10 Powerful Ways Mindfulness Changed My Life

I’ve been practicing mindfulness consistently for the past 5 years. It’s changed my life in a profoundly positive way. I’ve become happier, less anxious, and more centered. It’s also a large part of why I started this blog: to share what I learned and inspire others to start their own mindfulness practice.

I’ve always been a chronic overthinker, struggling with social and generalized anxiety my whole life. My anxiety made it hard to connect with others, and to just enjoy my life.

Mindfulness has taught me to slow my thoughts down and relax. It helps me get out of my head and back into the present moment. It helped me stop overthinking and learn to let go.

Read on for 10 powerful ways that mindfulness has changed my life and made me a happier, less anxious person.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness refers to the practice of being mindful, or present, in the moment. It’s an alert awareness that differs from our normal state of constant mental chatter. The practice focuses on being a nonjudgmental observer of everything in our experience, rather than reacting automatically. It’s often paired with meditation. However, meditation is the act of meditating (focused breathing), where mindfulness encompasses a mindful awareness practiced while engaged in daily activities.

Proven Life-Changing Benefits of Mindfulness

According to Healthline.com, meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, control anxiety, promote emotional health, enhance self-awareness, and more (12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation).

A study (2014) by Johns Hopkins University suggested that 30 minutes of daily meditation improved symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Read on for 10 powerful ways mindfulness changed my life:

#1. I’m Happier

I can honestly say I’m a much happier person since I started practicing mindfulness. I’ve learned how to get out of my head and back into my natural senses. It’s taught me to become comfortable with uncertainty and okay with not having ‘all the answers.’ 

Most days, I wake up feeling excited about my life. I have a naturally positive perspective. There’s a deeper sense of calm and overall well being that I never experienced before. It’s as if normal everyday living just got more enjoyable. 

I wasn’t always like this. I was never a ‘happy-go-lucky’ kind of person. I’ve always been very neurotic, insecure, and struggled with anxiety. But being mindful has helped me to let go of worrying excessively. Instead, I focus my attention on the present moment. I realized that there is another way of going about life – one where I don’t have to constantly overthink everything.

However, these changes happened gradually. Mindfulness is not a magic pill where instantly you feel happier. No –  it takes consistency, time, and practice. By sticking with it on a consistent basis, I gradually experienced an overall lift in my mood.

#2. I’m Less Anxious

My struggles with social and generalized anxiety first motivated me to practice mindfulness. Meditating regularly and using breathing techniques helped me to reduce my anxiety to a manageable level.

Learning to focus on my breath helped me to cope with my most intense moments of anxiety. Moments where I felt like the walls were closing in and no one understood what I was going through. In those dark moments, I thought I would never overcome my crippling anxiety. My mindfulness practice gave me the resilience to keep moving forward.

Meditation became a haven where I could escape my anxious thoughts, even for a little bit. Mindfulness practiced helped me to deal with my anxiety more effectively in situations that triggered it.

I learned to just keep returning to my breath. To be present. Take it one moment at a time. I realized could mindfully embrace the anxious feelings inside of me and still be okay.

Mindfulness practices are becoming increasingly popular in the mental health field. Of course, this is in accompaniment with other cognitive therapies or treatments. (Please see a mental health professional for advice that is best for you.)

Read Related: Why I Stopped Fighting with my Anxiety

#3. I Have a Stronger Sense of Self

Practicing mindfulness helped me develop a stronger sense of self. It made me realize I don’t have to judge myself harshly or fit into a label. Connecting with my breath has changed the way I view myself.

I’m reminded that I’m more than just my thoughts, feelings, appearance or achievements. When I quiet my mind I connect with this deeper part of myself. I’m reminded of my inherent value.

Now ‘finding myself’ means being able to connect with my ‘higher,’ or deeper sense of self. When I quiet my mind, I can connect with this part of me.

#4. I Procrastinate Less

Another way mindfulness has changed my life is I found the confidence to face my problems head on. It’s now my habit to mindfully face difficult tasks, instead of putting them off for later.

I realized I was procrastinating due to fear of failure. I was trying to avoid my painful emotions. Now, I practice being aware as painful emotions come up. I strive to be present while doing difficult tasks, instead of complaining internally about how awful the situation is. This makes me realize it’s never as bad as I think it is going to be.

I’m able to find enjoyment in things I used to hate doing – like cleaning or online tasks, because now it’s a way to deepen my mindfulness practice.

#5. I Have Greater Emotional Resilience

Mindfulness changed my life because now I have greater emotional resilience. This has made my life so much easier and enjoyable. I’m now able to process negative emotions in a healthier way. 

When I do get into an emotional rut, I’m able to bounce back to my normal self more quickly than before. In the past, when these lows would last for days or weeks. With mindfulness, I’m better able to process my painful emotions, feel them fully, and then let them go.

Read Related: How to Stop Letting Negative Emotions Control your Behavior

#6. I Learned to Trust

Through my mindfulness and meditation practice I’ve learned to be more trusting. I’ve learned, most importantly, to trust in myself. I trust my gut reactions and instincts. And my ability to react effectively in each moment.

