The master-key of Mindfulness

We all agree that the “golden key to success” depends not only on our commitment, passion, courage and expertise, but also on how well we rewire our neural networks to ensure resilience and happiness. This golden key, or rather the master-key is the art of “mindfulness” which is about focussing on the present rather than ruminating over the past or worrying about what is in store in the future.

For me, mindfulness is a way of life and needs to be consciously cultivated upon before it becomes a part of our sub-conscious reality. Research has proven that practicing mindfulness significantly increases the empathy and self-compassion quotient thus generating a positive impact.

A decade ago, it was a rare sight to spot morning joggers and cyclists. Today, roads are overflowing with folks who don their sports gear and take their fitness regimes seriously. Not only in the brisk walking, running and cycling quadrants, there are yoga & meditation centers and zumba classes practically at every nook and corner of the street. The scientific advantage of regular physical activity beyond just boosting muscle strength and oxygen supply is now acknowledged to positive energy and mental endurance. Maybe just like the focus on physical exercise has increased, in the coming decade, we will have meditation as a way of life and thus the corresponding side-effect of increased compassion, empathy, self-awareness and happiness.

Coming to the office context, in today’s times, the definition of workplace and work timings have got significantly altered. Work has knowingly or unknowingly crept into our lives full-time with the dominance of 24X7 emails, whatsapp and social media. Holistic well-being programs to build mindfulness have thus become a preferred offering as a part of the total rewards proposition. As managers and leaders, to enable our teams to thrive, we play an integral part in building a mindful organisation. This can be done by blending the professional ethos with emotional intelligence.

Mindfulness at work has the following benefits:

1. Build a collaborative culture by increasing emotional intelligence and thus reducing conflict.
2. Improve productivity by reducing an adversial mindset and thus decreasing stress related illnesses and absenteeism.
3. Increase creativity and innovation and thus speeden up the decision making process.

While mindfulness has it’s advantages, one cannot dismiss the fact that work pressure and stress have become sticky buddies to many people. It is common to have difficult conversations, be it in office or personal space. Mindfulness helps you to listen to the other person and arrive at a solution rather than a win-loose argument.

There is one scientific tool that I try to use in most of the stressful scenarios. It’s called “cognitive reappraisal” or “cognitive reframing”. This is the restructuring of a negative reaction to a situation into a positive reaction. Let me decode the tool with a common scenario at work:
“I have been assigned a big task to complete in the next 2 months. This work pressure is definitely going to sabotage my holiday plans”. Instead of this negative emotion, cognitive reframing will modulate our thoughts in a positive direction “My boss has assigned me a big task to complete before my holidays. He / she definitely has a lot of trust in me to finish with speed and quality.”

The famous Auschwitz survivor, Viktor Frankl has beautifully explained this. He says “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Just by changing the lens, we change the thinking and the associated behavioural dynamics. The positive feelings generated will bring more harmony and reduce tensions. What gets practiced regularly becomes our second nature. In the similar way, if we continue to practice cognitive reframing, positive thinking flows naturally and becomes a way of life. Imagine the advantages at work: we will have reduced work tensions between teams, lower number of job stress elements, improved collaboration and a caring and respectful culture.

Mindfulness requires practice. While one may not become proficient overnight, here is a 2 step mantra to build the positive lens:

1. Finding the trigger: It is important to know what is the core reason for the stress and distinguish between the actual and the perceived problem.
2. Eliminate the issue: Once the right trigger is identified, it becomes pertinent to develop the alternate courses of action.

There is also a wonderful technique called “S.T.O.P” to make mindfulness a habit:

1. Stop to take a momentary pause, no matter what you are doing,
2. Take a deep breath and sense you own breathing pattern to bring you to the present moment.
3. Observe and acknowledge what is happening around you and even inside you.
4. Proceed with your activity that you were doing before you took the pause.

As an extrovert, being alone used to make me anxious and I used to get into a FOMO state. Now with baby steps around embracing mindfulness, I enjoy my me-time and find power in silent moments of introspection and being with myself. Finding joys in simple pleasures of life, cycling and taking deep breathes have been my commonly used tools in the recent times. While I hope to reach an auto-pilot mode in positively managing my emotions and actions, I now savor my freshly brewed coffee with more delight. I pause to acknowledge the cup’s warmth, enjoy the aroma and then relish the taste of coffee with my first and subsequent sips. Like Mother Teresa said “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more”.