5 Relatable Examples of Mindfulness: Mindfulness Explained

When reading a toxic post on Facebook, you’re mindful if you’re fully aware that you’re reading a Facebook post from a specific person. You’re mindful if you didn’t engage in the emotions that arise while reading it.

You become mindless if you start engaging with your negative thoughts and you translate any emotions that arise with it into actions, like commenting your negative thoughts about it. Or maybe, you are now having these negative self-talk about the person who posted.

When planning for the future, you’re mindful if you’re fully aware that you’re planning for the future. You know that this very moment, you’re doing this, and you’re planning what to do in the next few days, months, or years. You’re mindful if you focus on what you can do in case a problem may arise in the future.

You become mindless when you start worrying about the problems that might happen in the future. Remember, worrying is not planning.

When solving a problem, you’re mindful if you know that there is a problem and what is the problem. Then you focus on finding the solution.

Same as planning, when solving a problem, you become mindless if you start worrying, and getting stuck with it. Remember, we always mistaken worry as a way of solving the problem. That is the common pitfall we should avoid.

Don’t spend your energy on thoughts like:

• Ruminating
• Worrying

Spend your energy on thoughts like:

• Planning
• Problem-solving

Learn how ruminating and worrying can affect our well-being here:

How Overthinking Can Slow Down Your Life