Before going to talk about tips to live consciously and mindfully, first we need understand about these concepts. Consciousness and unconsciousness are two of the most intriguing concepts in psychology. The other one is mindfulness. It is not so easy to untangle the tangles related to these three concepts.
But simply let us try to get some understanding about these concepts. Sigmund Freud described the structure of the mind as being made up of conscious, unconscious and preconscious.
Although we can simply say that consciousness is what we think, what we feel, and what we experience, that is not entirely correct. Consciousness is the operational mind that is aware of what is happening internally and externally everyday or the awareness of what we experience everyday. It can also be called ‘awareness’.
Accordingly, unconsciousness means not being conscious or being less conscious. In other words, unconsciousness is the lack of awareness to act on environmental stimuli.
Then What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the conscious activity of deliberately becoming aware of what one is aware of. Mindfulness refers to focusing calmly on the present moment without distraction, and MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) is now widely used in schools, workplaces, prisons, and hospitals.
6 Tips to Live Consciously and Mindfully
01. Embrace the Truth
People are naturally accustomed to embrace lies that bring temporary happiness. Many people find it difficult to face the truth. Because people are used to living in lies. No matter how harsh the truth, always be truthful.
I am not talking about the truth or lies you tell others. It’s about the lies you tell yourself. I am not talking about the truth or lies you tell others. It’s about the lies you tell yourself. But don’t be like that, always see the truth about yourself. Be true to yourself about the things you like, the things you can do, the things you know, your financial capabilities and more. Don’t try to fool yourself.
02. Switch to Positive Thoughts
As mentioned in the above step, understand your true situation and surroundings well. Then instead of developing a very negative attitude about it, look at it from a positive angle. Focus on the opportunities you have to make the best of the situation.
But if you look at everything with a negative attitude like ‘I can’t, this won’t work’, you may be bored with your life. Therefore, even in any bad situation, if there is even the slightest possibility to strengthen the mind, focus on it. Also, surround yourself with positive people, and through that, more positive attitudes will come into your life.
Instead of thinking I can’t, think about how I can. Instead of thinking that I don’t know, think about how I can learn what I don’t know. Instead of thinking that I have no inheritance, think about how to achieve what I don’t have.
03. Describe Who You Are
This can be seen as an extension of step number one. It was mentioned there that you should always lean towards the truth. In this step, it means that you introduce yourself to yourself by combining the implied facts about yourself.
For example, who are you now? Who or where do you hope to be in the future? What sacrifices are you currently making for that? Are you really doing what it takes to reach your goals? What are your duties and responsibilities? Understand your strengths as well as your weaknesses.
04. Understand the Value of Time
Everyone will say that time is a very precious thing, but very few people understand it. What does it mean? That is, everyone knows that time is a very valuable thing, but there are very few people who understand it and manage it properly.
We have a very limited time in this life. Imagine you have a contest that offers you a million dollars to complete a specific task in less than 2 minutes. If so, what do you do? You try your best to complete the task before the allotted time.
Do you know why you act like that there? Because you understand very well in the competition, you have got a specific task, and also, you have got a fixed time for it, and if you finish the task within that time, you will get a big reward for it.
That’s what you don’t realize in the race of your life. You should have a specific goal in your life and set a time frame to achieve that goal. Also, if you reach that goal, you should understand the reward you will receive there. If you understand that exactly, and put it in your inner mind, you will not waste a single minute.
05. Accept Failures
Remember that those who fail are those who try. If you also failed, you are someone who tried to do something. Failure is normal, and it is a good experience for us to try better next time. So, don’t get discouraged by failure.
06. Do Everything with Conscious
The above 5 steps talked about things in our life that we don’t catch or we don’t pay much attention to. This last step tells you how to maintain awareness in everything you do. That means, even when you eat and drink, even when you walk, even when you talk, watch TV, read a book or a newspaper, be mindful.
Be mindful of what you eat, how it tastes, and how fast you eat it. When walking, be aware of the way you walk and the speed of your steps. When talking, be mindful of the words you speak, the meaning of those words, how those words will make the other person feel, and what you should say according to the situation. Maintain consciousness in this way in every day-to-day activity.