Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment. It’s a technique that can allow us to live in the moment and experience what is happening to us rather than reacting to it. Based on teachings in Eastern Philosophy, it is most commonly practiced as part of meditation or the practice of yoga.
In our industry, we are all familiar with the benefits one can gain from practicing mindfulness through yoga or meditation. It can bring a sense of calm and purpose and teach us to live in the now, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness is a popular buzzword at the moment and there is lots of talk about how incorporating mindfulness into your business is a good thing. Some of the biggest and most innovative companies, such as Google & Facebook, are incorporating mindfulness training and practices into their businesses.
Let’s talk about some of the benefits of embracing mindfulness in your business.
Mindfulness can help you be less reactive
By learning to be present in the moment in a non-judgmental manner, mindfulness can make you much less reactive and judgmental, which means that you are better able to objectively evaluate the benefit or risk of projects and decisions related to your business. Learning to be present in the moment and responding (rather than reacting) to experiences can help you eliminate much of the risk involved in making decisions. It allows you to be more proactive and make decisions based on what is the best choice for your business at that time rather than making decisions based on emotion.
Mindfulness can help you (& your employees) better handle stress
The techniques one learns when practicing mindfulness: living in the moment, responding rather than reacting, and being present and open to facing consequences openly, are the same techniques that can help you better handle stress. Teaching your employees to practice mindfulness, and practicing it yourself in your business, can create an environment where stress just melts away. And that is a great atmosphere for happy and engaged employees.
Mindfulness can bring about innovation
When you open up your views to focus on and live in the present, you are much more open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. This can open up your business to all sorts of new ideas about standard operating procedures and new, potentially better ways to do things. It could be the path that allows you to streamline your business procedures by doing fewer things, but doing those fewer things better. Mindfulness opens up your mind and your business to innovation.
Practicing mindfulness in our business can help us be more proactive and better able to handle the ups and downs of everyday business life. It can be a unique and powerful tool for helping to strengthen your business.