Psychology

Any decision we make sets in motion the wheels of karma, which either rewards or punishes us for our actions. The universe simply responds to our state of consciousness and the choices we make from that frequency. So it makes sense to have a calm mind when making decisions.

The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.” – Deepak Chopra

The universe may seem like a chaotic, random cluster of energy and events. But within that tumultuous energy lies order. By clearing the clutter from our minds, we can choose a path that will result in better outcomes for ourselves. Scientists and researchers have studied meditation for decades now. They discover time and again the many health benefits that can arise from the ancient practice.

People who regularly practice meditation tend to have a calmer disposition. This calm mind means they can hear their intuition much more clearly. Our intuition helps us make decisions, and if it becomes clouded by a restless mind, we might make a less than desirable choice.

“If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.

Below, we’ll go over how exactly meditation can help you increase the positive outcomes in your own life.

Here’s how a calm mind helps you make better decisions:

1 – It allows you to focus on the present moment.

Unfortunately, many people make decisions based on circumstances that happened in the past or perceived outcomes in the future. However, since we can only really live in the present, we must make decisions according to the here and now. Studies have shown that people make better decisions when practicing mindfulness meditation.

Researchers find that just a few minutes of this type of meditation can ground you in the present tense, which will help you have a calm mind. In turn, you’ll make better decisions because you can gain clarity on the situation and choices at hand.

In one study, researchers found that just 15 minutes of focused breathing meditation can help people make better decisions. Researchers from INSEAD and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania tested the hypothesis that mindfulness meditation could boost decision-making skills by increasing resistance to the sunk-cost bias. This thinking explains our tendency to continue investing in a losing proposition due to how much time, money, or energy we’ve already spent on it.

If you’ve watched a movie to the end despite not enjoying it, continued investing in a failing business, or stayed in a toxic relationship, you have experienced this whether you knew it at the time or not. Of course, these scenarios don’t seem rational, but humans don’t like to admit they’ve wasted time or energy on something.

The expert explains the link between a calm mind and making good decisions.

Andrew Hafenbrack, along with co-authors Zoe Kinias and Sigal Barsade, performed four different studies to test their hypothesis about the link between meditation and better decisions. Ultimately, they found that mindfulness meditation can effectively break the cycle of investing resources into something that no longer produced viable outcomes.

“Most people have trouble admitting they were wrong when their initial decisions lead to undesirable outcomes,” says lead author Andrew Hafenbrack. Adding, “They don’t want to feel wasteful or that their initial investment was a loss. Ironically, this kind of thinking often causes people to waste or lose more resources in an attempt to regain their initial investment or try to ‘break even.’”

For the study, one group of participants listened to a 15-minute guided meditation that told them to focus on the sensation of their breath. The other group listened to a recording that instructed them to think of whatever came to their mind. Then, researchers told both groups to decide according to various sunk cost scenarios.

The researchers discovered that mindfulness meditation, which helps people focus on the present moment and block out everything else, can help people make better decisions.

“We found that a brief period of mindfulness meditation can encourage people to make more rational decisions by considering the information available in the present moment while ignoring some of the other concerns that typically exacerbate the ‘sunk cost bias,’” explains Hafenbrack.

Mindfulness meditation increased resistance to the sunk cost bias in each experiment in two different ways.

Other researches agree

Zoe Kinias explains, “First, meditation reduced how much people focused on the past and future, and this psychological shift led to less negative emotion. The reduced negative emotion then facilitated their ability to let go of sunk costs.”

Sigal Barsade concluded, “This tool is very practical. Our findings hold great promise for research on how mindfulness can influence emotions and behavior, and how employees can use it to feel and perform better.”

So, if you find that you have trouble making decisions, try a quick guided meditation to dispel doubts and clear your mind of the constant chatter.

2 – It helps you tap into your intuition.

To make any sort of decision, you need to know what you desire in life. Most people have no idea what direction to go or what to strive for. That’s because they haven’t gotten in touch with their soul. If you want to access the deepest parts of yourself, you will have to quiet the mind and go into the heart. That introspection requires concentration and a deep longing for higher knowledge.

Many people refer to intuition as the “sixth sense.”

If you’ve ever had this gut feeling to take a different route home from work and discovered later that a bad wreck occurred on your usual route, you know the power of intuition.

