Why Mindfulness is the First Step to a Sustainable Lifestyle
Although making the transition to living a more sustainable lifestyle can be done through switching up any eco-destructive habits already included within your daily routine, these switches in itself may not be sustainable enough to maintain for a long period of time.
Rather than approaching sustainability solely from an intellectual standpoint, approaching it alongside mindfulness may be more beneficial, assuring the implementation of any sustainable habits to be maintained for much longer, if not, permanently.
Why is mindfulness important?
Mindfulness is defined as the practice of maintaining consciousness without judgement. Through consistently incorporating mindful practices such as meditation, journalling, walking, and self care into our lives, we are able to become more present within ourselves and recognise our thought patterns. This enables us to move away from negative thought processes, and closer to a positive mindset.
Moreover, mindfulness is able to calm are wandering minds, and enhance our ability to manage everything from beating our daily stressors, to accomplishing future goals.
How does this play a role in sustainability?
Through quietening our minds of any negative thought patterns and creating a more intimate connection with our minds and sense of self, we are able to create goals with powerful intention. This accelerates the development of personal resilience, therefore we are more likely to stick to the goals that we aim to achieve.
When practicing sustainability, especially in the initial stages, this can serve as a challenge for many people due to the overwhelming amount of information that one is faced with once the reality of our environmental situation has been revealed—it can be hard to pinpoint where to start! Through mindfulness, you are able to take a step back, and approach sustainability from a much calmer and more positive outlook, and work steadily towards whatever your goals with regards to caring for the planet may be.
Additionally, this approach can be seen as a positive representation of sustainable living to the people around you. This can further encourage your friends, family members, and even strangers to start making simple switches at a calm, and more positive pace.
Overall…
Mindfulness is most definitely one way of improving your approach towards making sustainable changes, and it can positively affect an array of other areas within your life as well. However, at the end of the day, sustainability is something that we are urged to act upon. If you have alternative methods towards efficiently practicing sustainability, continue doing your thing!