3Ms for an Intentional Life.

Adopting some of the practices of the 3Ms strategy enables us to be more intentional with life.

3Ms for an Intentional Life.

We are amidst one of the most troubled times in the 21^st century, with the pandemic and the economic crises. Most of us (including me) have been affected in various ways, either our health has been affected or our careers.

In collaboration with Brittany of Mind.Beauty.Simplicity, I present you this article, we will be diving into the 3 M’s [Mindset, Meditation, & Minimalism] & attributing these key aspects in the journey of living in the moment and living more intentionally.

With the financial struggles, social disconnect, health scarcities, & radical changes on the mind, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed. Your feelings are valid. But now more than ever, we as a society need to stand up & power through such negativity & challenge our psyche in a direction of optimism.

Whatever is happening with the pandemic and the economy could have not been predicted by us, nor could we do much about what has happened, we can just do our best by staying healthy and sound, in our minds and body.

We share the views and strategies as a part of our own experiences and hope that you all find it to be of value.

Mindset.

A positive mindset is a powerful thing. It has the ability to place us in a state of gratitude which helps us tackle even the most challenging obstacles.

Our minds can get troubled if we do not care for them. Most people are careful about the physical diet and fitness, it is imperative to consider and improve our mental diet as well (actually is far more important to care for the mental diet as it affects our choices in life).

By taking care of the mental diet I mean, taking in more positive and uplifting content and learning things that help us to grow in life.

Practical things that can be done:

• Start a gratitude journal. Write something you are thankful for everyday. (Ex: I am thankful for my family, friends, & pets.) By having a regular practice such as this, you are tricking the mind in developing a new outlook on your day to day life.
• Read more good books that encourage us and enable us to learn and grow. Books are often condensed learning of the entire lives of the authors, they are amazing tools to accelerate learning.
• Reduce the consumption of news: The news agencies take an advantage of our negativity bias and show us more negative news to keep us hooked.
• Journal 3-4 times a week: Honest journal entries are a great way to relieve stress and to understand our feelings and motives in life.
• Go for a walk: A peaceful walk is great for connecting the mind and the body.

Meditation

Meditation is one of the simplest and surest ways to calm a busy and overwhelmed mind. All it takes is sitting in silence and concentrating on breath and sensations in the body.

The act of breathing is such a powerful thing. Seriously. Whenever I feel stressed, taking a few moments of deep inhales & exhales can make a big difference.

It forms pathways into our unexplored subconscious mind, we can often tap into our deepest sources of knowledge and creativity during meditation.

Also, we understand our emotions better, and we learn to respond to situations rather than reacting to them. Our focus improves, our mood improves, we increase our awareness and start noticing more of life.

Meditation Practice:

• If you have not yet been introduced to the world of meditation, I would suggest you to find some online videos/apps to get started.
• The main idea is sitting in a place in a relaxed manner, focusing on the breath, and letting the thoughts come and go. Whenever you realize you are distracted, come back to the breath.
• If you do guided meditation frequently, then I suggest applying the practices and doing non-guided silent meditation at least 2-3 times a week (10-20 mins each time).
• Eventually make a shift to the non-guided form of meditation.

Take note that meditation is no magic pill, it is a skill that can be improved over time. And once you get good at it, you can see the tremendous benefits in your everyday life.

Minimalism

You may have heard that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, that is what a minimalist approach to life offers.

Minimalism is more than just getting rid of excess stuff! It’s an overall lifestyle catered to living intentionally & having an appreciation of what you’ve been given. Becoming this way isn’t an overnight ordeal. It takes time, patience & reflection of your own being.

Why Minimalism? When you do away with all the aspects of your life that no longer serve you, it is easier to develop a way of living that is meant to create an atmosphere of bliss.

Something I believe we all learned during such unprecedented times is the importance of simple things.

When the world sheds so much familiarity, it’s crucial to look into yourself & determine what makes you feel whole.

Ask yourself one simple question: What makes you the happiest? Those are the things you must cherish.

Once you go deep in this practice, you start realizing that you are not the things you have, and you don’t need more things to feel better. In the process, you save some money, and give yourself more room to breathe (both in your physical and mental space).

I hope this article has been of value.

Make sure to check out Brittany’s Blog @Mind.Beauty.Simplicity, for more amazing content such as this. I am grateful for this collaboration, it has been a great learning experience.

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Takeaways

Adopting some of the practices of the 3Ms strategy, we can give ourselves some space to work with and the practices also helps us to understand more of ourselves and enables us to be more intentional with life.

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Ujjawal Sureka
A Student of life.

PS: If this post resonated with you, let me know in the comments, also share if you think it will be useful to others. Thank you, and have a great day.

All the images in this post are a courtesy of Pexels.com