If you are wondering, “What do I need to do to build my mindfulness muscles?” then you are in the right place!
It is so important that in our frantic world; as social workers, we continue to seek peace and practice mindfulness.
By not practicing mindfulness, we expose ourselves to a foggy path.
A foggy path will prevent us from setting our goals and reaching certain milestones.
As a result, it is essential that we create habits that will help us focus and have clarity in life.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is an individual’s ability to be fully present and not be overwhelmed.
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It is inevitable to experience stressful and challenging situations in social work practice and in our daily lives, however, how we deal with these stressful moments is what is most important.
From the constant change in systems at work (where you have to learn how these systems operate within a few days) to relationships and finances, there is a never -ending list of stressors that serve as road blocks for most of us on a daily basis.
That is why building mindfulness muscles is incredibly helpful in social work practice.
How to Build Mindfulness Muscles in Social Work
In both my personal and professional life as a social worker, I have experienced periods of anxiety, self-doubt and stress.
I have also felt overwhelmed and overworked.
I failed to acknowledge this for many years and attempted to carry on with my life.
However, when my body reacted (strong headaches, insomnia, aches and pains) soon, I realised that these were stress responses and I needed to create strategies to create a work-life balance as there was absolutely none!
Immediately, I changed my way of thinking and accepted I cannot ignore the fact that I had created a chaotic life around me! And it was indeed frantic!
I thought of ways of paying attention to ‘ME’ just for a moment daily.
Guess what, I incorporated meditation into my life and although this did not calm down the world around me in reality; it gave me a feeling of tranquility.