Mid-year Mindfulness

Maybe, just like me, you’ve made it to the middle of the year and came to the realization that you may not have accomplished what you wanted. Sometimes reality hits us in such a real way and we become aware that we could’ve or should’ve done more.

Let me be the voice of reason… Everything is still fine, remember and try to focus on your small successes, whether it was achieving in a small way at work, or succeeding in becoming more conscious of how you treat people around you. Give yourself a break and please remember that the phrase, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ is such a huge motivation. It was made for you to realize that you are only human. Making small decisions everyday to better your life will allow you to take every single day as a new opportunity to make a change in your immediate environment and your demeanor.

I always say this, but, take a breath! Step back and look at the bigger picture. So many things happen to us throughout the year that we completely forget about. For example, persevering through a tough situation with a family member, friend or colleague. Going to exercise after work even though you feel you have no power. Being there for people around you and allowing yourself to be available to them in times of need. Give yourself credit and try not to be too critical. One thing that I have heard many times in my life is that I am way too hard on myself, and to a great extent I feel that it’s pretty much how all of us are. We know that we are capable of doing something,but we allow small doubts in our minds to be the deciding factor on how we define ourselves. DO NOT DO IT!The smallest negative thoughts can cause you to doubt in yourself and your abilities. I find that when I do not maintain a balanced lifestyle, I start focusing so much on the things that do not deserve as much thought. We all know the spiral and intense journey our thoughts can take us on, and I don’t think this is a positive thing to do all the time.

Be mindful in the way that you structure your thoughts, start small, and make a point of using positive self talk to allow yourself to start building your self confidence on your small victories throughout the day. No matter how small and silly it seems, I promise you that a habit of positive thoughts, actions and words will automatically allow you to see changes in how you encounter and deal with different situations.

If you have come to reading this far, I encourage you to focus on your thoughts throughout the day and determine whether they are mostly positive or negative, then look at the time or situation you are in your life. I can almost gaurantee that if your mind is fostering negative thoughts mostly you will find yourself in a pretty stagnant, unproductive time of your life. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you will realize that you will be more approachable and you will feel better about yourself.

So while I’m writing this, I suddenly realized that although my situation and life is not at the ideal place right now. BY using positive self talk and mindfulness. I have absolutely made sure that I can handle situations and people in my life with patience and respect. So this goes to show, even if you aren’t in a ideal situation, only YOU can make the decision to make the best of your situation and identify the positive things.

xoxo Dan the Wooman