Imagine this… You walk into the office the phone is already ringing, the email inbox is filling, and you walk by your mail slot and see mail billowing out of the box. A coworker sees you in the hall and stops to ask you, ‘just a quick question.’ You return to your desk, open your calendar to see you only have 30 minutes before the first of four back-to-back meetings begins. You know now that all hope for managing your workload for the day appears lost.
Right then you notice that you feel your shoulders get tight, your stomach clench up in knots, and an overwhelming desire to leave and take a permanent vacation.
It’s another typical stressful day in your business, but it doesn’t have to be.
According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace study, 70 percent of people are mentally disengaged from their jobs. Gallup estimates that this is status quo and contributing to holding back the growth of the economy, costing the US between $450 and $550 billion in lost productivity each year. The social costs are even harder to measure. The single greatest contributor to chronic illness is prolonged periods of stress and the leading source of stress is primarily stress at work that sometimes feels dehumanizing, un-enjoyable, and meaningless, to the point of anger and frustration.
It is time to give yourself, your employees, and/or coworkers permission to co-create a new consciousness in business. Where ‘meaningless’ can become ‘mindful.’ Mindful means many things to different people. In essence, mindfulness is to be present without any judgment to what is happening in that exact moment, observing it, and choosing compassionately how to react to it.
The practice of mindfulness in business creates a clear vision for both short-term and long-term profitability and the overall happiness of those who work in and with your company and/or business.
Here are 3 things you can choose to become mindful even on the most stressful day
1.Accept the authenticity of your feelings in the moment. Feel your feelings fully, and allow yourself to recognize that this is how you feel in this moment, without self-judgment for having those feelings.
2.Choose compassion toward yourself. You wouldn’t demean or put someone down if they are struggling, why would you do that to yourself? When you take a moment to realize just how wonderful, capable and amazing you really are, you inspire others to show compassion toward themselves, and it becomes reciprocal.
3. Engage in Visualization. More than merely taping photos on a board of what you desire in life, take a moment to imagine and feel what having and/or being those things would be like, right now. There was a time when I visualized writing and publishing a book with my name on the spine. I even took action toward my vision and created a mockup of a book and then visualized signing them for audience members after I gave a talk. It wasn’t long after that when my vision became my actual life experience.
Mindfulness does not have to be difficult; it can be quite easy and become a regular way of being with practice and tenacity. I encourage you to select one of these practices and try it once each day. America’s largest companies are beginning to incorporate the practice of mindfulness: SalesForce, Target, Proctor & Gamble, and Google to name a few. Mindfulness is contributes to their productivity and profitability.
Often considered “self help” practices these same activities when engaged in as a company reduces stress and invites higher profits.
As CEO of a leadership development company, Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP offers straight-talk coaching and consulting to CEOs and executives. As a nationally known speaker, Holly presents high-energy, eye-opening keynotes to business leaders.
Contact DSB today to schedule Holly for a mindful business makeover at your next event- karen@dsbeventsandtalent.com or (303) 478-6652.
Evolution or Revolution- Your Choice!