You may have heard the term ‘mindfulness’ being thrown around by now. It is, after all, the most prominent trend and buzzword in the world of psychology, health, and wellness at the moment. The question is, what does mindfulness actually mean? And how can being more mindful help you in your daily life, both inside and outside of the classroom? SA Teen Entrepreneur investigates.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness means being completely present in the moment.

It has become more and more difficult for young students to achieve this state considering the pace at which most of us lead our lives, and how much technology surrounds us. Ultimately, it means switching off the background noise and spending more time ‘within’, paying attention to your emotions, your thoughts, and really allowing yourself to experience whatever is happening to you at any given time. This may be really listening to and focusing on your teacher’s voice, or pressing ‘pause’ to examine your feelings when a friend says something that upsets you so that you can ‘respond’ instead of ‘react’.

How can mindfulness help you?

Research has shown that being more mindful can lead to reduced stress, increased compassion towards both others and yourself, and a generally more positive attitude towards life.

Being more mindful inside the classroom can aid you in retaining a larger amount of information and in keeping anxiety levels to a minimum before a test or an exam.

Outside of the classroom, it can boost your entrepreneurial efforts. Mindful entrepreneurs are more successful and inspiring, after all. Mindfulness will also allow you to tune into the needs and feelings of your target market and really absorb any feedback that you receive regarding your growing business.

Would you like to learn about putting mindfulness into practice? Perhaps it is time to join your school’s Young Entrepreneurs’ Society. Your school doesn’t have one? No problem! You can register it here

Here’s to being more mindful about mindfulness!