• LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US

8WomenDream

Dream Big Stories

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CONNECT
You Are Here Home » HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM » Life As a Conscious Practice

04/03/2012 By Contributor Dream Stories

Life As a Conscious Practice

Last updated on March 31st, 2015 at 11:24 am

Concentrate: Life is a Conscious PracticeCreative Commons License Photo Credit: Matthew Fang via Compfight

NOTE: Today’s post is a guest post from the blog www.zenhabits.net by Zeo Babauta. Lisa Powell Graham will be back with her inspiring posts and stories next week! 

When we learn a martial art, or ballet, or gymnastics, or soccer … we consciously practice movements in a deliberate way, repeatedly. By conscious, repeated practice, we become good at those movements.

Our entire lives are like this, but we’re often less conscious of the practice.

Each day, we repeat movements, thought patterns, ways of interacting with others … and in this repeated practice, we are becoming (or have already become) good at these things. If you constantly check Facebook or Twitter, that is practice, and you are forming that habit, though it’s usually not with too much awareness.

When you smoke, or eat junk food, or speak rudely to others, or put yourself down internally, this is something you are practicing to be good at. You may already be good at these things.

What if, instead, we practiced consciously, deliberately, and became good at the things we really want to be good at?

What if you first, above all skills, learned to be more aware of what you are practicing? What if constant conscious action is the skill you became good at?

If you could learn to take conscious action, you could learn to practice other things you want to be good at, rather than the ones you don’t.

What Are You Practicing?

‘Everything is practice.’ ~Pele

Ask yourself these things throughout the day, to practice conscious action:

  • Do I want to practice rushing through my morning, or can I wake a little earlier and simplify my morning routine so that I practice a slow, enjoyable morning ritual?
  • Do I want to practice checking my inboxes when I first get to my computer, or can I do something better?
  • Do I want to practice leaving dirty dishes out, or can I practice washing my bowl when I’m done with it?
  • Do I want to practice leaving clothes strewn about, or papers lying on the counter, or can I take a few seconds to put them where they belong?
  • Do I want to speak angrily to my kids or spouse, or can I speak to them with kindness and compassion?
  • Do I want to practice complaining and self-pity, or can I practice gratitude?
  • Do I want to practice rushing and being busy, or can I practice simplifying and going slowly?
  • Do I want to practice eating fried foods, sugary foods, salty junk food snacks, fast foods … or can I practice eating whole foods, vegetables and fruits, nuts and beans and seeds?
  • Do I want to practice surfing time-wasting sites, or can I practice clearing away distractions and creating?
  • Do I want to practice watching mindless entertainment, or can I practice moving my body and exerting myself in activity?
  • Do I want to practice smoking, or can I learn a healthier way to deal with stress?
  • Do I want to practice shopping, or can I practice giving?

These are only examples … your life will show you what you’ve been practicing, and you can decide what you might rather practice instead. Or you might be completely happy with what you’ve been practicing.

Some ideas for creative practice from Ali Edwards.

How to Practice

The first step is always awareness. When you are conscious of what you are doing, you can decide whether this is an action or thought pattern you want to practice, or if there’s an alternative you’d rather be good at.

As you go through your day, practice this awareness. It’s the first skill, and it’s the most important one. Be aware, without feeling guilty or angry at yourself, of what you’re doing and thinking. You will forget to to this, but remind yourself. You might wear a rubber band around your wrist, or carry a talisman, or make tally marks on a slip of paper each time you remember.

As you get good at conscious action, start to practice those actions and thought patterns you want to be good at. Start to notice the ones you’d really rather not be good at, and see if you can deliberately practice other actions and thought patterns.

As you consciously, deliberately repeat these things, you’ll get better at them. It takes a lot of repetition to get good at a skill, but you’ve got time.

Important Conclusions

You won’t be able to change all your habits at once, and I’m not implying that you should try. The habit you’re really changing is consciousness, and practice. Other habits will be difficult to change, especially if you’re trying to change all of them, but it’s OK if you mess up. Give yourself permission to make mistakes without guilt, and instead just deliberately practice again, and again.

