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Mindfulness yields tangible results, but focusing solely on self-improvement isn’t the main objective.
Hardly a week passes without a new study demonstrating that mindfulness programs can aid individuals in alleviating distress and enhancing their overall well-being. Whether it’s through lowering stress levels, managing health issues, strengthening the immune system, or breaking free from addictions, research is validating what practitioners of meditation have known for centuries—that mindfulness is advantageous in numerous ways. However, it’s vital not to become overly absorbed in the data and to avoid viewing meditation as a simple solution to problems.
Anticipating that meditation will “improve me,” especially based on study findings, might actually hinder the practice, as its true benefits often come from releasing the desire for specific outcomes.
Having a goal-oriented mindset misinterprets the essence of meditation and its benefits. In fact, the expectation that meditation will “make me better,” perhaps due to promising research, can impede the practice, which thrives on relinquishing the desire for results.
In the UK, mental health professionals have integrated mindfulness into the cognitive-behavioral framework, with notable similarities—like CBT, mindfulness provides practical tools that encourage better engagement with our thoughts and feelings. Yet, while CBT primarily aims for change, mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy focus on accepting the present moment. Their effectiveness stems from helping us find peace with our current state and circumstances.
We Don’t Need to “Try” to Get Better
This perspective is rooted in centuries of tradition and is often part of a broader meditative practice aimed at deeply transforming how we perceive ourselves, others, and our surroundings. A key tenet of this training is recognizing that we are fundamentally okay—we don’t have to “try” to improve; we simply need to uncover and embrace our true selves.
Interestingly, embracing this profound acceptance tends to foster the very changes we seek. Thus, we encounter a paradox: mindfulness can initiate change and lead to meaningful transformations, but while this requires effort, it should not come from a place of striving. Actually, striving can become a form of self-criticism that leads to further discomfort.
Therefore, mindfulness practice is less about self-enhancement and more about approaching life with awareness, openness, and compassion. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, recently stated that “mindfulness is not a technique. It is a state of being, a perception, a way of knowing.” It encourages a process of unfolding, allowing us to settle, so that well-being may arise from harmonizing with our current reality, even when it differs from our preferences.
Indeed, this kind of awareness can serve as a foundation for making more skillful choices and behaviors—but when we relinquish the tension that comes from the struggle to improve or achieve health, the need for our issues to be “fixed”—even if that were possible—loses its significance. At that moment, we might find ourselves feeling much better.
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