Lately I've been thinking about the nature of work and how
we often view of our work-lives as separate from our “real” lives. But work is
just like life. It includes everything, the full range of our thoughts, feelings,
and emotions. Wherever we are, however we are, the entirety of our lives is
always with us. It informs who we are, how we see the world and how we act.
For most of us, we hope our work sustains us in ways beyond
our economic needs and desires. Whether
we are owners, managers or staff members, we are all trying to manage ourselves
and our relationships at work as skillfully as we can.
We typically want the
same things from our jobs regardless of our title: respect, trust, recognition,
care, empathy, clear communication, a sense of community, and the freedom to
creatively use our minds in ways that access our skills.
Managing our jobs and
our businesses with mindfulness at the core creates a healthy and dignified
work environment for everyone. But what is it really and how do we bring it
into our work lives?
Mindfulness is the process of steadying, training, and
quieting the mind to see what is actually happening around us and within us, in
our minds, hearts and bodies. As our awareness develops, we’re more able to
step out of the center of our own stories increasing our capacity for curiosity,
expanding our tolerance and resilience, and decreasing the mind’s habitual
patterns of unhelpful judgments and internal criticism.
By training the mind
and body to notice and pay attention to what’s happening, the tension in the
mind and the stress in the body often decrease. This gives us more access to
our innately clear minds, our naturally kind hearts and our discerning wisdom
which in turn lead to skillful, wise action and effective response.
It’s important to recognize that mindfulness is not about
becoming a better this or that. It’s about becoming fully aware of whatever is
happening, whether we like it or not, whether it’s pleasant or painful, and
finding some ease even with difficulty. In essence, mindfulness increases our capacity
to manage the day-to-day challenges and joys of life wherever we are.
Quick & Easy
Practices:
You can use mindful awareness practices anywhere, anytime
and they are especially effective at work. Here are a few practices you might
like.
Mindfulness of the Body:
Anytime you feel stress, anxiety or fear, see if you can
feel the bottoms of your feet on the floor. If you’re sitting in a chair, try
getting a sense of your bottom in the chair. Try it now. Notice what happens.
What do you feel? What are you thinking about?
What happens when you do this,
is that it immediately stops the mind-chatter about other stress. It doesn't solve the problem, but it re-directs your attention and brings the nervous
system back into balance while you focus on these sensations. This works
because the brain will not advance two story-lines at once. Try that, too. See
if you can focus on the sensations of your feet touching the floor while you
think about the cause of your anxiety. You probably can’t do both.
Mindfulness of the Breath:
Taking a deep breath is a powerful and immediate way of
calming the nervous system and letting us see a situation with a little more
clarity. Try to get a sense of your breathing. Just feel your breath coming and
going. Notice how breathing happens on its own without you controlling it,
though you can certainly change its rhythm and depth.
Placing attention on the
breath functions similarly to noticing the feet on the floor. It re-directs the
attention from whatever is happening in the mind and allows both the mind and
the body to quiet.
Busyness at Work:
We all know what it’s like to have too much on our plates.
The pressure and expectations are high. We want to do well, and it feels
impossible to keep up. When you find yourself in this situation, try to slow
down. Do one thing at a time. The brain does not naturally or effectively
multi-task, even though we sometimes pride ourselves on how much we think we
can do at once. Being thorough task-by-task is ultimately much more efficient
and effective.
These practices are a beginning. Those that focus on how we talk to
one another, how we talk to ourselves, and how we cultivate well-being at work are
also vitally important. Stay tuned for more one this subject.
When we develop
and integrate mindfulness into our work environments, it becomes a way of being
individually, with our co-workers, bosses and customers. It defines the culture
of the work environment itself.
