Mindfulness reduces stress and increases your ability to handle challenges. Here are the top 5 reasons why mindfulness is essential to your business.
Mindfulness is about becoming fully present in the moment as you experience it. The most simple and easy way to practice mindfulness meditation is by focusing all of your attention on your breath as it flows in and out of your body. You can also experience mindfulness at any given moment during your day by focusing on the sensations you are feeling in your body; the sounds you are hearing, what you are seeing, the taste in your mouth, the smells around you and the sensations you are feeling such as the wind against your skin or the warmth of the sun on your back.
In recent posts I have talked about the spiritual journey of meditation and how meditation can reduce stress and create real healing in the body. But there is also huge focus around the world right now on how mindfulness can help you in your business.
Here are the top 5 reasons why mindfulness is essential to your business:
1. Begin your day with clarity and calmness
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Rushing off to work in a state of semi-panic about your endless to-do list creates stress in your body and can impair your thinking. Whether you take a moment to do some mindful breathing before you leave home, on the bus, or when you get to work, starting your day with a short mindfulness practice brings you clarity and calmness. Those who practice mindfulness are also more efficient and enjoy their day more.
2. Manage overwhelm
Practising mindfulness allows you to recognise your own unique patterns of stress and feelings of overwhelm and what triggers them. When you notice your thoughts running in an unproductive or negative loop, mindfulness brings you back to your centre. You can then choose not to engage with your thoughts, but rather to tap into your internal resources and come from a place of quiet strength.
Emotional mindfulness also allows you to become aware of and manage your own feelings in the moment.
3. Reduce conflict
When faced with challenging situations and people, mindfulness gives you the clarity to stop and take a moment to consider alternatives instead of reacting without thinking. It also provides you with an easy technique to quickly calm down before responding in a difficult interaction.
4. Increase your resilience
There will be successes to be celebrated and there will be hard times to work through. Mindfulness allows you to manage your expectations by not becoming too attached to the outcome. It won’t stop you from achieving your goals but will help you to understand that sometimes life will take you there the long way around. Practicing mindfulness can help to keep things in perspective and you will be more resilient to the normal ups and downs of running a business.
5. Better problem solving
Research has shown that people who practice mindfulness have clearer thinking and higher concentration levels. You are therefore better able to think creatively to problem solve, are more productive and can use your time to your best advantage.
If you are interested in learning mindfulness, see this post on joining the Wellbeing team for Mindful in May, a 31-day mindfulness challenge designed to kickstart your 10-minute daily habit of mindfulness. Its an easy, fun and inexpensive way to learn mindfulness meditation and all of the money raised goes to a great cause.
