5 Tiny and Calming Benefits to Employing Mindfulness to Your Emotional Reactions
And 6 steps for using it to regulate your emotions
The other evening during dinner my wife caught me bouncing my left leg while eating.
Her: “What’s wrong with you today?”
Me: “Lots on my mind, I guess.”
Her: “Well you better take care of that. You never do that.”
She was right. I was in another dimension.
That same day I finished reading one of Tara Bennett-Goleman’s books on mindfulness.
In the book it talked about the benefits of practicing mindfulness and was a wake-up call for me to do it.
And that was it.
I want to share with you the 5 benefits that put me back on the path to meditating.
At the end is a simple 6-step exercise for getting into mindfulness, brought to you by Tara.
It wakes you up
Like a bodybuilder sniffing ammonia right before a heavy lift.
Practicing mindfulness shakes you out of your routine and wakes you back into awareness. And when you’re aware, you’re present. You can see what’s going on around you.
Your head isn’t stuck in the sand.
You’re more alert to the unfolding of a negative reaction
When you’re mindful, you become aware of the unraveling of your negative reaction as it’s happening.
If you can catch yourself observing your reactions, things start to slow down. You can see clearer. And you have more choices on what you can do.
More choices means you can change your usual reaction and replace it with something better, or not react at all.
Builds your concentration and tranquility powers
Practicing mindfulness requires that you use your concentration muscles.
Mindfulness requires fixed attention at something, like your breathing. That takes concentration. And when you build up your concentration, you fight boredom. Because boredom is none other than a symptom of low levels of attention.
Full attention is the antidote to boredom.
Allows you to take a step back and investigate
There are two parts to mindfulness: the calming part and the investigative part.
The investigative part lets you look into whatever is bothering you. And this looking leads to more understanding. You can start to understand the triggers behind an emotional outbreak for example and the patterns that tend to happen from that trigger.
And if you have a better grasp of what’s going on, you can start tearing down those walls.
Gives you freedom at the critical choice point
When you have a refined self-awareness, you start to notice the impulse of reacting even before you react.
If you can catch yourself before you’re about to react to something, then you can disrupt your usual pattern.
6 steps to being mindful
Step 1: Notice when you’re having an unusual emotional reaction.
Meaning extreme overreaction, like intense anger or lots of sadness.
Or an emotion that doesn’t fit the situation, like you start crying instead of being angry about something.
Step 2: Become mindful.
You may notice yourself overreacting during the heat of the reaction or you may notice it minutes, hours, or days later. Ideally you want to become aware at some point during the reaction.
As you practice being more mindful, you’ll be able to catch yourself sooner.
Step 3: Notice what you’re feeling.
What emotions are you feeling. It could be a mixed bag.
Step 4: Notice what you’re thinking.
What are the thoughts going through your mind.
Step 5: Be mindful of your actions or impulses.
Take note of the reactions to the events that triggered them.
It could be what you did or said.
Step 6: Notice how your reaction changes.
The action of being mindful of your patten of feelings, thoughts, and actions allows you to be mindful of your reactions next time it happens to you.
It awakens some possibility for changing it.
Free Foundations Guide
If you like articles like this, you might enjoy our FREE foundations guide on discipline, confidence, mindset, resilience, learning, personal fulfillment, and more.
Distilled from 18 of the best books from leading scientists, philosophers, athletes, and psychologists.
Grab it here: www.trueprogresslab.com.
4-TP Newsletter
You might also enjoy our Friday 4-TP newsletter. 1 article, 1 insight, 1 micro thought, 1 question to ponder to help you achieve a mind-strong and fulfilled life.
Join us here: trueprogresslab.com
