It’s absolutely wrong to assume that meditation is for people who have extra time and luxury to afford it. You might even imagine a monk sitting in a valley, isolated from the world, when someone discusses the idea of meditation with you. This idea couldn’t be more wrong. If anything, those with stressful and hectic routines are the ones in more need of this practice.
People often come up with reasons like, “I have had enough articles telling me the benefits of meditation. Deep down, I know it's good, but what if I don’t have enough time to perform it daily? Dedicating a specific time to meditation would mean that I am sacrificing a business call or my rest time.” “My schedule is planned. Anything “extra” would disturb the whole pattern.”
This is where people may benefit from thinking with a broader perspective. The key is to work smart and not hard. Meditation could make your daily task much easier and faster to complete. Think I’m bluffing? Let’s talk about some facts!
The difficulties connected with managing your day-to-day commitments and carrying ultimate responsibility for the success of your business and life can be daunting. So much is dependent on you: at work, you must look after your product, process, customers, and workers; at home, you have family, friends, or other obligations that need your attention. You most likely wear any hat you need to wear at any given moment.
This continual tug in multiple directions can be depleting, affecting your psychological and physiological health and overall sense of well-being. When you have so many responsibilities, putting you on the back burner can happen too easily. It would be best to learn to manage stress and emotions, particularly those that threaten to overwhelm you with negativity.
Meditation for Success
You may achieve peak performance by managing your thoughts and emotions. Meditation is a centuries-old mind-body technique that may help you achieve clarity and serenity regardless of your circumstances. These characteristics are essential in all aspects of your life. By mastering the fundamentals of meditation, you can set yourself up for success, overcome worry, and get the outcomes you want.
Concentration and focus
Consider how much more you could get done if you could lengthen your attention span. Meditation increases your attention span, which boosts your productivity.
Research revealed that participants who participated in a 10-day intensive mindfulness meditation retreat had superior working memory capacity and longer attention spans than a control group that did not engage in the retreat. (Chambers et al. 2008)
Reduced stress
Meditation has been found to generate brain alterations that aid in stress reduction. Sara Lazar's research discovered an improvement in the amygdala area of the brain, which regulates anxiety, stress, and fear. (Schulte, 2015) According to the research, the effects were discovered after eight weeks of meditation.
Better and simpler decision-making
How often do we enjoy the inner stillness in this fast-paced, mission-driven world? Meditation provokes these unfathomable deep states of bliss and inner stillness within.
The decisions you make today affect tomorrow. With regular meditation sessions, your intuition and wisdom sprout. You can calm your thoughts during the consideration and be less concerned about the result (Sun et al., 2015)
Increased patience and tolerance
The habit of being silent for a lengthy period has a mystical quality. Learning to shut out the noises and surroundings around you for even ten minutes will significantly influence your personhood and leadership quality.
Furthermore, learning to observe when your mind wanders and not judging it for doing so is a core tenet of meditation that may greatly assist you in releasing judgment about other things you notice in your life, such as what people say and do at work (O'Bryan et al., 2018).
Improved sleep
Stress, ruminating thoughts, and other reasons keep us up at night. Meditation's relaxation reaction helps the body and mind to enter a serene condition, allowing you to fall asleep sooner and remain asleep for longer (Corliss, 2020)
Meditation and Employees
Meditation is a valuable organizational technique for improving employee performance, well-being, and work satisfaction. A study found that meditation and mindfulness have significant workplace consequences. Given that clerical and administrative personnel are employed for their technical knowledge, better mindfulness and emotional intelligence abilities enable them to be more motivating, engaging, and sympathetic. When combined with the typical skill set of good leaders, these talents allow for greater organizational effectiveness (Marques, 2013).
Mindfulness is a crucial tool for self-awareness, and researchers suggest that it has a significant influence in mitigating the negative consequences of stress-related presenteeism on employee health (Karimi et al., 2019)
The long-term benefits are easy to envision
You must ease into the practice of meditation, just as you would when beginning to exercise regularly. A ten-minute break may leave you feeling rejuvenated, energized, and more prepared to tackle the day or wind down before night. And, much like growing muscle, you'll begin to form a habit. After a few days, you'll remember to do it because you're experiencing such positive results.
Starting Meditation
There are various methods to meditate, and as you practice, you will discover a method that works best for you!
You can meditate from almost any place. You don't require any special equipment or tools, nor do you need any prior expertise. Your preferences and schedule also determine the best time for meditation. Some individuals like to get up a bit earlier and sit for 5 minutes before starting their day, while others prefer to do it immediately before bed.
For a simple 5- minute meditation practice, you can begin by choosing a simple word, a phrase, or a mantra. You may also choose to simply listen to your breathing or the sound of the ocean. The purpose of this is to exercise our attention. Attention is a key element here. Our emotions will follow.
Begin with your eyes closed, and simply repeat the word you choose, such as Peace.
Peace, Peace, Peace…
Tell yourself, "I am aware of it, " when other thoughts come in," then bring yourself back to the mantra Peace…. Peace… Peace…..It does not matter how many times your mind wanders to other thoughts; that is how our brains work, just keep bringing your mind back. Be the observer. Don't fight any thought. Open your eyes and look around. See everything with newfound curiosity. You’re good to start your day!
References
Katherine MacLean, Clifford Saron, B. Alan Wallace et al. (2010). Intensive Meditation Training Improves Perceptual Discrimination and Sustained Attention.
Chambers, Richard & Lo, Barbara & Allen, Nicholas. (2008). The Impact of Intensive Mindfulness Training on Attentional Control, Cognitive Style, and Affect. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Schulte, Brigid. (2015). Harvard Neuroscientist: Meditation Not Only Reduces Stress, Here’s How It Changes Your Brain. Washington Post.
Sun, Sai, et al. (2015). Calm and Smart? A Selective Review of Meditation Effects on Decision Making. Frontiers in Psychology.
O’Bryan, Emily M., et al. (2018). An Examination of Mindfulness Skills in Terms of Affect Tolerance among Individuals with Elevated Levels of Health Anxiety. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping.
Corliss, Julie. (2020) Mindfulness Meditation Helps Fight Insomnia, Improves Sleep. Harvard Health.
Marques, J. (2013). Understanding the strength of gentleness: Soft-skilled leadership on the rise. Journal of Business Ethics.
Karimi, Leila, et al.(2019). Positive Effects of Workplace Meditation Training and Practice. International Journal of Psychological Studies.