Personality Mindfulness: How Does It Affect Your Everyday Life?

In the past decades, studies on meditation and personality mindfulness activities have flourished. With that, let’s shed light on the positive effects of mindfulness on one’s overall health. It comes as no surprise why many people are searching for “how to practice mindfulness” on the internet.

Personality scientists are trying to come up with fresh insights on the topic. It is interesting to learn how mindfulness affects the human behavior and motivation. Simultaneously, personality meditation is extremely beneficial for one’s well-being and health. In a recent conference held in Long Beach, some leading researchers in mindfulness presented new and related studies.  

According to the new findings, there are five ways in which this is beneficial. Let’s learn them today.

Five Ways In which Personality Mindfulness is Beneficial for You:

• Mindfulness can increase your empathy, making you a kinder human

A series of studies from Paul Condon and colleagues at the Northeastern University explored personality mindfulness. In fact, they showed how mindfulness increases empathy for others. 

Researchers examined how meditating and non-meditating participants react to a clever experiment. In the experiment, participants were asked to stay in a waiting room. In the meantime, researchers prepare for the session. A person seemingly in pain (an actor hired specifically for the study’s purpose) then approaches them. Two other people (also actors) refuse to give up their seats for the person in pain. Obviously, this creates a “bystander effect” that could urge the participant not to do anything, as others aren’t either. 

In addition, those who were practicing meditation for eight weeks were more likely to give up their seat. According to Dr. Condon, meditation boosts one’s compassionate response to people who are in pain.

• You learn to forgive others for their wrongdoings

Many people who want to be more forgiving want to know how to practice personality mindfulness. This is because studies also suggested that mindful people are more forgiving of others. Three studies were presented by psychologist Dr. Johan Karremans of the Radboud University. All these showed that those who practice meditation tend to forgive their partners more readily. Also, these people are likely to be more accepting of their partners in general.

• It increases your self-control, reducing your tendencies to feel angry or depressed

If you have neurotic tendencies, you’d want to know how to practice personality mindfulness in daily life. Know that this practice will help silence the voice of an “obnoxious roommate” inside your head.

Neuroticism is one of the so-called “Big Five” personality traits. It is characterized by a negative effect and anxiety about the future, loneliness, and moodiness. Practicing meditation may be beneficial for people who want to detach from common neuroticism characteristics. These may include obsessive worries and negative thoughts, as well as behavioral difficulties. 

Psychologist Dr. Michael Robinson elaborates that mindfulness can lessen the feelings of depression and anger among people with neuroticism. His other studies further revealed that mindfulness can actually help in increasing self-control.

• Mindfulness can fight your implicit racial biases

While the majority of people are not openly racist, research suggests that almost all project racial biases unconsciously. Some studies suggest that meditation can play as an antidote to this automatic mentality. This focuses on people’s tendency to think, judge, and react hastily to things unconsciously, which empowers these biases.

Another research highlighted how mindfulness can fight implicit racial biases by evicting the automatic brain reactions. The mini study asked participants to pair black and white faces with positive or negative words. The study concluded that participants who listened to a mindfulness recording were less racially biased than those who didn’t. 

Additionally, psychologist Dr. Brian Ostafin said mindfulness may decrease or prevent all automatic responses.

• It ignites your sense of wonder

Strong experiences in art, nature, and spirituality can give you the feelings of wonder and awe. Moreover, it will give you a sense of joy and amazement. This is particularly the case when facing things that are larger than yourself. Practicing mindfulness can arm your mind with these experiences. A recent University of Groningen did a research on this topic recently. They actually discovered that participants who exercised personality mindfulness had greater reactions to inspiring images. At the same time, this was not the case in other participants. 

Conclusion

The benefits of personality mindfulness for growth are indeed true. If you want to know how to practice mindfulness, you can ask peers who have already tried it or search for other tips on the internet. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, and you simply have to figure out what works best for you. When you reap the benefits of mindfulness, you’ll be proud to say, “This is how mindfulness changed my life.”