Stop right now, close your eyes: What are you thinking?

Is the thought positive or negative? If you are like the majority of humans, it is probably negative. Why? It’s the mind’s job to think, and in many cases, we are thinking about the past and the things that went wrong, or the future, and the things that can go wrong.

Consider this: We are not our thoughts!

And most importantly: Remember that you don’t have to control your thoughts, you just have to stop letting them control you.

Thoughts can hurt if you give them power!

The beauty of mindfulness is that it lets you:

• Step outside of yourself, acting as an observer;
• Stop judging, instead understanding that we all make mistakes and embracing the concept that we are not our thoughts as we are not our mistakes;
• Begin to choose what you think;
• Let go of thoughts that take over your mind;
• Let go of control:
• Control of the outcome of events;
• Control over what other people think of you;
• And begin to understand how fruitless it is to try to control most things.

As you grow in mindfulness you begin to appreciate and live in the present, which is the essence of a mindful life.