Mindfulness for busy leaders

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“You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Ponder this…

When you’re as busy as most leaders, it can be difficult to find a moment of peace during the day. When I bring up the topic of mindfulness to the senior leaders I coach, many of them look at me doubtfully. The thought of incorporating a 10- or 20-minute sitting meditation (the image that often comes to mind when I mention mindfulness) into their day seems virtually impossible.?

I get it.?

I signed up for a meditation class about 15 years ago, believing it would be “good for me.” It didn’t go well. After arriving late and my phone ringing in the middle of a practice, the instructor kindly asked me to leave. I didn’t attempt to meditate again until six years ago when the mountain of scientific evidence about the benefits of mindfulness finally convinced my data-driven self to give it another try. I started small, really small - as in one or two minutes a day.?

I am not a mindfulness expert, but I am a restless, busy professional with two kids trying to build a mindfulness practice that I can fit into my life and sustain.?

While mindfulness and meditation can overlap, they’re not the same thing. There are many types of meditation , but it typically refers to a formal, seated practice. Mindfulness , however, is all about awareness; paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, movements, and other experiences in real-time, moment-by-moment.?

Mindfulness does include meditation, and meditation absolutely supports a more mindful approach to life. But the great news about mindfulness is that you can practice it anytime, anywhere, just by paying close attention to - and being accepting of -? your experience of the here and now. Even the most restless and busy can do that.

Research by 美国哈佛大学 psychologists Matt Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert found that "people spend 46.9% of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing." Unlike other animals, who process experiences in the immediate, a wandering mind seems to be hard-wired in humans. Unfortunately, a brain running on auto-pilot doesn’t perform optimally.? One such problem, as uncovered by this research, is that "a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost."

Mindfulness is a potent antidote to a wandering mind, and has a host of other documented benefits, including decreasing stress, increasing one’s ability to regulate emotions, and improving general physical health. If you feel too busy or you can’t sit still, you can still incorporate a mindfulness practice into your day.? Here are a few ways that I and the busy leaders I coach get it done.

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Mindful tasks: There are a number of everyday activities that we typically plug through on auto-pilot. Things like brushing our teeth, taking a shower, eating meals, and even driving.

One way to practice mindfulness is to tune into each of your five senses - one at a time -? while you complete these tasks. For example, as you take a shower, you may notice the sight of droplets accumulating on the glass door, the sound of the water swirling down the drain, the feeling of the warm water hitting your head, and the smell of your shampoo. This simple act can go a long way toward calming your mind.?

Mindful movement: Taking a walk or working out also provides an opportunity for mindfulness. There are a couple of approaches that can be used separately or in combination.

One approach, which is not dissimilar from the five senses practice above, is to simply drop into your body to experience the movement and everything that surrounds it. For instance, if you swim, pay attention to each stroke, the feel and sound of the water as you move through it, the sight of the bubbles, and the sparkles of the sun.

You can also focus on matching the rhythm of your breath with your movement (you may know this technique from yoga or Pilates). On a walk, practice breathing in for two steps, and out for four. Moving and breathing rhythmically enables your nervous system to align and stabilize.

Mindful listening: If you’ve ever found yourself only partially listening or formulating a response during a conversation, mindful listening is important to incorporate into your life. This is about giving truly undivided attention to another person, and it's the practice other people will notice and appreciate the most.?

Mindful listening is simple, but not easy. There’s just one step: stop what you are doing and be fully present. Listen without an agenda and see if you can hear beneath the person’s words. Thoughts or responses will naturally arise in your mind, but let them go and return to the other person. Let them say everything they want, and only then contemplate and choose your response.

Building a few intentional mindfulness practices into your day has benefits that extend far beyond your practice sessions. Start small, and don’t judge yourself when your mind wanders. That’s just what it does. Half the practice and journey towards greater mindfulness is catching yourself and returning to a more present state.

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