The Equilibrium Of A Positive Mindset
& Emotional Minimalism
INTRO
If you are confined at home due to the pandemic lockdown, you may have been exposed to various & variable flows of emotions, thoughts & energies. You might feel they are contaminating your sanity, and fear “going crazy”. Rest assured this is perfectly normal & legitimate. Being suddenly deprived of the life & routine you have built to be pushed into social isolation, and seeing many things you didn’t even know you were taking for granted removed from you, - at least temporarily -, can create a mental quake. Now, legitimate or not, it is crucial to work gently toward holding and managing those emotions, thoughts & energies in order to nurture a well-enough-being.
Nowadays, well-being tends to rightfully be associated with mindfulness. So, if you haven’t developed an allergy to the term due to hearing it all over, - and often inappropriately for mercantile & over interested hidden agendas -, you might want to ask what mindfulness is. Among many definitions, I like this simple one: “mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us” (1).
Mindfulness is as much a state as it is a practice, useful in our ordinary lives to maintain a balance and detoxicate ourselves from the saturations & agitations of the modern world, - online & face to face. In times of adversity, struggles or even tragedies, this practice becomes a key tool in our survival but also in finding ways to continue living, - not just survive. This is notably why I like the definition above because it focuses on an appropriate reactivity to what’s going on for & around us, and not letting it overwhelm us. It encompasses why I’m writing this article: to help us manage our mental health during the pandemic lockdown.
Most of the times, mindfulness is limited to meditation or physical meditative activities like yoga. I would like to suggest some additional mindful practices: positive mindset & emotional minimalism. You will notice that there are overlaps between the suggestions I will list within each category, and that those suggestions could often belong to both. Indeed, positive mindset & emotional minimalism are intertwined and constituting of an equilibrium.
OUR MINDSET IS OUR REALITY MAKER
Whoever we are and whatever we are experiencing in & out of our head, heart, body and soul, there is always a constant factor at play. I previously attributed the latter to an attitude and invited it to be the one of gentleness (2). I emphasized that whether we are conscious of our attitude toward a situation or not, there is one, and that positive or rather constructive changes can be made by reflecting on, clarifying, cleansing, softening & lightening our attitude to make it more productive than invasive or toxic. I could have also articulated my thinking around a perspective or an intention. Now that I am reflecting back on it, I was actually talking about mindset, - which obviously includes perspective, intention & attitude.
So, the constant, - though constantly fluctuating -, factor of all our lives is a mindset, and I am a firm believer that it is our reality maker. Indeed, what is reality if not an experience lived through the lens of a mindset? That mindset is evidently influenced by an identity, lived experiences, a context, individual & collective unconscious content etc. But I would argue that likewise our mindset can influence our experience, our identity and our intrapersonal & interpersonal relationships. Our inner & outer reality becomes how we think about it and, of course, the “right” way to think about it is positively. But a positive mindset is not as simple as it sounds.
As a Counsellor I’m often appalled or at least concerned by the things I come across regarding well-being, therapy & mental health. One of them is the misconception of positivity that tends to praise the values of thinking positive no matter what, to focus only on hopeful & positive thinking, to never complain, to be satisfied with what is at all times. This is a dangerous game here. Labelling some emotions & thoughts as negative and inviting people to ignore or just “get rid of” them is not a healthy therapeutic recommendation. It is actually the opposite of what is needed. Those so-called negative emotions & thoughts require our attention & care. Again, a gentle one.
A positive mindset, - as much as emotional minimalism -, is not about dismissing uncomfortable thoughts, emotions or energies but rather balance the holding and processing of it with a healthy focus on constructive things that can alleviate our suffering, troubles & worries.
The goal of this article isn’t to elaborate on how to process difficult feelings and other issues, - created or amplified by the pandemic -, but to propose strategies to relief & ease the weight we carry. I hope to create guidelines to manage and facilitate a clearer focus & more mental energy to attend to our essential inner processes while nurturing our well-being. Again, nothing I will suggest here will be about dismissing difficulties but rather nourishing a cleansed field to handle them in healthy manners.
To come:
HOW TO CULTIVATE A POSITIVE MINDSET
HOW TO PRACTICE EMOTIONAL MINIMALISM AS OUR PRIMARY SELF-CARE
REFERENCES
1. https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/
2. https://www.lucasvoclere.com/blog/2018/10/20/an-invitation-to-gentleness
