Image made with Canva

In life’s craziness and moments of anxiety, I have looked over the years for ways to find calm in the storm. The past year has made this all the more necessary, and in my search for relief, I have incorporated more mindfulness into my life with meditation and reminders to be present. 

I have found the effects to be profound, and I would like to utilize my Advocacy Project to promote mindfulness in everyday life.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, mental illness is prevalent in the U.S. in about one in five adults. Mental health is a concern, and it needs to be taken care of. A tactic to cope with and combat various aspects of mental health is mindfulness, as it allows for a different type of coexistence with our minds. 

This focus is not connected to my Persuasive Essay topic, but still promotes something important to me that I would like to share more information about. My main goal is to advocate for the use of mindfulness in personalized ways. It could mean something different to everyone, but its practice could still bring about a host of benefits. 

I would like to describe ways that mindful practices can be utilized and provide as much information as possible to the audience so that they can be encouraged to consider them.

I envision my target audience to be people who have been exposed to this idea more, and since mindfulness has entered the secular mainstream in recent years, younger people may be the most primed to be receptive. It is also being implemented in more schools with positive results. 

While these groups may be the most receptive or persuadable by the evidence I present, I do think that it could be of interest to anyone. 

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, mindfulness would fit most into activities that strive for self-actualization. It brings about a new sense of awareness that can help with the way one experiences the self and life. 

Right now, we are spending extra time with ourselves and are perhaps looking for ways to improve how we go about life. Aspects of mindfulness can help with this, which I think can appeal strongly to my audience. Forbes highlights six specific benefits of mindfulness, some of which I think will strike chords.

The first is the correlation between mindfulness and anxiety reduction. For people who experience anxiety, it can sometimes feel like there is no escape, but the act of being present can provide some relief.

This list also highlights research that found it benefits cognition and directing attention.

All in all, I am excited to research this topic more and present information in this project. I have come to appreciate mindfulness a lot in my life and have encouraged those close to me to incorporate it here and there. I hope to do the same with this project.