Here's Why These 7 Attitudes of Mindfulness Are Essential For Creatives
7 Attitudes of Mindfulness for Creatives | Photo by Milan Popovic on Unsplash
In his book Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness author Jon Kabat-Zinn utilizes his celebrated mindfulness-based stress reduction program to help readers find both well-being and healing. However, before we can dive into the principles behind this program, and how they relate to the creative community at large, we’ve got to start with the basics. So, what actually is mindfulness?
According to the folks at Headspace, an online healthcare company, specializing in meditation, “Mindfulness is the quality of being present and fully engaged with whatever we’re doing at the moment — free from distraction or judgment, and aware of our thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them.”
Sounds much easier said than done. However, as experts have pointed out, when implemented into one’s everyday life, mindfulness can lead to some pretty great improvements. From reduced anxiety to more manageable chronic pain, there is a lot to be said about this completely free and natural approach to dealing with discomfort.
In fact, according to Headspace, generalized neuro-imaging meditation studies found that 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation can actually rewire our brains toward more positive thoughts and emotions.
So how does it work? That’s where Jon Kabat-Zinn comes in. In his book, he reminds readers that before you can get into tangible practices like working with your breath or being in your body, it’s important to understand the foundations, also known as attitudes, that make up the concept of mindfulness.
This is especially true for those eager to grow, heal, and of course, create. To learn why the 7 attitudes of mindfulness are essential for creatives, read on below.
7 Attitudes of Mindfulness For Creatives
Non-Judging
First up, we’re talking about the concept of non-judging. If you’re a human being, you probably already understand how challenging it can be to keep your judgments at bay.
And this isn’t to say you’re a mean person or that you’re intentionally looking at things negatively. In fact, in most cases we are often far harsher on ourselves than those around us. Unfortunately, the judgmental inner critic that sits at the base of our subconscious can be a tricky little menace, and without mindfulness it is far too easy for he or she to take over.
To this end Kabat-Zinn writes, “Mindfulness is cultivated by paying close attention to your moment-to-moment experience while, as best you can, not getting caught up in your ideas and opinions, likes and dislikes. This orientation allows us to see things more as they may actually be rather than through our own distorted lenses and agendas.
To adopt such a stance toward your own experience requires that you become aware of the constant stream of judging and reacting to the inner and outer experiences that we are all normally caught up in, and learn to step back from it.”
It goes without saying that every single human being could benefit from easing up on themselves, and approaching their life with an attitude of non-judging.
However, when it comes to the creative, the importance is tenfold. After all, it’s pretty much impossible to effectively design, innovate, conceptualize, or imagine when you are judging yourself through every moment of the process. In order to really lean into the concept of non-judgement we must be willing to leave our ego (and yes, that terrible inner critic) at the door.
Otherwise, we will simply be following someone else’s blueprint for creativity, and that is neither fun or productive.
Patience
Having patience, especially when it comes to something that’s important to us, is arguably one of the most difficult challenges. However, with practice we do in fact get better at it.
For instance, as children we are conditioned to find patience while we wait for our favorite snack or to go outside and play. As we get older the concept of waiting changes as well. We must wait to earn our license, have our first drink, and meet the love of our lives. Sure the length of time varies in some circumstances, but the restraint we must cultivate is ultimately the same.
By its very nature, the concept of creating means to produce something new. For some creativity hits in a moment, for others it can take a lifetime. No one trajectory looks the same, and that unfortunately, is just the way it goes. However, as John Kabat-Zinn points out, if we can accept the fact that things unfold in their own time and simply learn to be where we are in the moment, we will be far less eclipsed by our thoughts.
Beginner’s Mind
This next attitude of mindfulness truly is as simple as it sounds. Through mindfulness we are challenged to enter every experience as it is: new. Here Kabat-Zinn writes, “The richness of present moment experience is the richness of life itself.” In order to hone in our relationship with the here and now, Zinn recommends cultivating our “beginner’s mind” or as he describes it “a mind that is willing to see everything for the first time.”
Aside from helping us to be more receptive, this concept also prevents practitioners from becoming stuck in a rut of their own experience. Regardless of your creative pursuits, the process of building a tangible version of one’s vision can be exhausting, and in truth, not always what we hope it to be.
However, looking at every opportunity to create with a beginner’s mind helps us to stay connected to what we are doing in the present moment, rather than what we have or haven’t done before.
Trust
Stress, fear, vulnerability, and a lack of connection, are just a few of the struggles native to every human experience. However, for the creative whose work or desire it is to imagine something new, these challenges can feel particularly daunting. After all, vulnerability exists at the core of creativity.
Through mindfulness we come to learn the importance of trusting in ourselves. Of the 7 attitudes of mindfulness we’re discussing, trust is likely one people struggle with most. However, honing the ability to trust in yourself, your feelings, and your wisdom is essential to living a life, and developing a career you believe in.
Non-Striving
When it comes to creative pursuits, it’s incredibly easy to overthink what you’re doing. You may even struggle with the desire to alter your vision to better fit the mold of what others believe it “should” be. However, when we strive to control situations too deeply, we lose sight of what makes them special.
Ironically, mindfulness is about showing up for yourself exactly how you are. Instead of indulging our human urge to change or adjust things, this practice challenges us to notice the moment as it arises, and to sit with it as is. We seek to be, rather than to do. When considered alongside the concept of creating, non-striving is less about what your work should look like and more about what it is. Knowing every act of creativity doesn’t need to change your life, is freeing and may even help to remove the pressure that often comes with producing something new.
Acceptance
In an article written by Psychology Today author and clinical psychologist Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D. writes “Acceptance of inner experience is an aspect of mindfulness that can be learned by meditation and by consciously trying to be self-compassionate rather than being judgmental and self-critical.” Unfortunately, having the wisdom to look at situations with empathy either for yourself or those around you can often be challenging.
For anyone working within a creative industry, you must regularly be willing to change direction, carve new paths, and occasionally, concede to defeat. Therefore, of all the 7 attitudes of mindfulness, acceptance is quite possibly the most critical. Learning to have grace for yourself, not only in times of success, but also in times of struggle, will help you to ride the waves of life, both personally and professionally.
Letting Go
According to Kabbat-Zinn in his book Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, “To let go means to give up coercing, resisting, or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which comes out of allowing things to be as they are without getting caught up in your attraction to or rejection of them, in the intrinsic stickiness of wanting, of liking and disliking.”
In many ways this idea sums up the essence of what it means to be an innovator. Regardless of your creative medium of choice, bringing a vision to life is not only difficult, but it is taxing- physically, mentally, and emotionally. Giving up all of the excess baggage that comes with such a pursuit is essential to living a life that isn’t just about success, but also wellbeing. For anyone eager to better themselves, diving into these 7 attitudes of mindfulness may just be the key. After all, success is often an inside job.