Enjoying What You Enjoy
Using mindfulness to get the most out of life and its experiences
There is something so freeing about not caring what other people think about you. However as humans we find it so hard not to wonder, or even worse WORRY what other people may think about us.
Some people take this a step further and allow the perceptions of others, usually complete strangers, hold them back from doing things that they want to do in life.
Whether it certain social stigmas we are trying to avoid or maybe we are afraid of embarrassing ourselves in front of people we may never see again, there is something stopping us from living our lives to the absolute fullest.
Why do we do this? Why do we give others the privilege to dictate the way we feel and live our life?
In many cases we feel we aren’t good enough or qualified to do something. But who decides that? Because in my opinion I think you are the one who decides, always. Everything you do is up to you, everything else is just somewhat of an excuse.
For example, I myself thought, “who am I to try being a writer? What if no one reads my pieces? What if people laugh and think these things I care about are silly and a waste of time?” After my initial worry, I just started writing and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always had a passion for talking about all things self-development and who cares if no one reads it!
If there is something you like to do then you should take some time and do it. There is power and confidence to be gained in doing the things that you enjoy and letting yourself truly enjoy them for you, not for anyone else.
Enjoying the moment goes farther than just doing something. Sometimes we get past the barriers of the perceptions and opinions of others, but we don’t do things mindfully and defeat the whole purpose of what we set out to accomplish.
We go out for a walk and distract ourselves with our phones or with the thoughts going on in our minds. This behavior gets us to the point where we don’t get any enjoyment out of this activity that was supposed to maybe be calming or relaxing. Instead of connecting with nature our eyes never look up from our text messages or social media long enough to notice the beautiful fall leaves or landscapes around us.
Don’t let your phone take you for a walk. Center your days around the things you love to do and do them mindfully. Sometimes we can even take something that we like to do and mix it with things we don’t enjoy to make the most out of our day.
One of my favorite things to do is listen to podcasts. Instead of just playing them and not doing anything else, I will listen while I tidy up, do laundry, or do the dishes. When I have a podcast I am excited for I save it until I can play it and just casually do my duties while listening.
For me it is very relaxing and a sort of passive meditation. It might be weird to some that I could enjoy listening to a conversation that has nothing to do with me while doing chores. As a result of this positive feedback loop some days I look forward to doing my chores.
The whole point is to enjoy the things that you enjoy regardless of what anyone else thinks about it. To find the time to do things you love for yourself and to do them mindfully to get the most out of these experiences that make up your life.
People are always looking for these special moments that they think they need to make their life worth living when really the special moments are all around us, we just spend too much of our time not noticing them.
The best ways in my opinion to get the most out of these experiences is simply to not be distracted while you do them. Put distractions away, just you and whatever you are doing and really do it.
Pay attention to the way you feel.
Observe the thoughts you are having.
Take note of what is going on around you.
Be an active participant in the story that the universe is constantly unfolding around you.
The goal isn’t to beat yourself up about these things when you notice yourself slipping back into old habits, but to simply realize and admit to yourself you can do better, then strive for that. The more mindful you are when these things come up the quicker you can get back to focusing on the scenery of your morning walk or the tv show you were really looking forward to watching.
Mindfulness is the key to unlocking a lot of hidden joys in this life. When you’re old and nearing the end of this physical existence you’re not going to be worried about how you took too long to reply to that message or missed that post by someone.
More likely you will regret not watching that sunset because you were too busy with your phone, or not doing things you were passionate about because you were too busy worrying about what other people might think of you.
