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Greetings.
This is K-Songa.
Happy Monday and welcome to Radio Headspace.
I'm so very excited to be joining y'all again along this journey of just talking about mindfulness, meditation and just life in general.
I thought I would kick things off with a revisit to my segment called Mindful Moments.
Remembering that a mindful moment is a moment where your mind, emotions and body are in synchrony with each other.
In other words, when we're fully present in that moment.
And they can be stressful or joyous.
But for the purpose of these episodes, I'll be focusing on positive mindful moments.
Today's mindful moment is all about stepping into discomfort.
Now I know that doesn't exactly sound positive, but just hear me out.
At the time of me writing this, my oldest daughter has just been away studying abroad in Paris.
This was her very first taste of true independence.
And she's a lot like me.
She's very cautious and very analytical.
Before making any serious moves or decisions, there has to be a plan in action.
Anyway, while my daughter was in Paris, she called us every evening before she went to bed.
Basically just to let us know about her adventures and that she was doing okay.
The actual mindful moment that I'm referencing today was during one of these conversations.
On this particular evening, she was expressing how she was feeling nervous about participating in one of the excursions or activities that her group was going to embark on the very next day.
She stated that she really wanted to do it, but she was just super anxious about participating.
This was such a mindful moment for me because it showed me that she was practicing awareness and trusting me with her most vulnerable moments of self-doubt.
I told her that I understood, that there's nothing wrong with what she was feeling and that I wasn't going to force her to do anything.
That would have to be her decision.
But I also invited her to think about how strong emotions they might be a sign that she's on the right path or a prompt to help her step out of her comfort zone just a little bit.
I truly believe that it's when we step out of our comfort zone that true growth and development occur.
That's how you learn.
Much to my joy and happiness, my beautiful daughter listened and followed through with the activity.
She told me the next day that she was still feeling anxious about it all, but she remembered my words and she stuck with it.
And she actually ended up having a great time.
I think that people often quit, stop or don't even pursue certain goals as soon as they perceive that or encounter any sort of discomfort or difficulties.
And these may be goals that they are actually passionate about accomplishing.
As a professor in grad school once told me when I was thinking about quitting, anything worth having is going to feel like shit at some point or the other.
And there's nothing wrong with feeling super stressed out, fearful, or anxious along your journey.
And remembering that your practice is always there for you.
Acknowledging what's present, maybe taking a deep breath, then perhaps locating where in your body you're experiencing difficult feelings and also any thoughts that are coming up, like quitting or not even showing up.
And then when you're ready, proceeding with a wiser or more appropriate choice.
Again, these moments of despair can actually become moments of growth.
All right, party people, thanks for checking in with me today.
And please check in with the Headspace app for the body scan meditation practice.
I think it will be really beneficial during those moments of discomfort.
And remember, please send me any questions that you may have about adopting a mindful lifestyle.
You can hit me on Instagram at kgiscombe or email me at askksunga at headspace.com.
I look forward to talking to you some more tomorrow.
Take care and have a happy and healthy day.
