One-Mindfully (OM) is a DBT skill that helps us tap into and develop our ability to concentrate. OM is sustained attention on the present moment – think of the classic feeling of “being in the zone”. OM is easier to access when you’re naturally interested in something and a lot harder when you’re not. So how do you focus and inhabit “the zone” when the activity or task in front of you is not as compelling?

The first steps toward change in thought and behavior can be daunting and disorienting.  We lose our footing and stumble, and as we desperately reach for something to hold on to, we fall all the way back to square one.  Using these principles as handrails will facilitate your ascent toward dialectical thought and behavior.

Radical acceptance suggests acknowledging your present situation, whatever it is, without judging the events or criticizing yourself. Try to recognize that your present situation exists because of a long chain of events that began far in the past. Trying to fight the moment or deny whether the chain of events should have happened does nothing to change what has happened and can lead to more suffering.

Dialectics refers to the balancing of opposites- the holding of two or more seemingly opposite perspectives at once. Through DBT- an inherently active modality- we seek to avoid falling for the black-and-white, the all-or-nothing styles of thinking that amplify and prolong our disharmony with this ever-changing world of contradictions.  In dialectics, we seek to adopt a both-and outlook and pull away from an either-or perspective.