Today’s society demands constant disengagement from the present moment. There is continuous inundation of multiple avenues of technology. Whether it’s the smart phones, the televisions, the computers, the smart cars or household appliances, there is no escaping the bombardment to “think less”. These luxuries make it extremely easy to forgo the ability to exercise free thinking. In return, leaving one withdrawn from mindfulness and less connected to their immediate surroundings.
Mindfulness is a powerful grounding tool that connects to gratitude and requires conscious effort to appreciate what is happening in real time. With the busyness of life, it is extremely easy to become scatter brained or disconnected from things that matter. Mindfulness is a superhero that rescues people from their own destruction, a checkpoint that helps to refocus and re-center. Research shows that the advantage of continuous connectivity reaps the repercussions of restlessness, exhaustion and loneliness.
Although the last 20 years have set some monumental technological advances into trajectory, they have also increased the rate of anxiety and stress leading to emotional overload, and a huge deficit in coping with the cognitive overwhelm. Andy Puddicombe, one of the co-creator of a meditation app Headspace, states, “While the practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years, the modern-day world feels a lot busier than it used to. More people are becoming aware that they need to pause and look after their mental health.”
As individuals, taking responsibility for protecting thought life comes down to one’s discretion overall. It’s not something anyone can do for you, besides you. And there are many ways to approach it; varying from seeking out a therapist or mental health counselor, running, meditating, journaling, praying or seeking out solitude and silence. Disconnecting to reconnect to the source is a powerful and important task. In fact, research shows that, “long-term meditators had better-preserved brains that non-meditators as they aged.” When time is dedicated to the conscious effort of refocusing, recall time increases, short term memory increases and anxiety and stress decrease. The mind can better process, and make coherent and clear decisions.
So do yourself a favor. Before starting your day, take 15 minutes and create mindful habit. I promise you won’t regret it!