“Mindfulness, Habit and Your Comfort Zone” Comments, Page 1
You are currently browsing page 1 of comments on the article Mindfulness, Habit and Your Comfort Zone.
You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “Mindfulness, Habit and Your Comfort Zone”.
17 Responses (3 Discussion Threads) to “Mindfulness, Habit and Your Comfort Zone”
-
1
Hi, Evan -
Here is how I check to see where I’m at with my mindfulness . . .
I imagine I’m in a boat on a river . . . if I feel like I’m fighting to go against the current, then I’m likely forcing myself out of my comfort zone and into an uncomfortable situation . . . often, that is not a beneficial or empowering position for me, but sometimes it is . . I have to look at my reasons for fighting so hard against the current. If I don’t have a good reason, it may be time to turn the boat around.
If I feel like I’m caught on a rock — not moving forward or backward — just getting the full blast of the current on my body, then I’m most likely frozen in a fearful position . . . it is pretty safe to say that is almost never a good position. In those times, it is usually better for me to push away from the rock.
If I feel like I’m running with the current — effortlessly — then, I feel like the power of the universe is supporting me. I’m moving forward and can simply relax in the flow. In those times, I can look around and enjoy the scenary.
Thanks for a thought-provoking article!
- Marie (Coming Out of the Trees)
-
1.1
Thanks Marie, this is a fantastic way to check in with ourselves.
I hope you don’t mind if I steal it and use it from now on.
Many thanks for this.
-
-
2
Steal away, Evan! I stole it from someone else along the way . . . LOL
-
3
Hello Evan, thanks for the post! Just a comment on the definition of mindfulness – I think wondering if the hot fat would penetrate your shoe or not was actually a pretty prime example of being non-mindful – had you been mindfully present – totally there in the moment with all your faculties – you would not have entertained any abstract thoughts but just acted fast.
Mindfulness doesn’t mean contemplation, or imply inaction (I would guess that ‘get out of your comfort zone’ folks, say practicing hazardous sports, like doing that precisely because of the experience of being completely present in the moment). I would also say that being mindful of our everyday experience does take us pretty swiftly out of our comfort zone, because looking at everything which is happening inside us right now usually presents us with a bit of a mess!
-
4
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your comment. Maybe we should use a word other than “mindfulness” which can lead to associations with thinking?
-
4.1
I’m a bit confused now, Evan! ‘Mindfulness’ seems to be a pretty specific term… about being right in the moment rather than thinking *about* the moment… but what you are getting at in the post seems to be something slightly different… maybe that needs another word?
-
4.2
Thanks Sarah. Maybe, I guess we can think in the moment, feel in the moment, react in the moment etc(?) I’m not sure. Maybe lots of words needed.
-
-
5
Compulsive behavior such as manic writing (perhaps caused by some quirk in the brain such as Temporal Lobe Epilepsy–but I’m not sure about the connection; I know I have TLE, but the rest is conjecture) makes it difficult to practice mindfulness. But the practice is possible. My compulsion is to write. And write. And write. So I am mindful of the compulsion. Since I have to write anyway, I’ve been trying to make sure I write about something when I write. And the result is a blog and some other essay type of stuff that gives me much pleasure, not simply the rantings and complaints that I write when I simply write. Does that fit your definition of “mindfulness?”
-
6
Hi Harold, thanks for your comment. I do think that being focused on something (the breath, our thoughts or feelings, an object or whatever) fits with my definition of mindfulness.
-
lee du ploy
7Words are what we use to describe things.
The meaning of some therefore are lost in translation,the issue I have is the definition here used or the assumption and understanding of the word “mindfulness”
lee du ploy ( hong kong)
-
8
Hi Lee, challenging any definition I make (or anything else I say for that matter) you are most welcome to challenge. Thanks for your comment.
-
dancingcrane
9This is exactly the kind of discussion I’ve been looking for. A couple of blogs I enjoy have jumped off the ‘productivity bandwagon’ and are now into the ‘do what you love, dump the rest, create something beautiful’ groove.
Boy, would I love to follow them! I’m a writer too, and I know what I love, and I’m trying to give myself permission to go for it. But…
I have these other advisers over here. They advocate self-sufficiency through passive income (like from investments and businesses that make money even when you aren’t attending to them directly). The learning curve for such things as financial and business law is steep, and the investment world full of sharks looking to prey on the less knowledgeable. I could handle that, and I’m used to digging into something for the long haul, if it’s something I’m passionate about.
But that’s the problem. I have no passion for it. ZIP. It’s deadly boring to me, every aspect of it. My advisers who see it as an exciting game, a riveting competition, a grand adventure, AND the only way to provide adequately for my family, have this advice for me. If I don’t like it, make myself like it! Get out of my comfort zone! If this is my weakness, make it a strength! If I’m not willing to sacrifice for this, I fail at life, and I fail my family!
Passion calls me in one direction, duty another, and i’m stuck.
-
10
Hi DancingCrane, How well I know that dilemma.
I am fortunate that my partner is supportive of my attempts to build my own business (while paid by others part-time).
I have found Mark Silver’s approach to business a genuine integration of spirituality with business.
My own approach is small steps, bridging from where I am and learning from small and safe experiments. I’m not one for burning bridges.
Making my income from what I love is a huge challenge for me – and one of the reasons I got into blogging.
I’d love to hear how you go with it. Thanks for your comment.
The comment form is currently closed.
Newer Comments »