The 3 Mindfulness practices for getting success in work-life

Mindfulness has become a buzz word these days not only in media, entertainment and arts; but also in corporate, social circles and academic groups.

In this article we explore the possibilities this ancient practice of Mindfulness can create for us.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the skill of being deliberately attentive to one’s experience as it unfolds without the superimposition of our usual commentary and conceptualization. The foundation technique for cultivating mindfulness is the practice of meditation.

However, when we hear the term being used in the boardrooms of corporate offices or classrooms of top universities like Harvard or UC Berkley; it is mainly to talk about the scientific benefit that is observed in the life of many who have been practicing it.

The Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote more than 70 books on Mindfulness and also runs his retreat in Plum Village in France; where people from all over the world come and learn this technique.

In his words everything we do in life can be done more mindfully:

“There are two ways to wash the dishes, first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Another name in the Mindfulness space is of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who brought the practice to light and also explained the scientific benefits of the same by MBSR technique (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction)

In words of Dr. Kabat-Zinn:

“Today’s stress levels require cultivating the domain of being.

So, as not to be overwhelmed by doing and performance” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

So, what can we do to benefit from this practice of cultivating well-being?

After going through number of articles from various sources to courses on the practice; I feel that the following is a simple and actionable model to follow:

Practice 1: “Being Attentive & Being in the moment”

·        Increasing awareness: Increase your current level of awareness by practicing meditation or doing exercise. This has an awakening effect on our nervous system rather than just being lost in technology which causes techno-stress

·        Paying attention: While in a meeting, or in a discussion or face to face conversation with a loved one; switch off all the gadgets like mobile phone, TV, laptop etc. that may distract you from that conversation

·        Focus on breathing: When you catch yourself in stress and anxiety, just practice ‘breathing’. The trick here is to breathe-in to a count of 5 and breathe-out for a count of 7. This will result in deep breathing and relaxation.

These practices will help you be in the moment and realize the magic and possibility in every moment as described by Enrico Fermi – 20Th century Physicist –

“With every breath we breathe, we breathe at least one molecule breathed by virtually every human being and every living being who has ever lived. Thus our breathing reveals our interdependences with all life with the past and the future”

Practice 2: “Practicing Wisdom, Kindness & Empathy”

·        Gaining experience: Gaining the right experience that guides you to your goals and vision helps you to be more learned. When we work towards a goal we either succeed or fail, that is helpful in our learning and we become more experienced.

·        Random Acts of Kindness: Practicing kindness to people helps us be more mindful and also enhances our Psychological and Spiritual wellbeing. Paying for the meal of a person, holding door for a person in need, helping someone in need etc. not only helps the other person but enhances our level of happiness and reduces stress.

·        Empathizing with others: Seeing someone in pain leads to a universal human experience of empathy which gets triggered by a system of neurons called ‘Mirror neurons’ in our brain. This is exactly the reason why a baby cries when she sees you crying or laughs when you do. Empathy is not something new but something we all are capable of practicing.

“If you want others to be happy practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion” Tenzin Gyatso – Dalai Lama

Practice 3: “Practicing Pause & Responding instead of Reacting”

·        Think before you respond: The difference between a reaction and a response is just a 5 letter word – “Think”. Using the critical faculty of our mind to ‘Think’ before we give a knee-jerk reaction to a situation is a behaviour practiced by few. Developing this increases the well-being and quality of our relationships with others.

·        Suspend Judgement: The moment human beings look at anything, they classify it as good or bad, useful for their survival or dangerous, in-group or out-group member, friend or alien etc. The more we suspend our quick judgement the better will be our decision making capacity. The unconscious bias we have rooted in us also limits our possibilities.

·        Let go of conditioning: The last but not the least in this segment is the ‘let go’ part of conditioning. This conditioning is done by our family, friends, culture, society that separates us from the rest of humanity. Once we let go of our own conditioning we can appreciate others and see the interconnectedness of human experience.

For those who know the inspiring story of Viktor Frankl who inspired a lot of people by his resilience and mindful ways in a concentration camp; the following quote defines the third aspect of this approach quite well:

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Finally, at the end this article I would like to say that, the only way to fail at Mindfulness is by not doing it. So the best way to learn; is to learn like a beginner, learning from our failures and learn all over again, every time we fall down; we get up again and start again!

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; but in the expert’s mind there are few” ~ Shunryu Suzuki

Thank you

Warm regards,

Anupam Rawat

#Mindfulness # MindfulLeadership #ServantLeadership #MindfulPractices #Work-LifeBalance

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