{"id":103122,"date":"2023-05-22T11:21:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T15:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=103122"},"modified":"2023-05-26T15:33:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T19:33:40","slug":"how-to-achieve-mindfulness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-achieve-mindfulness\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Achieve Mindfulness and First-Rate Concentration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you want to be more aware of your surroundings? What’s the key to achieving mindfulness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong concentration is half of mindfulness\u2014the other half is strong background awareness. In The Mind Illuminated<\/em>, you\u2019ll strengthen your background awareness while still maintaining strong concentration on your breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out how to achieve<\/a> mindfulness by staying in touch with your present self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Achieve Strong Mindfulness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the authors, you can learn how to achieve mindfulness when you can continuously and neutrally observe your mind <\/strong>(an ability the authors call \u201cmetacognitive introspective awareness\u201d). This involves keeping track of your thoughts, your emotions, and your perceptions of and reactions to external stimuli. We\u2019ll call this process mind-watching<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mind-watching develops your ability to maintain some distance from your thoughts and emotions. <\/strong>This allows you to be more objective so you can respond to situations intentionally rather than rashly or emotionally. Recall our earlier example of mindfully listening to your child tell you a story from her school day: Strong background awareness made you objectively aware of and distant from your frustration, preventing you from snapping at your child. All the while, you continued listening to your focal point (your child\u2019s story)\u2014the result of strong concentration. You then responded to your daughter intentionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To practice mind-watching through meditation<\/a>, constantly monitor your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to stimuli while still maintaining concentration on your breath. <\/strong>This is like the aforementioned strategy of categorizing, except you categorize constantly<\/em> instead of only in response to distractions. This keeps you in \u201canalysis\u201d mode rather than \u201cfeeling\u201d mode, ensuring that you keep some objective distance from your thoughts and emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, say you\u2019re meditating and you notice the cool temperature of the air in your nose (a result of strong concentration). You observe the effect this has on your mind: It makes you feel calm. Then, you hear a sound in the distance (external stimuli), and you notice its effect on you\u2014it prompts a strong visualization of your childhood home. You categorize this thought as a memory, then you categorize the effect this memory has on your emotions: It makes you feel happy. You\u2019re not probing deeper into these thoughts and feelings<\/a> by asking why the air makes you calm, wondering what produced the sound, or thinking more about your childhood. You\u2019re simply noticing and categorizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness Outside of Meditation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The authors of TMI<\/em> focus on describing how to achieve strong mindfulness while meditating, but they don\u2019t explore in depth how to do so outside of meditation. Therefore, it may be difficult to experience the benefits associated with mindfulness at times when you can\u2019t<\/em> meditate\u2014for instance, if you\u2019re in a difficult meeting at work and want to respond mindfully, but can\u2019t step away for an impromptu meditation session. Let\u2019s discuss how you might achieve mindfulness in a scenario like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to some psychologists, anxiety-provoking moments\u2014such as giving a performance\u2014are an opportune time to tap into mindfulness<\/a>. In these situations, you\u2019re likely to have negative thoughts, such as \u201cI\u2019m going to fail.\u201d Reframe the thought using a technique called self-distancing<\/em> that helps quiet strong emotions (like anxiety). Think to yourself, \u201cI\u2019m having the thought<\/em> that I\u2019m going to fail.\u201d Like categorizing, this technique involves objectively analyzing your thoughts rather than ruminating on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Wherever You Go, There You Are<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Jon Kabat-Zinn also investigates how to achieve mindfulness in everyday life. Like the authors of TMI, <\/em>Kabat-Zinn says that mindfulness involves objective mind-watching\u2014you watch your thoughts without judging or influencing them<\/a>. He offers the following suggestions<\/a> for practicing mindfulness in daily life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n