The fourth pillar of Resilience, mindfulness, is one of the most important pillars and plays an essential role in being Resilient. Each pillar we have previously discussed, self-care, self-awareness, and positive relationships all depend to some extent on mindfulness.
Mindfulness is much more than just a meditation and relaxation technique, it’s about being mindful of ourselves, our environment, and the people around us. And that is how it connects to the other pillars. More importantly, it’s about being present in the moment. Mindfulness focuses on being present and remaining calm and collected. Our ability to be mindful influences our ability to be Resilient. All of us are faced with difficult situations at some point in our life, and sometimes we might not always understand why we find the situation difficult. The process of being mindful helps us to identify why we might be finding a situation difficult, whether this is a result of our own thoughts or perspectives on the situation, our current environment, or even the people we have surrounded ourselves with. When we are mindful, we are able to be present in the moment and make the necessary changes to our situation and demonstrate Resilience.
Being mindful of ourselves
Being mindful of ourselves means to be mindful of how we think, feel, and behave. Resilience depends on our ability to be mindful of how we think and feel about a situation as well as how we have been or are currently behaving. When we are able to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings, we are then able to accept them. The process of being mindful of our thoughts and feelings allows us to be Resilient when we are faced with difficult situations.
Being mindful of our environment
Being mindful of our environment means to be mindful of what is going on around us. Our environment changes on a daily basis, in most cases, multiple times a day. This can be overwhelming and sometimes we may become overstimulated, especially during stressful times. It’s important to be mindful of what is going on around us in order for us to determine how, what, and why our environment may be causing us to feel stressed. Being able to understand the situation builds your Resilience by enabling you to overcome the situation.
Being mindful of the people around us
Being mindful of the people around us means focussing in the present on the people we are surrounding ourselves with. This ties in with the third pillar of Resilience, positive relationships. The people who we surround ourselves with can influence our ability to be Resilient. This is why it’s important to be mindful of those we are surrounding ourselves with, either by choice or unintentionally. It might be the case that we work in an environment where we are surrounded by people who negatively affect us. By being mindful of this, we can identify an area in our life that can be changed such as changing to a job where we are surrounded by like-minded people, or deciding to no longer hang out with toxic people.