I think much more people will invest time in mindfulness and stoicism in the next couple of years.
Over the past 3 years people have seen how badly we’re handling our mental health and more and more of us realize that we can immensely influence it by practicing mindfulness and other techniques to improve our inner piece.
To help you understand, I’ll be going through 5 habits mindful people have.
1 — Remaining Calm All The Time, With No Exceptions
If you’re a true stoic, you’ll be able to stop caring about the things that don’t matter and are out of your control.
As Epictetus said:
“We should always be asking ourselves: “Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?”
And if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
There are only 2 scenarios possible in stoic philosophy regarding the power of control:
- You’re not in control, so you don’t worry about it.
- You’re in control, so do something about it to change the outcome.
And it is that simple.
So if reflect and see that you’re often worrying about things you don’t control, you probably aren’t being mindful enough.
2 — Self Reflection and Valuing Yourself
Difficult topic: self-worth.
I think we all have had moments when we were struggling with ourselves regarding our self-worth. It’s something that mindful people have overcome.
They see (very realistically) what they’re lacking and still find the power to love themselves and keep improving to become even better.
One of the best practices for this is diving into one of your photo archives and seeing yourself as a kid. Look at that photo and tell the little you that he/she isn’t good enough.
That will hurt.
Put this photo up at a place where you’ll see it every day and you’ll start to get used to valuing yourself to a level at which you can be happier with yourself.
Practice happiness.
3 — Being Able to Remain Silent for Hours
If you can’t be alone with your own thoughts for more than 20 minutes you really aren’t a mindful person.
Luckily we can train that.
Through meditation, you’ll learn how you can be alone with your own thoughts.
Use my free guide here to get started. It’s free
4 — Taking Effective Breaks
You’ll need to know how your energy levels are working.
It’s like the battery of your phone. Don’t charge 24 hours to use it for 24 hours right?
You’ll charge a small amount for a big amount of use.
That’s the same with our brains and energy levels. Don’t try taking a 30-minute break and then working for hours. That break is way too long.
Instead try to insert frequent breaks into your schedule: 5-minute breaks after every 30 minutes of work.
Usually, you’re not able to be productive after 30 minutes of taking a break.
Try it.
5 — Practising Gratitude on a Daily Basis
This has a little bit of overlap with the self-worth paragraph.
If you can’t value life properly as well, you will never see the good things in life. It’s the small things you experience every day that could make you happy.
Maybe it’s the smell in the morning as you walk in the sun to work, or the feeling of rain on your forehead as you try to rush home.
If you want to take this gratitude process seriously and become a better human, journaling is your solution. Write down what made you happy every day.
On days you’re not as happy as you want to be. Read back and know that there are good times coming.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, as we continue to face mental health challenges, more and more people are turning to mindfulness and stoicism to improve their inner peace.
With time and practice, these habits can help us lead happier, more fulfilling lives.
Take care.