This is a story about a man: he works in a lighthouse. Each day, he has to wake up and do his job. This means examining the weather reports, working the radio, and keeping the place clean. But what’s the very first thing he does? He makes sure the light is still on, of course. This is the story of your life, and your brain. With higher awareness, you can go through your day without ever losing focus on what’s really important.

We can all remember moments where we’ve been abruptly catapulted into hyper-awareness of our surroundings or ourselves. Before a big speech, during a high stakes sports game, or after you’ve just been the butt of a particularly funny but brutal joke, you are aware. You know who is in the room, what people are saying, how your body is moving, and everything else going on around you.

We can all also remember moments, even days, where we were not aware. What we had for breakfast yesterday, or what Dale said at the office seems to fade away. We were too busy thinking about our past, our future, our stresses, our problems. We were too busy replaying a million different situations in our minds, and they all involve ourselves; dreaming, if you will. Sometimes we are just asleep, and many people sleep their entire lives away.

WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD HIGHER AWARENESS

Instead, there is a level of higher awareness you should be learning to cultivate each and every day. There are five top reasons to build awareness, which is the first step towards a series of amazing transformations you will be able to make in your mind, body, and life.

Being aware at a higher awareness level is just another fancy word for paying attention to the present moment. When you are listening, listen. When you are cooking, cook. During your day to day life, there are thousands of opportunities to stop thinking and start paying attention.

Practice being aware now, for a quick moment. Look up, take three deep breaths, and feel your body move. Listen to the sounds around you. Focus in on ten things in the room, and take note of what color they are. Once you come back to this post, did you feel a change in where the “processing power” of your brain went? Instead of the constant focus of “me, me, me, problem, problem, problem”, you had a chance to open up to the rest of the world.

Imagine taking that feeling of awareness with you throughout your entire life. That sounds much easier than always unconsciously worrying and complaining about everything, doesn’t it? Before we learn how to cultivate our awareness naturally, let’s make sure everyone understands why this practice of living in the moment is so extremely powerful. Here are the five reasons why you need to cultivate higher awareness levels.

1. UNLOCK CHOICE

We stand by the idea that freedom, and the freedom of choice, is one of the most important foundations you must build upon in your life. When you become aware, you unlock this moment in time between stimulus and reaction. That moment provides you with the power of choice. With awareness you can choose to see problems as challenges, enemies as potential friends, criticism as feedback, and failure as learning.

2. IMPROVE DISCIPLINE

When you are not aware of the stimulus that attacks you every single day, you can’t fight it. Commercials, opinions, and impulses still have a hold on you. But by coming aware, you’ll start to notice the triggers in your life that make you do things you know aren’t productive. With awareness, it’s easier to say no and stay on track.

3. BUILD CONTENTMENT

This one might be a little too big to wrap our heads around right now, but do you know where suffering comes from? Suffering is taking what is and trying to compare it to how we think things should be. Here’s the kicker; there’s no such thing as “how things should be.” Things will always be just what they are. When you understand that, and then decide through choice if you want to work on changing those things or simply accept them, it becomes much easier to be happy.

4. INCREASE HEALTH

Your body is an amazing machine, built to move and dance and fight and play. We don’t do any of those things anymore, and our body is dying for some attention. With awareness, you will start to notice how much simple things like a good meal or a good stretch can make massive change in your physiology, which is your physical state. Awareness can help you stay motivated to get that endorphin rush, avoid the foods that create disease, and enjoy exercise.

5. CREATE A SUPERSTAR

Sometimes, it can seem like being aware means you need to always just go with the flow, never step out of line, and avoid speaking up. The exact opposite is true. Being aware is learning how to swim with the current. You can easily spot people who are aware all over the place: they are great businesspeople and salespeople (listeners), or great artists and musicians (creators). When you build awareness, you don’t complain, you find solutions. You never give up, you learn. And you never react to insults; you choose to love.