In Part 1 I wrote about how the Attitudes of Mindfulness might help us deal with uncomfortable situations. In Part 2 I wrote about how they can protect us from dissatisfaction with our life.
Today I’m going to talk about how the Attitudes of Mindfulness can be applied to how we treat ourselves.
Too often we’re impatient with ourselves. We have unreasonably high expectations. We expect perfection. And if we don’t perform at 110% (whether that’s at work or in being a good person) we become critical of ourselves (and often others).
Imagine if we lived by the attitude of Patience. If we allowed ourselves time to get things right, to be patient when we didn’t, knowing that we’re doing the best we can.
Of course that would mean that we would also have to practice the attitude of Letting Go. Letting go of unhelpful expectations. Letting go of our attachment to beating ourselves up. Letting go of the beliefs that keep us trapped in having to be something other than ourselves to be good enough.
Think of a time when all these internal pressures were far from your mind. A time when you were unself-consciously in the present moment. Maybe it was playing music, laughing with friends, experiencing the beauty of nature, being lost in a great story.
Whatever it was you were doing, you were free from internal struggle and living by the Attitudes of Mindfulness. If you could do it before you can do it again.
Which brings me to the final attitude: Trust.
Trust in yourself that you can live a life more fulfilling and satisfying through some simple attitude adjustments.
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