If something is too hard, and you can’t get it right no matter how many times you practice, you can try it in smaller steps. If you can’t quit smoking, try not smoking once, and instead relieving stress through walking or doing some pushups or meditation or self-massage. If you can’t quit junk food, just replace one snack with a fruit, or add a tasty veggie to your dinner.

I’d like to emphasize that this isn’t about perfection. There is no perfect way of life, and you don’t need to strive to be perfect every moment of the day. I believe you’re already perfect. This is just about conscious action, which is a useful skill to have.

Remember that we become good at what we repeatedly do, and what we do repeatedly can be done consciously. It’s when we’re conscious that we are truly alive.

‘If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.’ ~Dalai Lama

Contributor Dream Stories

Enjoy this special 8WomenDream Guest Contributor story submitted by new and experienced big dreamers throughout the world, edited and published to capture a dream perspective from different points-of-view. Do you have a personal dream story to share with 8WomenDream readers? Click here to learn how to submit dream big articles for consideration.

Note: Articles by Guest Post Contributors may contain affiliate links and 8WD will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.

Related Stories:

  • The Key To a Happy Life is To Practice GratitudeThe Key To a Happy Life is To Practice Gratitude
  • To Live Your Dreams Practice Loving Yourself UnconditionallyTo Live Your Dreams Practice Loving Yourself Unconditionally
  • Practice Makes Perfect for PhotographyPractice Makes Perfect for Photography
  • 8 Top Life Purpose Videos8 Top Life Purpose Videos
Tell your friends!

Filed Under: HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM, WRITE WITH US

Some of the posts on 8WD contain affiliate links or links to purchase products or programs from 8WD contributors. This means 8WD or the contributor may make a small commission if you make a purchase. The 8WD affiliate links help offset the cost of hosting this website and the contributor links help support the dreams of the contributor. Please check out the 8WD Legal Page for more details.

Thank you for your continued support!

« Dream Motivation Picture Quote: Follow Your Heart
Dream Motivational Picture Quote: Live Our Lives As We See It In Our Dreams »

Check it out

  • LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US


The 8WomenDream Dream Tote Bag

About the 8WomenDream Tote Bag
US – 10oz Cotton
Dimensions (External Dimensions)
• Height – 18″ (45.72cm or 457.2mm)
• Width – 15″ (38.1cm or 381mm)
Handle Dimensions (Internal Dimensions)
• Length – 29″ (73.7cm or 736.6mm)

Recent Dream Stories

  • Starting Over as a Single Mom Wasn’t My Big Dream
  • Warning: Big Dream to Be a Motivational Speaker Won’t Always Obey Your Plans
  • Dance to Relieve Stress to Focus on Your Big Dream
  • 6 Tips to Avoid Get Rich Quick Scams as a Public Speaker
  • A Dream to Spread MLK’s Message of Love
  • Best Goal Setting Advice that Actually Works
  • 8 Solstice Traditions for Focusing on Your Big Dream this Year
  • It’s Never Too Late to Dust Off Your Dreams
Catherine Hughes on Dealspotr
Catherine Hughes
@8WomenDream
Let’s collaborate
Powered by Dealspotr

Looking for more?

8 Women Dream Products8WD Founder Catherine HughesActivist Lisa Powell GrahamArtist Iman WoodsArtist Sue Faith LevyAuthor Karen AlanizAuthor Rayne WolfeBig Dream InterviewsDream Big Guest ContributorsFind Your DreamFind Your Passion and PurposeHealth Coach Heather MontgomeryInspirational QuotesMotivational Speaker Kelly SwansonSuccessful Goal SettingWorld Traveler Natasha von GeldernWrite A Book

Inspiration

More About 8WD

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE POWER TO ACHIEVE BIG DREAMS.
 
IT IS OUR SINCEREST WISH THROUGH THE SHARING OF PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE A BIG DREAM THAT WE WILL INSPIRE YOU GO AFTER A BIG DREAM TOO.
 
YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 8WOMENDREAM, HERE.

Categories

  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • WRITE WITH US

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright 8 Women Dream All Rights Reserved © 2020 • ADVERTISE ON 8WD • LEGAL/TERMS/PRIVACY • SITE DEVELOPMENT BY CATHERINE HUGHES

Welcome to 8WomenDream Where Big Dreams Are Shared
The 8WomenDream website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT REJECT READ MORE
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.