Have you ever had the day in the office when every interaction, every meeting and every task tested your patience, added to the tension in your shoulders, and made your day less and less enjoyable? Have you walked out of the meeting feeling like an entire world’s weight just landed on your lap? Perhaps even worse, you already felt like that walking into the meeting and walked out of it feeling like the day cannot get any worse and ready to give up. As you push through your day, your tolerance for all the questions and concerns coming your way continues to dwindle to the point that everyone around you feels your stress. By the time you get home you are tired, irritable and snap at anyone and anything, which eventually may lead to an unwanted argument. What If I told you practicing mindfulness could have made that day a lot more enjoyable and productive?
Mindfulness can be an allusive concept for some who are in a fast-paced lifestyle. One of the common responses I hear is “I don’t have enough time.” The nice thing about mindfulness is that it doesn’t require much time, it requires an awareness. Mindfulness can be cultivated in a moment’s notice. The basic pillar of mindfulness is being aware of the present moment, noticing what is going on here and now. A lot of the stress we deal with is either coming from thinking too much about the future or dwelling on the past. When we lose sight of what is going on here and now, we are unable to focus our attention on the issue at hand and allow other distractions to fog our judgment, impair our ability to solve problems and wear down our energy supply.
An exercise that can help you change the outcome of your day by incorporating mindfulness is walking meditation. Think about it as a cleansing moment that will make sure that you are bringing your 100% self to each meeting and not carrying stress, bad energy or any other distractions from one meeting to another as you go about your busy day.
Exercise:
Before walking into your first meeting or moving from one meeting to another, instead of bulldozing your way into the meeting or diving into your cellphone trying to catch up on what you may have missed in the last 30-60 minutes, take a moment to re-charge and take notice of your breath.
If it’s fast-paced, try to slow it down.
With each step you take towards the next meeting, take a deep inhale and an even deeper exhale. Notice what thoughts are coming in to mind and become aware of how each thought is affecting your body.
As you become more aware of your body, perhaps noticing any tension in your shoulders or neck, imagine exhaling out all of the stress, irritation, and negative energy. Allow yourself to process what you feel and why you feel that way, let go of negative energy and breathe in positive thoughts. This exercise will allow you to bring your best self to the next meeting and be present in the moment as the day progresses.
Simple mindful breathing exercise allows your nervous system to slow down and reboot. When we are in flight, fight, or freeze mode, cortisone is generated and starts racing through our body which causes us to stress. In small amounts this may not cause any issues, but if it continues for an extended period of time it may lead to feeling depleted, irritability, and a weaker immune system. Allowing ourselves to acknowledge what is going on in our bodies can help move past the problem mode and start generating solutions; not to mention save the rest of the day from being hijacked by one bad meeting or interaction.