Be mindful: You'll live longer

You may be aware of some of the beneficial effects that mindfulness meditation can bring: focusing on the breath, letting thoughts go and simply being still and present. Research suggests that mindfulness-based practices may help some people manage stress, relax and remain calm.

I wanted to cover here how being mindful in a self-aware way can help us appreciate our surroundings and experience what is happening to us more acutely. It may therefore help us make the most of the time available to us, feel more and, in a sense, live longer.

Okay… I may be stretching the truth. Whether we are on autopilot, sleepwalking through parts of our lives, or doing the opposite and remaining fully aware of what we are experiencing from moment to moment, the time elapsed will be exactly the same.

However, paying attention and being present, aware and self-aware, is likely to lead to us seeing, hearing, appreciating and learning more. The sum total of our experience is enhanced and increased,  “stretched” in a way that it isn’t when we are not fully present and mindful.

Of course, there may be times when we don’t particularly want to be present, when we want to be on autopilot or zone out, and you will recognise those times for yourself.

That’s fine when it is a choice we make willingly and knowingly. It may be less helpful when time passes us by without us realising it.

Over and above helping us experience more, being mindful may help us become more self-aware and learn from our experiences. We are making more of situations and of ourselves; we are paying attention and noticing what is happening internally and externally.

Is there something you can do today to be more mindful – and, in that sense, live longer?