Mindfulness Is A Writing Essential

“Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.”

― Allan Lokos

Mindfulness is a catch-all term to describe anything from metaphysical techniques and meditation to tools used by major corporations to help employees focus more on the present. Mindfulness encompasses so many different practices that it’s hard to know what it is and whether or not you should use it.

How does it help you? How do you develop it? And how do you apply it to your writing?

What Is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a meditation practice that gives you the ability to let go of past and future thoughts and focus on what your thinking and feeling in the present moment. It allows you to not only focus on your thoughts, but to also focus on your present surroundings and any sensations you may be experiencing.

When you develop mindfulness, you find it’s easier to let go of negative random thoughts that find their way into your mind and block your creativity. It also allows you to redirect negative thoughts and feelings that can lead to stress and overwhelm. You’ll find yourself more clear headed and feeling more empowered than before.

So how does this help you in your writing? Mindfulness brings those thoughts, feelings and experiences into greater focus. It allows you to develop a deeper understanding or awareness of yourself. Knowing who you are at your core allows you to tap into your creativity and share your message with those who need to hear it.

Practicing mindfulness gives you the tools you need to be open to accepting new ideas and information. It goes hand-in-hand with creativity by allowing you to learn how to process new information without attaching judgment.

The Goldfish Effect

It also gives you the ability to quiet your mind and stop focusing on things that aren’t relevant to what you’re writing. When you’re continuously scrolling social media, or reading the latest the headline, or looking for your latest “like” you’re falling victim to what’s become known as the “The Goldfish Effect. ”

Multi-tasking is not what the human brain was designed do. So when you constantly bombard it with multiple types of information it leaves you unable to focus on any one concept or idea for more than a few seconds at a time. Your mind is always trying to process every little bit of new information you throw at it and eventually becomes so overloaded that it’s constantly racing from one thought to another.

This is one of the reasons that when you try to rest or sleep that your mind begins racing to every unimportant random thought it can find. A racing mind isn’t clear and creative mind. Racing thoughts lead to stress, overwhelm and anxiety. Mindfulness can help you order your thoughts so you can regain your focus and follow through.

Divergent Thinking

It can also help you navigate perceived negative situations. By allowing you to weed out all the external interference and focus solely on the problem and the solution. It opens up divergent thinking giving you the ability to think outside the box. Or, use your imagination to co me up new ideas.

Mindfulness is a catalyst to divergent thinking. But, it can also act as an inhibitor as well. Divergent thinking allows you to tap into that often under used part of the brain where imagination lives. But, unchecked it can lead to a lack of good judgment and cause lawlessness.

But, when approached through the clarity of mindfulness, divergent thinking can awaken your passion, your imagination, and allow you to become more innovative. All the things every writer needs to become successful.

Uses of Mindfulness

The objective to creating a mindful practice is to become more aware of the present moment in terms of your surroundings, sensations, sounds, thoughts, and feelings. By doing this you become more ‘present’ in the moment and better able to react to what’s going on around you without judgment and without the constant ‘brain chatter.’

Mindfulness is a broad tool then to be used in a number of different ways. However, the end goal is to become aware of the present moment, quiet your mind, allow yourself to tap into your imagination and find an inner calm that often eludes you so can focus on sharing your message with those who need to hear it.