What exactly is mindfulness?
It is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness also entails acceptance, which is paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without criticising them—for example, without assuming that there is a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. When we practise mindfulness, our thoughts shift from rehashing the past to imagining the future.
One way mindfulness might help is simply by improving our focus. When we jump from one duty to the next, the quality of our work suffers. We may train ourselves to be more focused by practising mindfulness – just returning to the present moment over and over.
Benefits of Mindfulness in the Workplace and Business:
- Improved social relationships.
- Mindfulness and resilience.
- Enhanced task performance.
- Improved intuition.
- Job satisfaction and motivation.
- Leadership development.
- Enhanced employee engagement.
- Coping with change.
- Affect and mindfulness-based interventions.
- Be consciously present.
- Use mindful reminders.
- Feel gratitude.
- Accept what you can’t change.
- Adopt a growth mindset.
How do you approach problems with mindfulness?
- Put negative feelings or thoughts into words.
- Understand that your beliefs are sometimes driven by emotion.
- Accept that your perception is limited.
- Your objective is to solve the problem, rather than win the fight.
- Not everyone wants to reframe conflict as an opportunity.
- Once you’ve shared your feelings about the situation, allow others to do the same.
- have a mediator involved if tensions are high.
Mindfulness exercises you can try:
- Mindful eating.
- Mindful moving, walking or running.
- Body scan.
- Mindful colouring and drawing.
- Mindful meditation.
- Mindful gardening.
- Gratitude list. Creating a gratitude list may help improve well-being and promote positivity by helping you focus on the things that you’re grateful for.
