Mindfulness…it’s the not-so-new buzzword. What does it really mean? Mindfulness is being fully present in whatever it is that you are currently doing. So often, people tend to focus on the next thing, or what they think they “should” be doing, over being in the here and now. After all, haven’t we all been trained to multi-task, overachieve and plan ahead, especially as college students? Training your mind to focus only on the present isn’t easy, but that’s what mindfulness is.
For example, sometimes when I’m in class, instead of fully focusing on the lecture, my mind is drifting to thoughts about what I need to accomplish for the rest of the day…planning out how I’ll fit in that evening yoga class, making a mental note to reach out to my friend to meet for lunch, thinking about that paper I need to write, etc. If I were practicing mindfulness, I would tune out all that chaos and give the lecture my full attention.
Mindfulness is a great stress-reducer. There are tons of resources on line with more information on the benefits of mindfulness and tips on how to practice it. Like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to focus more on the moment and take one thing at a time. The next thing will take care of itself – it will just have to wait its turn!