Have you ever encountered someone who seemed to be outwardly focused and fully aware of others around them? It's almost a rare quality to posses a mindfulness of others when our culture and intrinsic nature is to be focused on self. While it's a good thing to care for yourself and personal success, it's equally good to be humbly concerned with the well-being of others! Keep reading for some tangible ways to be more mindful of others.
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1. Listen
One great way to be more mindful of others is to listen well, and not with the intention of simply responding. When in conversation, look into the other person's eyes, orient your body to face them rather than at an angle, and don't cross your arms. This will give the impression of genuine interest!
2. Ask What Can You do to Help
If you see a need in someone's life, regardless if that person is a friend or family member, ask them or others what you can do to help! It can be incredibly simple as providing a word of encouragement or more complex. Whatever the need may be, if fulfilled you could dramatically change a person's life! It doesn't have to be big to make an impact.
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3. Volunteer
Another great way to focus on others is to volunteer your time. Pick an organization that grabs your interest and find out how you can help. Maybe it's a homeless shelter, or within the foster care system or at an animal shelter. Most humanitarian organizations are in constant need of volunteers!
4. Travel
Not only is traveling really fun and exciting, it's a great way to experience how others live. Seeing how a different place in the world operates, gives you a new understanding of other people and what their life is like. Many places, even exotic resorts, are poor and impoverished outside of the resort borders. It makes you aware of your own blessings in life and keeps your mindful of the rest of the world!
5. Be Active in Your Relationships
Often times in friendships and within family, there's always one person who's the first to initiate getting together. And maybe that's you! If not, don't let the burden fall on others. Be active in your relationships and seek out ways to deepen and strengthen them, which is a great way to be more mindful of others!
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6. Take Care of Yourself
In all honesty, it's damn near impossible to be mindful of others and put them first when you aren't taking care of yourself. Neglecting your own needs-physically, emotionally and spiritually- means you're going to totally burn out when it comes to investing in other people. Make sure you're filled up before you pour into others!
7. Love Well
Lastly, to be more mindful of others really comes down to simply loving well. If all else fails, just ask yourself if you're loving people to your fullest potential. You can easily "do" these actions listed above but if you don't have a genuine love for people and seeing them thrive, it won't last and it's essentially meaningless!
8. Be Present
When it comes to being mindful you need to be present. You cannot just be there in the situation and not actively involved. You need to be aware of your surroundings and the situation you're in in order to be completely mindful of what's going on.
9. Practice Mindful Exercises
To be mindful you must get in tune with it. Walk and connect with your inner self, meditate, or simply sit quietly and connect with your senses; no matter what you do you must be mindful of yourself before you can practice mindfulness with others.
10. AVoid Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking seems like a good idea, but as a mom of 2 kids under 6 I know how multi-tasking takes away from my mindfulness. Watching my 5 year old dance while cooking dinner and changing diapers means she isn't getting my full attention which means I'm not being mindful of her. Instead, focus on one task at a time and devote your all to it so you can be aware of the entire situation and not just bits and pieces you catch in between.
I hope these ways of being more mindful of others sparked some inspiration to go out and make a difference! Wouldn't the world be such a better place if all people were interested in the well-being of others? Please share any additional ways that come to mind!
