If you are not reaping the benefits of mindfulness already, ask yourself this: Why ignore a scientifically proven practice which is simple and free, used by most of the worlds leading companies and their best employees, and something which also benefits your health and personal life? I’ve been practicing mindfulness for 5 years, and I have yet to encounter a valid reason why this x-factor item is not on every career check list. Most people say they are too busy. That’s like saying your toothache is too bad to go see a dentist.
If pushed to offer a definition of mindfulness, I’d say it is a simple meditation technique which greatly enhances focus and awareness, allowing your best innate qualities to shine through as peak performance. So why are companies investing so much time and money in encouraging workers to avail of the benefits of mindfulness? Well, here are five benefits of mindfulness which are well worth considering.
1: Nothing Handles Stress Like Mindfulness
Ask any HR manager or health care professional what the cost of stress is to business and you will be in for a shock. 75% of all health care costs incurred by business are stress-related. It is by far the biggest risk to a company’s bottom line and to their best employees. Nothing prevents and controls stress like mindfulness….and it’s FREE! Most people are unaware that they are affected by stress, but this silent killer contributes to a whole raft of medical problems and has a huge impact on performance. Practicing mindfulness removes flight of fight instinct, replacing it with a natural state of relaxed calm.
2: Mindfulness Greatly Enhances Focus
This is where it gets a bit like The Matrix or Bruce Lee. And trust me, thats a good thing. Mindfulness greatly enhances awareness and focus. It is a huge benefit of mindfulness to be able to give our full attention to one task at a time. The most successful careers are forged by those who see that multi-tasking is a myth, often leading to procrastination because attention is too divided to see any individual task through to quality completion. Those who forge successful careers realize that a focused mind is a productive mind. The one and only way to get there is by practicing mindfulness.
3: Creativity Soars With Mindfulness
Business in an open market economy relies on creativity to produce quality products and services, while also continuing to innovate through changing times. Consider the rapid rise, and even more rapid fall of Nokia for example. Creativity is entirely dependent upon mental state, and to perceive and respond to change. Mindfulness guides the creative process by quietening negative thoughts and self-consciousness. While creating mindfully, positivity dominates the process.
4: Mindfulness Builds Emotional Intelligence
Let’s face it – we could work sixty hour weeks for years on end, and still miss a promotion or pay bump because of that hidden intangible chemistry that some have and some don’t. Faking it is a complete disaster by the way. It’s better to work smarter. EQ is the secret something which sets the winners apart from the hamsters on the wheel, and is fueled by regularly practicing mindful meditation. There are no bionic men or office politics gurus; there are only people who approach their careers mindfully and the many others who don’t.
5: Mindfulness Makes You a Consistently Better Person
Following on from EQ, is perhaps the benefit of mindfulness which has the biggest impact on professional and personal lives, is that staying in the moment makes you a better person. It makes you a better person when working with a team, on your own initiative, and a better person when you go home to the family after a hard day. Mindfulness enables us to work better, sleep better, enjoy time off better, and come back to work refreshed and ready to go again. When negativity and cluttered thought is eliminated, you and the world around you become calmer, happier and the type of person people want to spend more time with.
If you would like to nurture a mindful culture in your workplace, check out in8Motivation services page.