Or, perhaps your intuition told you someone had bad intentions with you. Then, later on, you confirmed these suspicions. If used correctly and developed, our intuition can help us navigate the storms of life and make better decisions.

Meditation can serve as an excellent tool to develop intuition. According to a team of University of Iowa researchers, the brain’s “axis of intuition” is located in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). A 2014 Wake Forest University study analyzed the brains of 15 volunteers before and after just four days of mindfulness training. They found that in addition to brain functioning, the meditators seriously increased their vmPFC’s “activity” and “interconnectivity.” If these changes occurred after just four days, imagine how much you can develop your intuition after months or years of meditating!

By silencing the mind and focusing on the breath, we all have the potential to develop our intuition so we can make better, more informed decisions. We have unique purposes in life, and our intuition helps us steer our minds in the right direction.

 3 – A calm mind eases emotional reactivity, which can help you make better decisions.

Everyone knows that in a highly reactive, emotionally charged state, the right decisions seldom happen. Our emotions can serve as a powerful tool to make decisions. But if we only go by how we feel, we have the potential to cause devastating choices. For example, in a period of loneliness, we might go back to our toxic ex just because they feel familiar. However, if we had stopped to analyze the repercussions of this decision, we would know that getting back with that person would only lead to more problems.

Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU)  found neural evidence that mindfulness helps people control negative emotions. The team of psychology researchers, led by Yanli Lin, an MSU graduate student, found 68 females who had never practiced mindfulness meditation before participating in the study. Researchers found that the participants came into the study with various levels of natural mindfulness.

The participants then engaged in one of two 18-minute activities. Researchers gave one group a guided meditation to listen to, and the other a language-learning presentation. Afterward, researchers showed both groups disturbing images, such as a bloody corpse. They were instructed to view the photos either “mindfully” or “naturally,” and completed a questionnaire afterward.

The study found that whether the participants had high or low levels of natural mindfulness, the brain could control negative emotions to the same degree. The meditating group recovered more quickly, however, after looking at the photos, which suggests that meditation helps calm negative emotions.

Final thoughts about how a calm mind helps you make better decisions

Having a clear and calm mind can help you make better decisions in three ways:

• by keeping your attention on the present
• helping you tap into your intuition
• and easing negative emotions.

So learn to look at the world with an objective, rational, and calm mind. Indeed, you can quickly discern between a good and bad choice. If you haven’t begun a meditation practice, we encourage you to get started with one! Even 15 to 30 minutes a day can make a huge difference in your mindset and consciousness.

Words have a lot of power. They can be used to bring people together or keep people apart. They can also be used to express feelings, especially in relationships. There are certain things that women might say when they are genuinely feeling somebody.

Knowing these phrases can be useful when you aren’t entirely sure how the woman in your life feels about you. Here are four sentences women tell their partner if they genuinely care.

4 Phrases Women Use to Express Love

1. “This made me think of you.”

One of the most uncomplicated phrases women can tell their partner to let them know they care “this made me think of you.”

When a woman starts to fall for a partner, she will think about this person all of the time. This thinking includes while listening to music, reading articles online, watching television, and shopping. While going about her day, she will likely see things that remind her of her beau. Letting them know about what made you think of them is a way to initiate conversation and develop even more of a connection.

Phrases women tell their partner should be used as effectively as possible. To make this phrase useful, a woman should make a point to get to know their partner. If the person enjoys cooking, send a picture of a new gourmet meal you found online that would interest them. If the person likes music, send them new music you found in a genre they enjoy.

You can also send a picture or buy a gift of something that reminded you of an experience you once shared, such as a movie or vacation. Do not post something that doesn’t apply to your partner in other ways, or it can make it appear as if you don’t know that person.

These little messages and reminders will make someone feel adored and appreciated. They will know that you think about them regularly. Everyone is busy throughout the day, and you are taking the time to let them know how you feel, even though you are working. These reminders will make the person smile. It may also help encourage stronger feelings for you. They may even return similar sentiments while they go throughout their day. Ideally, you can use these messages as a way to hang out with each other.

2. “How’s your family doing?”

