Mindfulness is now becoming a leading mental health care practice; it has its own section in iphone health care, and if you ask the AI how to regulate your mind, it will always mention mindfulness.
But the truth is that its practice is not suitable for everyone, and its effectiveness varies from person to person.
Contents
Characteristics of people who are suited to mindfulness
1.People with a high level of seriousness
As expected, people who are highly serious about their work are more likely to see results.
Somehow,
If you start with the hope that it will have a positive effect, you will probably end up a 3-day monk.
This is because mindfulness is a process of going against the flow of your emotions and instincts. Therefore, although it is a simple method, it is not easy to practice. Of course, you may fail, but it is important to take the practice seriously.
2. People who are not self-critical
Next are those who do not self-criticize. Self-compassion is a word that is related to mindfulness.
What is self-compassion?
Self-compassion is the ability to be compassionate toward oneself and to encourage oneself in difficult situations without self-criticism.
self-compassion is the ability to be compassionate toward oneself and to encourage oneself in difficult situations without self-criticism.
Mindfulness also cultivates self-compassion. However, it is problematic if you blame yourself or feel self-loathing every time a miscellaneous thought arises.
Mindfulness, in particular, does not think about what is happening right now, good or bad, but simply observes it as it is. The creation of miscellaneous thoughts is a natural phenomenon, and there is nothing good or bad about it.
In this regard, if you evaluate yourself as “no good” or “I did it” when a miscellaneous thought arises, you may not be able to gain a deeper sense of mindfulness. 
Therefore, if you become too self-critical and do not make good progress in mindfulness, you may want to start by working on self-compassion.
3. high tendency toward mind wandering
What is mind wandering?
Mind wandering is a state in which one’s consciousness leaves the present moment and wanders toward the past or future.
the past or the future.
In other words, it is the opposite of mindfulness.
So, then, isn’t someone who is highly mind wandering unsuitable for mindfulness?”
You might think.
Certainly, it is important to have a low tendency toward mind wandering in order to deepen mindfulness. However, people who have many miscellaneous thoughts or wandering thoughts tend to feel the benefits of mindfulness more easily.
In addition, the power of mindfulness is cultivated by noticing when attention is taken away and bringing awareness back to the object of attention. For this reason, it is important to bring attention back to the object of attention repeatedly, even though at first you may be consumed by distractions. For these reasons, the higher the mindwandering, the easier it is to cultivate the power of mindfulness.
4. people who do not cling to the future
If you cling to the future and to your purpose, there,
- thoughts
- Intention
- Plans
and so on may be created, and you may not be able to focus on the present moment.
For example, if you want to calm down! and go into mindfulness meditation, you will certainly calm down, but that is the end of the effect. It will not improve your happiness or make your mind more flexible.
This is because having a purpose in itself makes you see your current state as “dissatisfaction” or “unhappiness”. And even if we achieve our purpose, a new purpose is born again. As long as we keep repeating this loop, we are always living our lives with “satisfaction” and “happiness” being left for the future.
Characteristics of people who are not suited for mindfulness
The characteristics of people who are not suited for mindfulness are the opposite of the characteristics of people who are suited for it. (*Surprisingly high mind wanderlust)
In addition to those, there are other characteristics of people who are not suited for it, which are introduced below.
1. People who work too hard
When people are just starting out in mindfulness, it is common for them to try too hard.
They start meditating for 30 minutes a day in order to get results as soon as possible, but eventually they can’t continue and end up quitting…. Have you ever experienced this?
I myself started with 15 minutes and extended it to about 30 minutes, but eventually stopped because I couldn’t continue. In mindfulness, it is more important to continue daily, even for a short time, than to continue for a long time at a time.
People who practice at full throttle from the beginning need to be careful.
2. self-centered people
People who are too selfish and self-centered may have difficulty focusing even when practicing mindfulness.
Basically, self-centered people tend to have trouble in their relationships. As a result, during meditation, delusions related to those troubles are more likely to appear,
- Anger
- Hatred
- Sadness
and other strong emotions are likely to appear. Of course, there is no problem if you can mindfully accept these emotions as they arise and watch them disappear. However, only those with advanced meditation practice will be able to simply watch without being affected by any of these emotions.
Especially in the case of strong emotions, it is difficult to observe them, and the result may be that you find yourself letting the emotions take over and becoming delusional.
Therefore, self-centered people are likely to hit a wall at some point in their mindfulness practice.
3. people with a high tendency toward developmental disabilities
People with high autism spectrum tendencies or ADHD tendencies may have difficulty understanding how to do mindfulness or may have difficulty focusing their attention for a period of time, and therefore may have difficulty feeling the benefits.
Static mindfulness practices, such as sitting meditation, are especially likely to be painful.
4. Knowledgeable people
One of the characteristics of people who are not suited to mindfulness is that they tend to rely on knowledge. No matter how much they understand mindfulness theoretically, if they cannot feel it through experience, they will not be able to demonstrate the true value of mindfulness.
Below is a summary of some reasons why intellectuals are not suited to mindfulness.
All you have in your head is knowledge.
Mindfulness is not so much about accumulating knowledge. It is important to actually feel the changes in the mind and body through experience. No matter how much you read and understand, if you can’t apply it to your real life…it’s a bit of a waste, isn’t it?
Too much head in the sand and not enough senses
People who are obsessed with knowledge are often not good at feeling the senses. For example, when there is a change in breathing or body sensation, they think too much, “Hey, what does this mean?” and think too much about it. As a result, they often pass over the experience itself.
Inability to focus on the present moment
Because intellectuals are inevitably focused on theory and analysis, it is sometimes difficult for them to concentrate on the experience in front of them. Their thoughts drift to the past or plans for the future, making it difficult for them to feel firmly in the “now, this moment.
Let’s learn a little more than orientation.
So far, we have discussed the characteristics of those who are suited and unsuited to mindfulness, but in reality, “unsuitability” is not so important. Rather, what is important is “getting used to it.
No matter who you are at first, when you engage in mindfulness, you may wonder, “Is this right?” or “I wonder if I’m doing it right.
Especially for those who rely on knowledge only, they tend to think too much, “Am I doing what the book says? They tend to overthink things in their minds. But actually, that is normal. When you are not used to it, everyone thinks a lot of things in their head.
It changes as you get used to it little by little.
To feel the effects of mindfulness, it is important to experience it little by little. It may not feel right at first, but as you continue, you will naturally become able to focus on the “here and now. Even those who are intellectuals will become more aware of their senses through experience.
For example, in the beginning, even if you concentrate on your breathing, you may have many thoughts floating around in your head. However, as you continue, you will be able to calmly observe, “A thought is floating in my mind right now. As you gradually become “accustomed” to the experience, you will naturally begin to feel the benefits.
The key is to continue without overdoing it.
Mindfulness is not something that can be learned suddenly. The key is to continue to do it little by little, without overdoing it. As you get used to it, you will be able to feel the “here and now” at small moments in your daily life.
So, at first, it is best to try it at your own pace, without worrying about whether it is suitable for you or not!
Conclusion
Mindfulness is an effective treatment for many people, but it does not work equally well for all.
Understanding the characteristics of those who are particularly likely to benefit from mindfulness and those who are less likely to benefit from it can help us find more effective treatment approaches.
The characteristics and methods described in this article will help you find the mindfulness practice that is right for you and improve your mental health.
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