WATCH: 5 Tips To Be More Mindful
Today, I’d like to talk about ‘Developing Resilience with Mindfulness’. And, there’s a lot of talk these days about mindfulness but what does it really mean?
Well, one simple way of looking at it is to think about its opposite. So, if I’m driving mindlessly that doesn’t sound particularly good. But, if I’m living my life mindlessly, that’s also not particularly good. Because then I’m just being distracted by lots of other things. Mindfulness is the ability to focus your attention on to what’s actually happening right here, right now, in this moment on a sensory level. So, rather than all the things, I’m making it mean. It’s like ‘what’s actually happening now?’ rather than all the meaning I’m giving it. And there are many benefits. So, you can become more objective, you have less stress and anxiety. Because that mainly comes from what you make things mean. You get more self-awareness which helps you to be more powerful in the world especially as a leader and a manager. It helps you to have more mental focus and attention. And, it helps you to get better sleep.
Basic Awareness
So, all of these benefits come from being able to just notice from ‘Basic Awareness’ point of view. What it’s like to take a deep breath. . . . . And clear your mind and just focus on the sensations of the breath.
Body Sensations
Which leads you on to ‘Body Sensations’ which come from for example if I’m feeling a bit hungry, well maybe I’ll notice that I’m feeling that hunger. But that’s just a feeling. And, it might be just a sensation and rather than taking and going and scoffing some cookies or whatever. I can just notice the feeling and be mindful of that feeling.
Sensory Awareness
‘Sensory Awareness’ is noticing what you’re seeing hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling. And, so that you can actually, be aware of your senses and that’s it nothing else.
Emotional Awareness
And, then the next one is ‘Emotional Awareness’, where you actually have awareness of your emotions. You can label them, you can understand them, and you can moderate them.
Urge Surfing
And then finally this piece around ‘Urge Surfing’. Going back to that body sensation of perhaps being hungry and wanting to scoff some cookies. Then you can actually say if I want to lose weight maybe I need to just be aware of this sensation and not act on it. To just be conscious of the sensation not give it any meaning and go “Oh, that’s Interesting, I’m feeling those feelings in my tummy”. But not just diving in and mindlessly scoffing some cookies and feeling bad afterwards.
So, when it comes to Resilience and it comes to Mindfulness. Stay Curious!
With best regards,
David Klaasen
Talent4Performance help business leaders clarify complexity. We inspire people and drive continuous performance improvement, so they can convert thinking into action and results.
©David Klaasen – 2014
