24 January 2023

Life can bring on unexpected situations very quickly. There can be moments where you freeze, and you don’t know what to do or how to move forward. Your thoughts spiral in a circle like vultures, waiting for your inevitable demise. It dawns on you that it’s only a matter of time.

Worry has a way of derailing everything about your day. Using mindfulness, though, is a quick, easy way to get things back on track.

Stay in the Moment

You begin by taking a step back to examine the worrying thought, starting with the acceptance of the thought itself. This is the heart of mindfulness. Trying to ignore the worry only makes it worse. By giving the thought your attention, and then acknowledge it, you take power away from it. For example, if you’re worried about money, you might start by telling yourself, “Yes, I am worried about paying the bills this month.”

Find the Emotions

Once you’ve acknowledged your worries, identify the emotion accompanying it. Once you’ve identified the emotion, ask yourself honestly, what do these emotions make you feel like doing?

Kill the Worry with Normalcy

Instead of avoiding the worry, pay mindful attention to it and remind yourself that worrying is a normal human thing. Do this every time it comes up. Eventually, it will seem less threatening.

Look for Patterns

Do these worries creep up at certain times? Using mindfulness means you’re paying attention to your thoughts in the moment. Understanding your triggers is a great way to stop the worrying thought from reoccurring at all, as you’ll find yourself catching those damaging thoughts much faster and will be able to shut them down that much faster as well.

Redirect

With mindfulness, you’re very much aware of the worries the moment they begin. This also means you’re capable of taking control of those thoughts and spinning them around onto something else immediately, putting your attention there instead.

Allow the Emotion to Play Out

Worry comes with a slew of negative emotions. Mindfulness means you’re aware of what you’re feeling right now. If you discover yourself falling into the fears and anxiety coupled with worry, let them play out, watching them as if from a distance, rather than suppress them, allowing them to dissipate naturally rather than escalate.

Flip it Around

Worried about trying something new? Rather than avoid it, try it anyway. By reacting to worries you know are irrational with action, more often than not, you’ll find you really had nothing to worry about in the first place. A word of caution? Sometimes worry is there for a good reason. Be careful which ones you challenge.

Remember, the whole point of mindfulness is to be in the moment and pay very close attention to what’s going on both internally and externally. Worry really doesn’t bear up under such close scrutiny. The act of simply paying attention will change the game significantly.

Use a Gratitude Journal to Practice Mindfulness 

One tool to help you harness the power of mindfulness is a journal. A mindfulness journal is a place where you write down what you're feeling gratitude towards each day – effectively called a ‘gratitude journal’. Being grateful for what is present in your life can really change how you see things. It can be in paper or electronic form, depending on your preference. You can also find apps and programs to help you keep your mindfulness journal digitally, if that's your preferred method. 

Reminding yourself on a regular basis of all that's good in your life and being thankful for it comes with a host of benefits, all of which will help lead you to the calm you seek. Gratitude helps to slay a lot of negative emotions including worry. Gratitude helps to push envy, insecurity, and fear aside. Essentially, it can lessen depression and anxiety as well, leading you to feel happier. When you feel grateful for what you have, it's also more likely that you'll begin to notice an increase in your self-confidence. You'll feel more in control of life when you know you already have what matters in your day to day living. 

Keeping a mindfulness journal based on giving daily gratitude is easy. Simply write down three to five things that you are grateful for each day. Try to make them specific. Even something as small as receiving help on a project from a colleague will do, as long as it reminds you of something you value. Giving daily gratitude as part of your mindfulness journaling routine not only makes you aware of what is happening in life, but also brings forth growth in your life as well even during times of stress or worry.