I learned to let go of the urge to feel in control all the time. I’ve become more comfortable with spontaneity. I now trust myself to handle difficult situations when they come my way.

Before, not trusting myself led to overthinking. It led to worrying about things outside of my control. For example, I used to be very uncomfortable with not knowing exactly what I would say or act around other people. I tried so hard to filter my every thought and action. But now I trust that although I may not know what to say or do beforehand, that it’ll come to me in the moment.

Practicing mindfulness has taught me to trust my innate ability to respond effectively to whatever challenge each moment may bring. I’m able to take more risks and try new things. I believe in myself to handle whatever comes my way. I’ve learned I don’t have to go through life in a constantly fearful state. I still have moments of anxiety, but I trust myself to get through it.

Mindfulness has also changed my life perspective of how I view the world. I now feel more connected to not only my ‘higher self’, but also the world around me. I have a reassuring sense that I’m not all alone and some higher power does exist, whatever it may be. This creates a trust in a deeper meaning for my life, and that everything will work out okay eventually, even when I don’t understand it.

#7. I Stopped taking My Thoughts so Seriously

This may sound super obvious – of course, we shouldn’t take our thoughts so seriously. But how often do you find yourself reacting to a fearful thought that races through your mind? Thoughts like ‘they don’t seem to like me’ or ‘I can’t deal with this!’

I used to take my every thought too seriously. I believed my fearful thoughts were on to something. That they knew something I didn’t. I couldn’t tell the difference between intuition and paranoid thinking.

Of course, fearful thoughts have their place. But I’ve found most of my fearful thoughts to be complete lies. I used to be afraid of my negative thoughts. Now, I’m able to mindfully observe them. 

As amazing as my mind is, it is not able to perceive the world directly. Just because I think something doesn’t mean it’s going to come true. Allan Looks said it well, “Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.”

By not taking my thoughts so seriously, I’ve learned to laugh at them like they’re Chicken Little claiming the sky is falling.

Read Related: Finding Joy in Ordinary Moments with Mindfulness

#8. I Embrace Minimalism

My life has changed by becoming more minimal since practicing mindfulness. As I decluttered my mind, my outer life naturally followed suit.

I’m now better able to distinguish the difference between my actual needs and mere wants. I’ve realized there is beauty in simplicity. It enables us to define what we truly value. And focus our attention and energy on that – instead of chasing after merely materialistic things.

We often get confused about what our true needs are. We tell ourselves those new shoes or expensive clothes are a necessity. That we must have a perfectly decorated living room. It’s easy to fall in to this kind of negative thinking- especially when it feels like everyone else has what we don’t.

Minimalism is not about depriving yourself of anything, but rather refocusing (your time, attention, money, energy) on the things that truly matter to you.

Similarly, mindfulness teaches us that we can be happy, even with less. We experience less overthinking and attachment. Less busy-ness. We focus not just on doing but on being. We realize there’s been nothing lacking all along – we’ve just been focusing on the wrong things.

#9. I Have More Energy

Practicing mindfulness has made me have more energy. Being in a negative mental or emotional state sucks your energy and makes you feel drained. Mindfulness has helped me reduce negative thinking, making me feel better and therefore more energized.

Our bodies have a funny way of reacting to our thoughts. I realized that you don’t have to be constantly thinking positive thoughts to feel better. It’s enough to just free your mind of the negative thoughts.

Mindfulness also helped me changed my life depleting negative expectations about how I’ll feel throughout the day. This makes lets me meet the moment with an open mind. I no longer expect to have a bad day or be left exhausted after.

Practicing mindfulness takes our attention away from being completely in our heads. We get back into our bodies. It’s just like the quote, ‘Energy goes where your attention flows.’

#10. I Have a Better Relationship with Time

I’m not saying to not do anything. But mindfulness has taught me that how we do things is just as important as what we’re doing. Some spiritual teachers suggest it’s even more important. The ‘how’ is our state of consciousness. It’s our ‘being-ness.’ It’s our energy, attention, thoughts and feelings. It’s our quality of presence.

Practicing mindfulness has taught me to stop labeling and judging every moment, and instead live with alert presence. I no longer believe the value of each moment lies in mere productivity alone. With this new perspective, time seems to move slower and I’m able to enjoy the present in a new way.

 Now, I’m able to experience life in a more enjoyable way rather than only obsessing about future goals.

Conclusion

I hope this list has inspired you to start your own mindfulness practice. Remember, it’s not about being perfect. Even little moments of stillness can have a significant impact.

We’re all always reaching for that ‘something’ we never seem to find. It’s always out of reach – far away in some future moment. Mindfulness doesn’t promise that we find this ‘something,’ but rather we give up the illusion that our happiness is somewhere outside of ourselves, in the distant future.

This allows us to align with what already is, instead of fighting against it. To bloom where we’re planted.

 We give up the battle with the invisible boogeyman, time. We turn our attention to this moment and realize it’s just as precious as some future reality. This is the essence of mindfulness practice. Start your practice today and experience the benefits for yourself.

Read Next: 10 Quotes on Mindfulness to Calm you when Stressed.