We’re Saying Yes To Mindfulness, But Where Do We Start

Let me tell you a story from a few years ago.

I was in the middle of a meeting. There was no conclusion in sight, all efforts to find a solution were faltering and the mood was sluggish. It wasn’t just me; everyone was fed up. I could sense the rise in the negative energy. I, too, was aware of the presence of this energy within myself. It was the kind of energy I knew I would carry over into the rest of my day, to my home life, and espouse it till late at night until I fell sleep.

Then, I decided to make a change.

Instead of succumbing to the rising tension, I took a moment to consider the issue. I took a deep breath, reflected on the situation and, then, responded in a manner that raised everyone’s enthusiasm despite the issue not having been resolved.

Instead of getting frustrated, yelling at my team and leaving the meeting unfinished, I told everyone to take a 5-minute breather and come back relaxed and refreshed.

And lo, in the blink of an eye, I had transformed everyone’s mental status.

This, is just one example of how mindfulness can help you lead more constructively.

Yes, to mindfulness

Let’s take a moment to analyse the above example. What changed in the span of a few seconds? I didn’t dismiss the meeting or get upset or even resort to designating homework as would have been convenient at that point.

What I did was take notice of the situation and the reactions I was getting from my team. Instead of talking myself and asking for results, I took a moment to listen to the nature of what was being said and observed the energies of the people in the room.

I focused on the vital instant between stimulus and reaction and that is what gave me the idea to allow the team some space to make peace with what they were feeling and come back to the problem afresh. The gap between stimulus and reaction and knowing the fact that there is a gap, where intentionality resides, is what allowed me to choose a better way to respond.

Some might say this was just a coincidence but, I know, after years of maintaining a mindfulness practise, that it was cultivated skill. I could better observe the emotional and mental reactions of the team because I had long adopted a mindfulness practise.

It's genuinely amazing to witness your team's connections improve as a result of intentionally altering your attitude and behaviour. Mindfulness does not only strengthen human connection; according to studies, it can also lower stress, increase empathy, and hold the ego in check, all of which are desirable qualities in a human leader, traits that are being recognised the world over, by start-ups and multinational corporations alike.

Where can you start?

Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine can have a profound impact on your personal, professional, and life experiences.

However, mindfulness practise does not immediately result in sweeping changes. “Practising” something is by definition an ongoing, evolving process; just like leadership. But you don’t need to feel intimidated. Getting started on this path is simple enough.

Mindfulness Meditation

The first step is mindful mediation.

To start with, you must be able to differentiate it from just “meditation”. In meditation, you free your mind from thoughts. The aim is to attain a state of “nothingness”. Whereas in mindfulness meditation, you focus your thoughts and make peace with your presence in the current moment – however it may be – frustrated, exhausted, angry, sad or numb.

Practising mindful meditation, you just need to observe your thoughts. And use your breath as a way of anchoring yourself to the present moment.

Research shows that practising mindfulness in the context of meditative breathing (i.e., spending time taking deep breaths while focusing your entire attention on the present-moment sensation of breathing) helps to slow down the heart rate and emphasise feelings of safety, thereby shifting the brain away from the fight-flight-freeze responses that hijack higher cognitive functions. Calming us down this way, it helps us think more clearly and makes us less susceptible to emotional impulses.

If you'd like to try it, locate a comfortable location, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Breathe in and breathe out to bring your focus back to your breath when your mind begins to wander. One minute, five minutes, or whatever amount of time you have available is fine to build in a mindfulness practise within your routine.

Mindfulness retreats

But, as we are well aware, leaders are notoriously busy! Most days there's no room for even a few additional minutes. That is why especially taking time out and attending a mindful leadership retreat may be the answer. It can help you develop your practise and make it frequent enough to nurture it yourself in your daily life.

Attendees of a retreat have the unique chance to develop and improve their mindfulness practise throughout the course of their stay. Leaders learn to speed up by slowing down during a retreat. They explore the basics of mindfulness and learn how to use it in their daily lives via the experience. With a little time and effort, participants can get the most out of a mindfulness skill. Additionally, it offers guests with an opportunity to relax and unwind, something many haven't had in years!

Many mindfulness retreat options are available for people who are interested. I hold one myself. You can drop me a message if you’d like to know more.

However you choose to practise mindfulness and meditation, know that there are countless doors waiting to be opened for you down the road.