Mindful Consumption
“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”
— Jon Kabat-Zinn
Do you remember the last time you just sat quietly and did nothing? For me, it’s been a long long time. Whatever might be the reason. Honestly speaking our smartphones have replaced a number of small devices and a couple of people permanently. We have one-click solutions for everything that we need. Right from advice to treating our illnesses sometimes.
Our pattern of consumption has changed drastically over the past few years. Here, I’m just pointing out three major areas wherein we can think and change the way we act. By observing some patterns that might harm us in the long run we can avoid the damage if we are mindful about them.
- Content
Binge-watching our favorite series gives the adrenaline rush and occupies our minds. Unknowingly we watch so many episodes at a stretch. We click on links after links and many times don’t even remember where we had started from. What our primary objective was. On one hand, we struggle to focus even for half an hour in the real world but being engrossed for hours in our favorite online show or game is not at all an issue.
If we pay a little more attention to our consumption pattern we can divert some time to other tasks. I’ve stopped binge-watching for a while now and I can fit smaller tasks in my day that were long pending. The maze of online content is very tempting and we can easily get trapped. So, just try to focus on the content that you were looking for in the first place. Unsubscribe content that seems illogical and unrealistic because the smaller things that we watch today have a compounding effect over a longer duration. Doing this consistently will eventually change your content consumption habits for the better.
2. Food
Covid-19 has forced us to stay in our houses and eat home-made food. Experimenting with food habits can be a real game-changer. I can say this from my own experience. I have controlled hyperacidity by aligning my schedule and food habits.
Although the stress of staying indoors can cause people to binge eat or follow irregular patterns, we can keep a track of what we eat. This way we can also experiment what suits us best and create a balanced diet of our own rather than getting consumed by unrealistic online fads. Every person has a unique body and you should chisel your way around to reach your fitness goals. Food is the major part of your overall wellbeing and going local can prove to be good even for the smaller financial ecosystems around us. If we take out some time and figure out the basics it will serve as a huge differentiator in our physical and mental wellbeing.
3. Thoughts
This one here is a little tricky. With all our gadgets and virtual realities, we have a great escape from our own selves. Try observing your thoughts for a while. There are patterns and those patterns can be identified and later on the toxic ones can be worked upon. Just go with the flow. And enjoy the process.
Starting out slow like sitting with yourself for 5 minutes a day, listening to Audiobooks when you have some free time, or journaling the important experiences help in streamlining your thoughts. Just a little time to start out with is fine. It is a long process but the journey is worth the effort.
Our lives at large are the repercussion of infinite small actions. Building habits is a long process but it all starts with observing. If we want to move a mountain, we should be willing to start from a stone. Doing justice to your inner creative genius and enhancing your self-time isn’t difficult if we look critically at our existing habits. Observing gives us a perspective of our own doings. So without thinking much just observe and enjoy.
