciousness.

All the missing pieces of the puzzle came. And finally a complete enough picture I could work with. And how mindfulness fits in for me.

In short and brainy words.

Our mind runs on a conscious and a subconscious part. The subconscious has the power and makes up 95+% of the brain.

The subconscious runs on automation, routines, habits, and communicates with emotions, not rational like thoughts.

Most of our life runs on that automation with some vetos from our consciousness.

To ultimately change your life, you need to work together with the subconsciousness and consciousness. As a team.

Mindfulness helps me to detect these habits and automation, interrupt them so I can consciously decide on how I want to act.

It also helps me in weeding out the bullshit in my mind in the same way.

And this being in the present is all about the time you can actually change anything in your life. Neither dwelling in the past nor worrying about your future, do that. They just distract you as many other things do too.

Instead, enjoy the moment and do something that changes your life for the better.