Life is full of all kinds of noises, from the grocery shopping lists to the worries about our future. One can easily feel overwhelmed by all these distractions and it doesn’t help that many of us have little time for ourselves. How can you become successful amidst all these without getting overwhelmed?
It’s through ‘mindfulness’.
The term ‘mindfulness’ is used in a number of ways. It can refer to being aware of your thoughts and actions, or it can describe the practice of taking a few minutes every day to focus on your breathing. But whatever form it takes, mindfulness is incredibly powerful, and can actually make you more productive in the modern workplace.
So what are the three reasons why mindfulness is the ultimate habit of success?
1. Increase in Productivity
Productivity is a lot like baking. When you’re baking, if you don’t use the exact amount of ingredients or follow every recipe to a tee, it doesn’t come out quite as expected and results may vary. To find success within this analogy like any business endeavor, it’s vital that entrepreneurs can prioritize what’s truly important and filter out the “noise” so they can be more productive and less stressed. By improving clarity on what’s truly important, it’s possible to do less using less time which will ultimately result in greater productivity. Mindfulness practice helps us filter through the noise so that we can have an even better focus on what’s truly valuable or important.
2. Better understanding
You can’t gain influence with other people simply by trying to change your mind to meet someone else’s needs. Change comes from understanding their perspective and helping them to meet their needs. Mindfulness training is all about focusing on the present moment, unaware of judgment or distraction – it rewires brains in a very powerful way, which helps one become more aware of the feelings and emotions of not only oneself but also of those who surround us. Studies have shown that mindfulness can increase our brain’s ability to empathize with multiple people at once.
3. Self-awareness
Being aware of your faults is a good thing. It can save you a lot of time and pain in the long run because you’re able to identify that you made a bad choice at some point in the past and learn from it or correct your approach as necessary. While this is relatively easy for some people due to their self-awareness, others would benefit from developing their mindfulness further so that they can cultivate this self-awareness and become more aware of how their decisions are formed. The important thing here is that when challenges arise, you can stay grounded and maintain patience instead of becoming overwhelmed by all of the details.
Final thoughts
Every day we’re inundated with so many things happening at once that it can feel like we’re drowning in the midst of it. By taking an approach called mindfulness. Simply by learning to be aware of our thoughts, emotions and any unconscious filters is actually helpful as it helps lower stress levels and enhances our ability to make better decisions which include those related to our health and wellbeing.
