Mindful

Happy Monday, and welcome to an interesting word-of-the-week …

MINDFUL

Are you mindful?

I thought that was sort of an interesting question, even though I had to think a while about exactly what it meant. I guess the opposite would be mindless, which seems like a pretty accurate description of how I stumble through life.

I think a lot about living more intentionally, living “on purpose.” But I guess you need to be aware, or mindful, before you can be intentional.

I ran across this short questionnaire, the “Mindful Attention Awareness Scale,” as part of a paper by Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan, The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and its Role in Psychological Well-Being.

The idea is to answer “yes” or “no” to each question. I’ll give you my results and an interpretation guide at the end.

1. I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later.
2. I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else.
3. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.
4. I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying attention to what I experience along the way.
5. I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.
6. I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time.
7. It seems I am “running on automatic” without much awareness of what I’m doing.
8. I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.
9. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I am doing right now to get there.
10. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I’m doing.
11. I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time.
12. I drive places on “automatic pilot” and then wonder why I went there.
13. I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past.
14. I find myself doing things without paying attention.
15. I snack without being aware that I’m eating.

Well, how did you do? No really special answer key—the more “no” responses, the more mindful you are.

Personally, I answered “no” to #2 and #8. Ouch!

The benefits of mindfulness are obvious, but I thought the questionnaire also pointed out some possible areas for improvement. (#15—anyone else?)

So—what did you discover? Please leave a comment and share your insights.