Mindful decision making – Contributing to your well-being and contentment
By developing mindfulness, we acquire the capacity to make decisions in each moment that contribute to our overall well-being and contentment.
Awareness refers to our ability to observe and take note of what is happening both externally and internally, without passing judgment.
This includes being aware of our physical body, emotions, thoughts, mental patterns, and personal values.
For example, as you read these words, are you also conscious of your breath flowing in and out of your body?
Is your posture supporting you in staying alert and relaxed?
You might notice tension in your body and realize that your breathing is shallow.
Now that you are aware of your breath and body, you can relax the tense areas and allow your breath to deepen.
By returning to your state of awareness, you can break free from automatic reactions and gain more control over how you respond to different situations.
This process allows you to reclaim ownership of yourself.
Although awareness is a natural ability, we often forget about it.
Our daily habits and circumstances tend to dominate our lives, causing us to lose touch with our awareness.
In his commencement speech at Kenyon College titled “This Is Water,” David Foster Wallace illustrates this disconnect by recounting a story of fish swimming in the ocean.
An older fish greets two young fish, asking them about the water they are in, but one of the young fish is oblivious to what water even is. Similarly, we often fail to recognize the people and things around us.
We live in a state of disconnection, unaware of what truly matters and disconnected from our fellow human beings.
While it may be easier to live on autopilot, reacting to life without conscious thought, this approach prevents us from exercising our ability to choose how we think and what we focus on.
