Last Updated on February 14, 2024 by Lifevif Team and JC Franco
Living in the here and now has become more than just a concept; it has become a way of life – and that way is called “Mindfulness”.
Mindfulness is a practice that promotes focusing on the present moment, calmly noting your own feelings, and accepting them along with your thoughts and physical experiences. At the heart of mindfulness is the art of living in the moment. Mindfulness is used as a form of therapy and can have far-reaching benefits in your life. That said, what skills are needed to effectively practice mindfulness?
Before we go through them, it’s important to note that while the skills mentioned below are needed to practice mindfulness, they are also the skills that you will learn and develop while dedicating yourself to mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness can only be achieved if you are willing to apply yourself to the process. It takes a considerable amount of effort to become mindful, but with time (as well as effort) it will become a lot easier. Below are the skills and abilities you will need to focus on in order to achieve the level of mindfulness you are after.
These are 14 skills needed to practice mindfulness.
1. To be mindful, you must be able to observe.
The skill of observation is simply choosing to be present in the current moment. Paying attention to what is happening around in, within you, and how you feel about it all, is part of the process. While you observe how you are feeling, it is crucial to remain as neutral as possible in the current situation. Do not try to change the situation; just let it be.
2. Mindfulness practice involves being able to factually describe feelings.
Being able to describe your feelings and situations is quite important, even if you are only describing these feelings to yourself. Being able to express your feelings will help to put them into perspective.
When describing feelings, it is vital to be as factual as possible. For instance, you may describe that you feel you’re worthless because you did not get the job you recently applied for, but you might also be realistic or factual about it by noting that there were many applicants for the very same position. The ability to describe feelings helps you to understand that just because you feel a certain way; it does not necessarily mean that it is real or true.
3. Mindfulness requires you to set goals.
Setting goals is a big part of mindfulness. If you have a goal for the day, you can focus on working towards that goal while being fully present in the tasks/exercises required to do it. By setting goals, you can keep track of progress in the situation and do all that is needed to achieve them.
4. Mindfulness requires you to fully engage in tasks/activities.
One of the main aims of mindfulness is to get people to a stage where they are 100% participating in the current moment or activity.
To be truly mindful, you need to be skilled in engaging in what you are doing right now, without drifting off in your head or getting distracted. You can practice developing this skill by exercising and focusing on each step of the process, or, for instance, by singing and dancing (both of which are activities that require full participation).
5. You need to be non-judgmental to practice mindfulness.
You do not have to ignore when things are right and wrong in order to be non-judgmental. For instance, stealing is still stealing, which is wrong. However, the skill of being non-judgmental needs to be applied to your daily life.
For instance, you need to observe how you feel towards objects and situations and realize that your judgments are based on your personal preferences and not precisely on facts or truths. As an example, if you think that Maltese Poodles are ugly, that is actually a preference (a personal judgment) and not a fact.
6. Mindfulness requires you to be able to truly listen.
A large part of being mindful is being able to be fully present enough to actively listen to others, as well as what is happening around you. When you take the time to actually listen to what a friend is saying in a conversation or to the many sounds around you, you get to truly soak in the experience and stay present in it.
7. Mindfulness requires the skill to be empathetic.
Empathy is often a side effect of mindfulness, but is also required in order to learn mindfulness in the first place. Mindfulness helps us become more aware of and in tune with our own feelings in certain situations. This, in turn, makes it easier for us to see situations from other people’s viewpoints and feel empathetic towards them.
8. Being capable of responding instead of reacting is a skill required for mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a practice designed to enhance the quality of your life. Often in life, when we do not stop to calm down, think something through, and be non-judgmental of our feelings, we can lash out, snap, shout, or say something that we regret. If you want to live mindfully, you need to learn to observe a situation and how you feel in it without taking action. Then, take a few deep, slow breaths, and respond calmly, compassionately, and without imposing any judgment on the situation or the other person.
9. You need to be able to focus and concentrate to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness requires you to live in the moment and engage in current activities 100% of the time. If you are busy with a task and find your mind drifting off or unrelated worries creeping in, you are not being mindful. You need to be able to observe that your mind has wandered, draw it back to the current situation, refocus and concentrate on being fully present once more. In order to do this, you need a certain amount of focus and concentration skills.
10. Mindfulness practice requires you to be consistent and repetitive.
To practice mindfulness, you need to be prepared and dedicated to being consistent and repetitive. Even if your mind wanders many times in a row, you need to keep working on bringing it back and being more present. You also need to be consistent and repetitive about other mindfulness practices, such as setting goals, eating mindfully, working on genuine connections with others, and more.
11. Mindfulness requires you to dedicate yourself to regular practice.
Dedication is somewhat of a skill, and it is not a skill that everyone has. Mindfulness is not something that will simply come naturally overnight. It requires you to practice regularly. In fact, you need to practice it daily, and that is why dedication is a vitally important skill to have.
12. You need to be patient to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness practice requires a considerable amount of patience with yourself and others. If you are struggling to focus and stay present in the moment and keep resorting to old ways, be patient with yourself and keep rededicating yourself to being mindful. Over time, and with a bit of patience, mindfulness will become second nature.
13. In order to practice mindfulness, you must be able to quiet/clear your mind.
Mindfulness practice requires the ability to calm yourself down, settle your thoughts, and quiet all the background noise happening in your head. You can do this by removing yourself from the chaos and finding a quiet spot to sit. Focus on your breathing, close your eyes, and simply listen to the sounds around you. Practice doing this often.
14. Breathe slowly and deeply.
To practice mindfulness, you need to be able to breathe deeply, slowly, and with intention. The whole process of practicing mindfulness is based on being able to breathe your way through any distractions and bring yourself back to living in the present moment. Before you start practicing mindfulness, learn a few breathing techniques for stress relief – they can really help to develop useful breathing techniques for mindfulness.
As You Practice Mindfulness, Your Skills Will Develop
If you are worried that you will not excel at practicing mindfulness because you do not have some or all of the above skills, do not worry. Mindfulness is an art that actually helps individuals to develop the very skills that it requires to be effective.
The best thing to do is to get started. Simply set time aside to practice your first session. Remember that you can practice being mindful at any time – you do not have to dedicate specific hours to it. In fact, you should try to incorporate it into your life on every level, until it becomes a natural way of life for you.
Are you ready to live mindfully? Well, what are you waiting for!
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who share their experiences and knowledge about the "Seven F's of Life".
JC Franco
JC Franco is a New York-based editor for Lifevif. He mainly focuses on content about faith, spirituality, personal growth, finance, and sports. He graduated from Mercyhurst University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, majoring in Marketing. He is a certified tennis instructor who teaches in the New York City Metropolitan area. In terms of finance, he has passed the Level I exam of the CFA program.