Do you often feel like your job is going to push you over the edge someday? Do you think that’s just how working for a living has to be? Perhaps what you need is to take a fresh approach. Let’s face it, the way you’re handling things now is leaving you feeling pretty lousy. Maybe it’s time you give mindfulness a serious shot, after all what have you got to lose other than a lot of frustration and a headful of steam!
According to Michael Carroll, a corporate director, executive coach, meditation teacher and author of the book ‘Awake at Work’ teaches how life on the job—no matter what kind of work we do—can become one of the most engaging and fulfilling areas of our lives, using the principals of mindfulness and meditation to transform the hassles and anxiety of the workplace into opportunities for heightened awareness and enhanced effectiveness on the job. I’ve got to admit that sounds pretty good.
Even Congress is getting in on the ground-floor of the mindfulness movement. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio said in a recent article in Mindful Magazine that his goal is to get us to invest more in the most important asset we have in America – well-functioning human beings.Congressman Ryan believes in the mindfulness movement so strongly in 2012 he wrote a book ‘A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Increase Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit’. To check it out go to www.hayhouse.com or www.Amazon.com .
Think ready to see what mindfulness can do for you? Here are 8 ways to live mindfully every day offered by positivenews.org.uk.
1. Be aware of your surroundings. While you’re walking, standing or sitting, be aware of the nature, people and architecture that surrounds you.
2. Meditate. Set aside a time each day to sit still and focus on your breathing. When thoughts arise, try to simply view thoughts as thoughts, rather than judging them as positive or negative.
3. Practice listening to others. Mindfulness can help us really listen more fully to what others are saying, by being present and attentive to their words.
4. Express kindness. Make a point of expressing gratitude and appreciation of others; this will help to keep you in the present experience.
5. Be still and dedicate some time to doing nothing and just ‘being’. As more and more of our time is filled with emails, texts, social media and entertainment, periods of silence and time alone brings respite.
6. Slow down. Try to do just one task at a time, and eat slowly, taking time to appreciate the food you are feeding your body.
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When we hold on to anxiety, it makes it more difficult to live within the moment. Allow yourself to feel your feelings, then let them go.
8. Make everyday tasks and chores a meditation. Cooking and cleaning are often seen as drudgery, but actually they are good ways to practice mindfulness and can make great daily rituals.