As a disclaimer, EnvisionCo Blog is reader-supported. Some links on this site are for additional informational purposes whereas some others are affiliate links (don't worry, these will be clearly marked as such). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign-up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This of course is at no additional cost to you. Additionally, EnvisionCo Blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is in no way intended to be a substitute for therapy by a trained mental health professional.
We have covered a wealth of information over the past few months on the benefits of incorporating mindfulness into our daily habits. We opened with money, one of my favorite subjects in addition to mental health. The economic landscape is on shaky grounds for the average American right now. My encouragement opening the new calendar year was to get your financial house in order. I provided a list of solutions to add a little more change to your banking accounts. You won't get rich but an extra $100, $50, heck even $20 can make the difference for a lot of people. Next up, I encouraged starting a savings plan even including a ready for you savings plan in our second article of this year. From that article until the closing of this article, I have provided a link for you to utilize to start a new savings account and get a $25 bonus for doing so because I recognize that every little bit helps.
From there, we shifted into the pervasive inner mindsets that often times serve as barriers to our saving and investing and block our readiness to make much needed changes. There are messages about money, both explicit and implicit, that we have downloaded into our psyches that prevent us from the level up we claim we so desire. I don't like to linger on problems much without offering some sort of solution. So what is the solution for our money problems? For the last few months, I have postulated time and again that mindfulness principles are the solution. We explored what mindfulness was and how it relates to finances, the impact of our emotions on our wallets, and the role our values and intentions play. Mindfulness most definitely can be a solution to the us and business problems in our daily lives.
It's one thing to learn principles but it is another to break down those principles and their practical application. One of the first steps in learning and applying mindfulness is the body scan. So often, we are too disconnected from our own bodies to really pay attention to what we are feeling inside. In fact, we generally don't notice until the tension is now a much stronger discomfort or even pain. The body scan helps us become aware of what we are feeling before it gets to be a bigger problem (physically or emotionally). We explored having a more balanced view of pleasant experiences and unpleasant experiences; we cannot attach our wellbeing to these fleeting experiences. We explored the rich inner world of our thoughts and the power the wield over our lives (positive and negative).
From thoughts, we branched over into feelings. The admonish to forgive brings up a rich, complicated basket of thoughts and feelings. What is the role of mindfulness in forgiveness? The answer was not what most would expect. There is a lot we get wrong about forgiveness and we explored the true art behind this practice. Another emotion that we often get wrong is anger. We view it as something to be managed by avoiding it. Together, we explored the true and lasting way to manage anger which is to embrace it. Of course, the world can use a little more kindness; however, we also explored the extreme importance of cultivating kindness for ourselves. We explored how fear can hinder us from achieving emotional balance; after all, for weeks I have been asking you to deprogram yourself from how you had been doing things and asking you to try something new. I'll be the first to admit that such an endeavor can be both exciting or exhilarating and fear inducing.
Finally, to round out our discussion, we ended on compassion. Compassion for ourselves. Compassion for others. And truth be told, I rather enjoyed writing that one for you. I don't know if I was aware of it at the time, but as I type today, I realize that if we lead with compassion (for self and others) all of these other mindfulness principles fall into place. Compassion can aid in liberating us from fear. Compassion can help us be a little more kind. Compassion can help us temper the anger towards others and the anger we harbor towards ourselves. Compassion can help us lean towards forgiveness of both others and ourselves. Compassion can help us have more balanced thoughts about ourselves and others and our experiences. Compassion can help us with more tenderly noticing what is actually going on inside our bodies. Maybe compassion is the crux of mindfulness. At least where I am sitting. So where to now? Our next two articles are going to focus on consolidating your knowledge with a healthy dose of reality.
