Thursday, May 17, 2012

Be mindful about...everything, actually

One thing I've learned throughout this journey is the importance of keeping your mind in it.  Not being a passenger or passive about your life and your life choices is really the underlying key to being successful in reshaping your body and ultimately your life.

This means thinking through how you will make it work, what you need to change, etc.  And then actively engaging your mind throughout the process so that you stay on it.

This can be a daunting task, and I think is why some people don't follow through with this.  They think it's all too much of a burden, and they just want to shut off their brain and veg for a bit.  We all need that.  But, you can do that and still stay 'on it'. How?  Think about it (see - even now, you can be mindful).  Figure out times to detach your mind and let it drift.  This gives your mind a chance to relax and re-energize.  A.J. Jacobs makes 10 minutes a day to meditate and talks about the benefits of this in his fantastic book, Drop Dead Healthy, and how easy it can be to work this into your day.  He also talks about how the best meditation isn't thinking about things so much as not thinking about things.  This is what you need for that mental veg session.

So, I say, "Be mindful about everything," because you should even be mindful about not being mindful.  Engage your mind actively in the diet, exercise, learning, etc.  But then engage your mind in finding a way to disengage your mind on a regular basis.  You'll reach your goals, you'll stick with them, and you'll feel mentally refreshed on the regular.

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