Have you ever realized about yourself or in talking with somebody else that you can tell your mind is going in over speed? It seems like your mind Can’t stay still?
I have not only noticed it in speaking with others in conversation but I’ve also noticed it in myself. It’s not until you fully grasp what has your mind going into overdrive, that you finally put your foot on the brakes.
How often do you take time to take a time out and refocus and have clarity?
A good friend just shared with me one of their magazines that talks about mindfulness and meditation (pictured above). As I was reading through it I wanted to share some things with you I think is important to take note of, as our mental health deserves that attention.
Although I’m not going to go into too much detail in each of the topics, I wanted to at least give some insight on each of them that give an example, and gives understanding of the importance of focusing back on yourself and setting a strong mental foundation.
As I was reading through the magazine I came across page 9 (shown below) That is titled start here and I figured this is a perfect page to share with you if you have never taken the time out for yourself to draw clarity by meditating.
I used to have a sports psychologist when I was heavy into playing racquetball and traveling across the country. One of The many things I learned from the sports psychologist, goes right with number one;
- Begin by finding A quiet space – my sports psychologist would always say you’re never going to be able to focus on your vision for your game if you have distractions so find a quiet place where it will give you that time and focus to see yourself playing in a match. It was so very true. When I would find a quiet place that had no distractions I will close my eyes and literally visualize myself playing racquetball match, how I wanted to play even the details of my movements it was incredible not only with me doing the visualizing part but how it transitioned from a vision into action.
Take a moment to check-in– When I think about taking a moment to check in, it makes me think about the very phrase I tell my clients all the time: Be in tune with your body. If your goal is to give yourself a great work out, your goal should be to check in and be in tune with every move you perform in that workout. Sometimes I try hard to understand how people can work out and read or be on their phone at the same time. I wonder where their focus really is is it more on the phone or in the book they’re reading then the work out or could it be both? As long as you are checked in and tuned in and see exactly your intentions and motivation for what you’re doing, then you shall see and feel success from it.
Train your mind to focus– this one can be a difficult one starting off. As sometimes I have struggled with it, when your intentions are to zone in on why you are meditating but you have so many other thoughts running through your head. It may take a few times to connect but working on going in with a single focus and connecting with it for the extended period of time is the goal.
Excuse Floods of Thoughts– everyone experiences floods of thoughts because there’s more than one thing we are dealing with in our life but instead of multitasking when trying to focus again as I mentioned above, trying to zone in on one thing at a time is the goal. When you meditate on one thing yet another thought comes in, we have to learn how to excuse that interrupted thought and refocus back on the original focus your meditation was intended for.
Give yourself confidence and compassion with your thoughts– A lot of our thoughts that flow through our mind, I believe are meant to try and throw us off from what we are really trying to be mindful about. With that being said, while working on being mindful, there can be thoughts that come in our head, meant to act as a distraction. When those thoughts of distraction try to act out, we don’t have to take it seriously because those thoughts are were never the primary focus in your meditation in the first place. As we continue to train our mind To focus on the things that are important to us in our lives we can always give ourselves the confidence and compassion to know what thoughts are for us and what thoughts are not. - Give time to create a mindfulness habit– anything that’s worth developing is worth being patient for. Anything fat we want to better our selves in is worth the preparation instead of rushing. When it comes to taking some time out of your day each week to give yourself clarity and focus that doesn’t mean you have to spend an hour trying to do it. be realistic and give yourself the time you feel is most appropriate to get it accomplished Without overwhelming yourself. Once you feel more comfortable and confident in what you are doing, you can start building upon that