“To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” –Buddha
Remaining calm, cool and collected isn’t easy in the multi-tasking world we live in today. On top of the day-to-day workload, there are other distractions that can take away from being focused—your smartphone constantly buzzing, the hundreds of emails that you have to get through, or the prospective client waiting for you in the lobby. It’s very easy to see how entrepreneurs, business leaders and their employees can suffer from stress and information overload.
For this very reason, business schools are beginning to teach classes solely around the practice of mindfulness meditation. Even companies like Google and General Mills are implementing mindfulness training with the intention of making their workforces less reactive, more resilient and even more creative.
So what is this practice all about, you may ask? Well, mindfulness is a Eastern-rooted approach to increasing awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings. Improving your attention span and level of focus essentially opens you up for more productivity in the workplace and your personal life, thus unleashing multiple channels for success.
According to The LA Times, Jeremy Hunter, professor at The Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, who specializes in mindfulness in business, “teaches students to pay attention—to what’s happening around them as well as to emotions arising within them—so that they can react more skillfully in any situation.”
This powerful form of meditation is useful not only in the workplace, but in all areas of life. By being present in the now, you can steadily focus on one task at a time rather than getting lost in the multiple to-do’s you need to accomplish in the future. Not only does this increase focus and productivity, it calms your mind and allows you to be more aware of reflexive, emotional reactions that may lead to bad decisions.
As a strong believer that a healthy body equals a healthy mind, I partake in weekly yoga in order to clear my mind and stay fit. But once I step into my work office, it is easy to lose sight of the Zen feeling I cultivated during yoga. Mindfulness meditation aims to teach us how to be unconditionally present, no matter what is going on in our hectic lives. Instead of struggling to reject experiences we may find difficult, we practice being able to be with them by paying attention to the details of the experience as it arises and subsides.
The life of a business owner can be a busy one, filled with meetings, calls and personal responsibilities. If you haven’t looked into mindfulness training, we highly recommend it . How do you unleash your attention to the present?