When a woman cares for her partner, she will also care about the people and things going on in their world. One of the most important things for people is their family. These are the people who helped develop them into who they are. Family members are also the people who offer love and support when necessary. They were also there through certain things that you just couldn’t be there for.

Phrases women tell their partner when they will make it clear that they know how important these people are to you.

Many women who care will not only want to know about how their partner’s family is doing but also want to develop a relationship with them themselves. Of course, this doesn’t happen right away. However, a woman who cares will want to eventually meet the family and be present for important events and holidays.

Family isn’t always comfortable for a partner to get along with. At times, families can be intimidating, invasive, or downright rude. A woman who cares will make a point to take it all in stride and deal with it for you, even if it’s not always easy.

Learning about and getting to know a partner’s family can also help explain a lot of things about the person and why they are the way they are. A person may bring what they witnessed in their household into the relationship.

Hopefully, your partner had good role models in their parents. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. It can become apparent why a partner may have trouble expressing themselves or certain beliefs they have. Seeing how their family affected them can help a woman relate to their partner better.

Finally, a significant other’s family will eventually become their own family in time. This saying is one of the phrases women tell their partner when they want to be a part of the family and take the relationship to another level one day. IF things go well, you may even have your own family in time.

3. “Talk to me.”

Many people assume women talk more than men. Due to this social training, many men may not express their feelings as much as they would like to. Whether they show it or not, men have emotions and problems, too. They may have family problems, problems at work, or personal issues bothering them. If a woman truly cares, she will sit down and ask her partner to talk to her.

When a woman truly cares about someone, they can tell when something is weighing on them. Some people get quiet, some people start drinking, and other people get irritable. Instead of being angry about the behavior, a woman who cares will ask for their partner to open up to them. They will offer an open ear without judgment or talking over the person with their problems.

It’s essential for someone in a relationship to be able to speak to their partner about what’s happening. Some women may be so busy that they don’t notice the signs of a problem or have time to talk. If a woman cares, they will slow down for a bit to listen.

When there is a problem, their partner will be able to relax and go over what’s bothering them in a safe place. However, they need to feel they are in a safe place first. Women can do this by talking in a gentle tone and smiling when appropriate.

Hopefully, the partner will start talking and expressing what’s going on. When this happens, you know a woman cares when she listens instead of talking. Venting can be the best medicine at times. Just letting things out can help someone feel better about everything. It’s just the fact that someone cares and is willing to listen.

Some people aren’t so keen on opening up and talking. In these cases, it’s still nice to offer up an ear anyway. When your partner doesn’t take you up on the offer, you don’t want to push the matter any further. A happy and comforting presence can be the best solution in this case. Just be there.

4. “I love you.”

Ultimately, a woman will let a man know how they feel by just saying the words “I love you.” These three little words can be so meaningful. Of course, it can be challenging to determine when to say this all-important phrase.

You don’t want to say “I love you,” too soon. It can cause someone to run off instead of feeling cared for. However, when you say it at the right time, it can be a very powerful phrase.

Some people jump in too quickly and say the phrase right off the bat. However, it’s best to say it between 3 months to 6 months if things are going well, and both people want to move forward in the relationship. At this point, you have gotten to know each other better. You should be exclusive at this point, too. The phrase “I love you” can help take you to the next step in the relationship without taking drastic measures so soon. It’s a sign of future intentions.

A woman who wants to show that she cares will continue to use this phrase throughout the relationship to help reassure her partner about her feelings for them. It can help get a couple through the hard parts of a relationship, too. This is one of the phrases women tell their partner to help smooth things over after a fight and get things back on track.

It’s also important not to use this phrase frivolously. You shouldn’t say it on a first date. You also shouldn’t say it so much that it loses meaning. The phrase should be heartfelt to your partner every time you say it. You also don’t want to use it every single time you make a mistake. It can become a way for someone to get out of trouble when used in this way.

Final Thoughts on the Phrases Women Use to Show They Care

Women are usually expressive creatures, but you need to listen to what they say. These phrases, women tell their partner to indicate a real sense of caring and love. If you hear these phrases, you’re probably on the right path.

But be careful–it’s crucial not to get things confused. A woman may say something, demonstrating that they care. However, they may not care for you in that way. Look for other signs that your partner is falling in love as well. If the person does care for you, you should make a point to say the same things back to her.