This also applies to consciousness, you can become more aware, more present and more aware. But you’ll never quite get to the place where your mind is completely in the moment all the time.
That’s fine, because we need our subconscious to guide us through life, as if we were doing everything completely consciously and then had to relearn how to do everything every time we wanted to do it.
Being more aware is like exercise for the brain; every time you throw yourself into the present moment, it is a reminder of the beauty of life and the world around you.
Being more aware means being more aware. On an individual level this means that you are aware of yourself and on a collective level this means that you are more aware of your environment and the world that exists outside of yourself.
13 simply effective ways to increase your awareness
1. Be present
There is no better time than the one you are in right now, so live in this moment. Don’t spend your time regretting the past and worrying about the future.
Instead, embrace the moment you are in now and make sure you do everything you can to be the best you can be. Do this and the future will take care of itself.
Take your time to enjoy the scenery. Chew every bite of your food and really taste it. If you are in a conversation, give it your full undivided attention. Whenever possible, do what you are doing and don’t get distracted.
2. If you can’t attend, practice it
If you’ve had a life where you couldn’t be present, it can be difficult to fully focus on being here and now.
Take time every day to practice being present. This can be done through meditation, yoga, or simply by consciously refocusing every time you feel your mind wandering.
Your brain is like a muscle that needs to be stimulated, so take your brain to the mental gym from time to time and make it a habit to be fully aware.
3. Find your true calling
We all have things we are naturally attracted to, your job is to remove the years of cultural conditioning and get in tune with your true nature.
For some people this will be obvious, for others it may not be so bad. But if you start looking and actively look for what is important to you, you will eventually find it with perseverance and determination.
4. Accept who you are
Maybe you’re an introvert trying to be outgoing, or you’re a socialite who spends his days cooped up in the house. Maybe you work in the city but would be happier working from home, or you get drunk every weekend so you feel accepted by friends.
Whatever your true nature is, don’t fight it. Accept that you are a unique individual and that there are other unique individuals like you with whom you can connect.
Don’t try to be someone you’re not, because this is the most spiritually disconnecting and disempowering thing you can do!
Accept your true nature and live and embrace it fully!
Some people are fortunate enough to have a job that meets this need. But if you don’t, make sure you still find time to do what you love every day.
If you like music, listen to music when you wake up. If you enjoy reading, take some time during your lunch break to read a book. Whatever it is that makes you feel alive, take the time and do it every day.
6. Immerse yourself in your life every day
If you live in the concrete jungle or a remote countryside where there is no sign of life for miles, embrace it, accept it and immerse yourself completely in it.
When you open your eyes and pour yourself into life, you will begin to see that there is beauty in everything, man-made or natural.
Walk down the street and observe people or plants or even inanimate objects and fully absorb what is happening around you and you will begin to notice the wonders that exist every day.
7. Be open-minded
Never allow yourself to reach the point where you know everything, be a student and always question everything. If you think you know something, you never really know.
The sky may seem blue, but is it? Or is it an illusion?
The grass may seem green, but is that just your perception? Does an animal or even another human see it in the same light?
This way of thinking may seem strange, but what it does is open you up to a different way of looking at the world. You don’t have to do this every time of the day because you might get a little exhausted. But take the time to practice looking at the world in a different way.
8. Absorb knowledge
Always be on the lookout for new information that will be useful to you in your life. If you have a topic you like, look into it.
Read books, but more importantly, study the good ones. Take courses from people who have the knowledge you are looking for. Find a mentor who is an expert in the subject you love and submit completely to their guidance.
We currently live in a highly automated world, where our phone tells us which restaurants to eat at, our car tells us the direction to drive in and we can simply Google the answer to any question we have.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but means our brains need more deliberate exercise, so make sure you give them what they need!
9. Be accepting
There is a difference between settling and accepting. Settling is lazy in nature and you say to yourself: ‘This life is enough’. Acceptance is the realization that life will not always go exactly in the direction you plan.
There are plenty of things in life that you have complete control over, so focus on what you can change and learn to accept the uncontrollable things that are presented to us.
A good example of this is someone else’s behavior or reactions to something you present to them. You have no control over it and no right to control it.
So change the things you are not happy with but have complete control over and accept the things you have no control over!
10. Understand your cycles
Life is one big cycle, made up of many small cycles. A day is a cycle, a week is a cycle, but you will also have your own cycles of different emotions. Pay attention to how you feel and what triggers different emotional responses in you.
If you have moments where you feel down, it’s not always a bad thing. Find what you do most productively in your different emotional states and don’t fight against it.
If you network and have conversations best when you have a lot of energy, do them in that state.
If being creative and thoughtful is best when your energy is low, do your creative work during those times.
Your life is one big vibration cycle, try to move with it and not against it!
11. Be clear
If you are not clear about what you want, you cannot create the life you want. Before you even think about setting goals and creating an action plan for life, you need to be sure that what you’re chasing is what you really want.
Discover what drives you and what you see yourself getting out of bed for every day. These things will change over time, but just go with it and accept it.
Brainstorm, find your values and get clear on what is important to you. This will be your card, and once you have this card, you can think about jumping aboard the ship of life and sailing the stormy seas.
12. Face your fears
Most of the time, you have to do what you’re afraid of to make progress. Make it a habit to face your fears every day, because when you do, real magic happens.
On life’s journey, the people who can feel the most uncomfortable without panicking will do the best. So learn not to fear your fears themselves, but to embrace them.
I’m not saying that you should just face your fears, or that facing something that is scary but not aligned with your values will serve you in any way. But when you start connecting with what’s important to you, there will be moments of intimidation that you just have to deal with.
13. Think about how far you’ve come
Never be too busy or too focused on progress to think about how far you have come as a person. Take the time to celebrate your successes, no matter how small they are.
If you want to enjoy your big goals for the long term, you will have to learn to celebrate the small ones as well. Learn to get something out of everything, even if you feel like you are in a worse position today than you were yesterday, learn to look at the bigger picture and learn from everything that happens – positive or negative.
Think about how far you’ve come, because you’ve certainly come a long way!
What now?
What you can do now is practice being present. Meditation is the best way to do this, so if you’ve never meditated before or done so but haven’t had the results you might have wanted, get started today. Right after you complete this article.