Why we need more mindfulness in business

By Laura Ximenez Camilli

After going to Joshua Tree to the Dhamma Center for a 10-day course on silent meditation, I realized the power of slowing down and actually getting bored to the point that creativity, productivity, and equanimity come to the surface again. I reconnected with my power and inner wisdom.

We startup operators/investors live in a hyper-fast-paced world that requires full attention 24/7/365, stamina, coping with stress, tough conversations, uncertainty, and grit. However, our minds and bodies can only take as much. Eventually, after months or even years, our mental health definitely deteriorates. We lose connection with our bodies and emotions. Perfectionis, procrastination, and fear of success or failure become constant shadows that follow us, and thus impact our teams.

Being part of an executive team requires a high capacity to focus for long periods of time, receive or give tough news, and be able to solve problems that might seem unsolvable. We may keep up with these tasks at the expected pace "artificially" by ingesting substances, caffeine, sleeping less, dismissing our hobbies, taking antidepressants/anti-anxiety pills, no social life, etc. As you can imagine, this path is not sustainable. We eventually burst. If you're lucky, you will burst when you're 60 and about to retire, or if you're like me, you start bursting before 30.

Millenials… We are the so-called "glass generation," super sensitive, touchy-feely, etc. Many think that we are less productive than other generations that could take all the pressure I mentioned above and more to get the job done. We prefer a more human view to management, we burn out and call it out, we get frustrated easily. Can we deem this generation less productive? But bad news for you, we're the largest demographic generation on Earth right now, so how can we not think about this generation as "obsolete" or "less productive"?

What if the right question is that we as humans have not focused enough on knowing how to sustainably be productive and live a happy life at the same time?

Through meditation, I found what no coach, mentor, therapist, therapy, or substance could give me. I found equanimity. We all have the capacity to meditate, to be in silence and observe our minds, emotions, and bodies.

?? Read again: We all have the capacity to meditate.

However, I know we live in a dopamine nation, looking for a quick fix to everything. There’s no time for anything, we’re always on a hurry, there’s no way we can be present. Meditation, on the other hand, takes practice, patience, and persistence. Three pills that most of us are either scared or unwilling to take.

Being in the center, meditating 10 hours per day, eating twice a day helped me not only get rid of my depression and anxiety, but also find my inner power without attachment. I could experience how emotions come and go, how what I eat and how actually matters, how my misery comes from clinging to things/emotions/experiences/expectations. Thus, being equanimous, observing is the only state that can help us survive and even enjoy a volatile environment like that of managing a startup.

?? It is un real to cling to the thought of permanent state of success. Everything goes up and down, but you can decide to surf those waves in serenity.

I will get a little raw here, but we must come in terms with four things that are a law of nature:

• We will all die;
• We will all get old;
• We will eventully be separated from those we love;
• Our actions are our only true possesions;

?? With that in mind, we can conclude that: EVERYTHING CHANGES.

As Reid Hoffman mentions in his book "Blitzscaling," as a startup grows, we lose many "soldiers" that worked for us since the beginning, and many other things change along the way. But how can we navigate this journey, getting the most out of the people we work with along the way for short or long periods of time? What if we could keep our mental health through ups and downs of a volatile environment? The short answer: Mindfulness.

Organizations are built by leaders. Leaders that can observe and be assertive, that know their flaws and areas of opportunity and don't feel like impostors, thus causing others impostor syndrome. Leaders that are not attached to emotions/recognition/positions of power, since they know that everything changes. Leaders that are aware that even after the very best day, they will have to start again the next day. Leaders that can be in silence and listen to their teams/customers/investors and make mindful decisions. Leaders that work with ethics.

It is important to say that I mention leaders and executive teams since they are now in the spotlight and can permeate their influences across their teams. But anyone can start building foundations to become a mindful leader, start now!

The path of mindfulness is a long one, but you can start with the first steps. By meditating, getting to know yourself, making use of each and every single second of your life for you, and by being the owner of your happiness and not putting it in terms of others/milestones are some examples. In this journey, you’ll begin to feel how by knowing that everything will change you have to make the most out of the present moment, your fear of failing or succeeding will fade away because you know YOU CAN ALWAYS START AGAIN.

A practical way of manifesting your mindfulness routine can be having a clear schedule that will requirediscipline and commitment to yourself. FIrst, think of why you’re rearranging your life and starting a new routine (intention). If there’s no clear intention, your project will probably fail shortly.

Here’s and example of how I used to work before mindfulness:

• Set 21,384,729,8347 alarms, all of which I will press Snooze or Stop.
• Wake up 1 hour before leaving for work, usually agitated and in a hurry.
• Order food to the office or even forget to eat during working hours, barely drinking water, only coffee.
• Go back home, and if I had luck, go to a workout class late at night.
• Before sleeping, look at my phone for hours.
• Realize it's SUPER late and sleep.
• Repeat...

After mindfulness:

• Set 1 alarm at 5 am.
• Wake up at 5 am and workout.
• Shower and meditate within 1 hour.
• 7:30 am, eat breakfast and meal prep.
• 8:30 am, ready to work.
• Working with a 1-liter bottle (drink 3 during the day), eating my delicious meal (even while working).
• Go home at peace.
• Leave my phone at 10 pm (no screentime after this).
• Repeat...

One is sustainable and can lead to sustained high performance; the other leads to reactiveness, burnout, and toxic cultures at work.

In summary, I would say that there are four main elements that mindful leaders have:

• Capacity to be vulnerable - being able to be open and to connect with others. You can tell when people want to be around you because of who you are, not just of the temporary position you’re in now. The latter changes.
• Generosity - being able to share, to allow others to have space to grow, to develop and shine. This means less mindset of attachment, but that of detachment to recognition or power. This means also taking ownership.
• Serenity - being able to keep moments of stillness in order to make assertive decisions. There’s a concept of emptiness, that brings space for creativity, deep perception and profound analysis.

One humbling story that happened to me after the 10 days disconnected from the world was getting back to my phone, my job, friends, family, and noticing that everything kept going. The world does not revolve around you, be humble, be kind. Even if you succeeded today, you can fail tomorrow. Success is not a permanent state.

• Stability - being able to pass through the toughest moments without turbulence, being able to be there for others in tough times. This means that they are capable of listening without anticipating answers, observing and not taking things personal.

Only then, when you have this balance in emotions (without suppressing), body (without restricting), and mind (without hyper-anxiety), can we really have a sustainably highly productive team guided by mindful leaders.

Share your thoughts ??

LXC

Some helpful resources: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xPV3mSPxXMHyiEvqomDDI?si=0a556321891c4935

https://www.amazon.com/Emptiness-Practical-Meditators-Guy-Armstrong/dp/1614293635