3 Mindfulness steps to start the year right
The year 2020 has begun with one of our longest period of bush fires in Australia. With so much disaster and devastation it can be easy to start the new year off with a negative mindset and heavy heart.
I asked Byron Bay mindfulness coach, Dimity Skye, how we can better our thinking to start the year off positively. Here are 3 ways to help our thoughts and feelings with mindfulness.
1. Change your thoughts
There is a strong undercurrent of fear, anxiety & uncertainty in the airwaves. This is not surprising, considering everything that is going on in the world. If we are not mindful & aware, we will easily take on these negative energies as if they are our own. The first place they will enter is through our thoughts. Every thought is rooted either in FEAR or LOVE. Fear based thoughts are always unhelpful - fear takes away our ability to think rationally & make decisions that will be helpful to the situation. Love based thoughts, on the other hand, ensure that we stay grounded in peace & hope, & we are able to make rational decisions that will positively affect the situation.
It’s important to constantly watch our thoughts - are they fear or love based?
2. Watch your Words
Our thoughts become our words, & our words become our world. There is a lot of negative, fear driven talk happening; a lot of conversations about how bad things are. It is true that we are in the middle of a crisis & that many people are suffering, by no means do we want to downplay that. But the last thing this world needs is more fear & negativity. This world needs HOPE, a sense that no matter how bad things seem, everything is & will be ok. Watch your words - are they focused on how bad the situation is, or are they focused on infusing hope & peace into the world.
3. Watch your Actions
As our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, & therefore the world we live in. If our thoughts & words are negative & fear based, our actions will be reactionary rather than responsive. A reactionary response is a ‘knee-jerk’ decision that is made out of our ‘fight or flight’ zone. It is emotionally charged & made without creating space for conscious thought.
On the other hand, love-fuelled thoughts words make way for a conscious response. This type of response may take emotions & subjective issues into consideration, but is not driven by them. It is a response that is made rationally & mindfully.
- Dimity Skye | Yoga instructor, nutritionalist and mindfulness coach.