Mindfulness: The Beautiful Struggle

For me, the beautiful struggle is at the center of holistic leadership. I write about this in the upcoming, The Empowered Woman out this August, 2014. The central struggle is between the inner thoughts we hold and the outside influences that surround us. No struggle should really exist. The choose is very clear and not easy to make; the inner response should be the only response. Too bad this is not as easy as you can imagine.

The service part of us allows for people pleasing to kick in. If you don’t have a strong foundation with your inner world, you can give in to outside messages that are not your own. This is why is it important to weed out the outside messages we receive constantly from every direction in life. One way to do so is to meditate. Some take a minute to check in with themselves during physical activity like going to the gym and/or going for a walk/run, writing in a journal, spending time doing a creative task... etc. How do you touch base within your inner world, daily?

Mindfulness is about developing the observer part of you. It takes practice to observe your thoughts and make decisions thereafter. With this practice, you will release the past and future and enjoy the experience of the present moment. Mindfulness is rooted in Buddhist philosophy and practices. It teaches focused intention and awareness, moving our thoughts in the most positive direction. Through the practice we can learn to move away from worries, difficult emotions and unwanted thoughts. Unlearning bad habits of the mind trains your mind to make better, positive choices.

All of the above activities enable us to distinguish between thoughts that are real and are not; Thoughts that originate from within and the others that do not. How do you embrace the thoughts that are nature to you? How do you let go of the thoughts that you no longer wish to hold on to? The thoughts that are not your own? You can not believe every thought that you have.

I believe strongly in performing a belief review. What are the principles and values you live by? This is another strong foundation you can look to when you are peeling away at your thoughts. Perform a values and beliefs review at least every three months. If there are messages that persist and continue to service you and others in a positive way, maintain such beliefs; If not release them. Everyone needs to update and reboot along the journey. Be sure to lift up the observer part of you, leading to decisions that sit best within your being. Mind + body + spirit alignment = a happy, balanced person.