There is No Such Thing as Perfect Zen
My friends and family think I am a pessimist. I am secretly an idealist masquerading as a realist. I cannot begin to tell you how I truly wish that I, therapist and coach extraordinaire, could perfectly and calmly handle every situation that comes my way. I learn this stuff. Then study to relearn this stuff. Then write about it for you all which helps consolidate my learning. Only to have to circle back around to learn it again. Even still, I will never calmly and perfectly handle distress. I simply can't. Neither can those guys pictured on the left. Both you and I will continue to suffer and experience emotional turmoil so as long as we are alive and have breath in our bodies. There is no such thing as perfect Zen. In fact, this goes against the principles of it. In fact, true Zen requires that we embrace imperfection and the natural ebbs and flows of life. There is no perfect state of being. There is simply being. This is what mindfulness seeks to impart to us. Life is about being fully present, accepting things as they are, without attachment or aversion. When disequilibrium comes, and it will indeed come, the articles I have shared with you over the last few months have the information and tools inside to help you recover equilibrium so that you are not overtaken by emotions.
Show Me Your Diet
In the United States, 1 in 5 children and 2 in 5 adults have obesity (CDC, January 2024). The majority of dieters gradually regain any lost weight and research shows that the more diet attempts you make, the more likely you are to gain weight in the future (Front Psychol, 2013). With statistics like this, it is little wonder that when I say the word diet, majority of us go right to food. That's only half the battle. We typically do not think of internet surfing, online shopping, social media scrolling, texting, TV, music, or even conversation when we think of diet. We often instead conjure up images of unappetizing looking food served in teeny tiny portions with a hint of uncomfortable, muscle aching, sweat drenching exercise. And of course, here at EnvisionCo Blog, we have delved into the importance of food and our wellbeing and what foods may actually negatively and positively affect or moods. But diet is more than just food and exercise. It is also all the other noise pollution and distractions that affect our bodies, our health, our well-being. It is through this lens that we view emotional wellbeing and mindfulness, everything is your diet. What are you eating and I'm not just talking about food?
Is Your Compass Set Due North?
My mother used to always tell us kids growing up, "Your name goes ahead of you not behind you." It was her lesson on ethics and morality. It was her warning to us that whatever name we chose to make for ourselves would always precede us before we get to where we were even going. Treat others the way you want to be treated. The Golden Rule. Which takes me back to the article on our intentions and values. It is from these that our compass is set. It is from these that our behaviors are invisibly steered. When our compass is set due North meaning we lead our lives from a place of mindfulness compassion, kindness, forgiveness, appropriate anger expression, and temperance of thoughts we have more emotional balance. The more emotionally balanced we are, the more we present our highest selves to the world. The more we flow from our highest selves, the least likely we are to harm other, or steal, or engage in other misconduct.
Mindfulness is one of those topics that I could just go on and on about. It is such a rich and robust way of viewing and navigating the world. We’ve navigated financial strategies, inner mindsets, emotional regulation, and the essential role of compassion. Each step has provided insights and tools to help us manage life’s challenges with greater awareness and grace. Embracing this mindset allows us to lead more balanced, fulfilling lives, rooted in the understanding that every step, however small, contributes to our overall well-being. Even with all of that in mind, there is one pitfall we need to be aware of- resistance and maintaining our forward progress which will be topic of next article. As we conclude this exploration of mindfulness and its practical applications, it’s important to remember that the journey toward a balanced, mindful life is ongoing and imperfect. Please remember, wherever you are on this wellness journey, do not worry about getting it perfect; just get it going. Until next time. Happy reading!
Affiliate Links to Follow: |
Have you received your $25 bonus from SoFi for signing up for a new SoFi Checking and Savings account? I'm here to announce that the window of opportunity still remains! 🎉 Many are new here and just discovering the challenge. Don't worry about being late to the party. Start right here right now with your savings plan! I understand that some of you already have well-funded emergency savings accounts and are more interested in investing. I have you covered there also. You can click SoFi Invest and use my link to sign up for a new investing account today! In return SoFi will gift you with $25 worth of stock. Whichever journey you decide on (savings or investing) please be sure to come back and share your journey in the comment section below. We'd love to hear from you. |
"The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect." ~Adam Osborne
Here at EnvisionCo Blog, we try to keep ads to a minimum making our blog entirely reader-supported. We may feature links on this site for additional informational purposes. From time to time, we may feature other links which are affiliate links (and these will be clearly marked). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This is of course at no additional cost to you. However, if you like what you see and would like to make a donation to help us keep ads to a minimum, we would greatly appreciate it! Nothing fancy. We accept the price of a cup coffee with as much gratitude as we would the price of a tank of gas!
Kommentare