We all know the importance of physical training: With the right fitness regimen, you can make your body stronger, healthier, and more resilient. You can increase your energy and your stamina, and even stave off illness. But just as we can improve ourselves through the training of our bodies, so can we benefit from the training of our minds—and that’s what the entire concept of mindfulness really boils down to.
Defining Mindfulness
But what is mindfulness, exactly? It’s most simply described as being in the moment. Mindfulness denotes a total awareness of what’s happening right now, as opposed to a constant parade of distractions. The benefits of mindfulness are said to encompass productivity, stress management, memory, and focus, so it’s no big surprise that many individuals have taken up mindfulness training. It’s also not too shocking that more and more major businesses—including Google—have engaged their employees in mindfulness training.
But if it’s good enough for Google, does that mean it’s good enough for you? That’s a question that individual business owners will have to answer for themselves. Still, there are clearly some benefits to be gleaned from an investment in mindfulness training.
Mindfulness in the Workplace
Most basically, mindfulness in the workplace boils down to the ability to direct all of your focus and energy into the task at hand—to give 100 percent of yourself to the thing you’re currently working on, and to engage it with the entirety of your mind. Mindfulness training deprograms us from the multitasking habits that many of us have developed, and allows us to be single-minded in making decisions, interacting with people, and completing our work—leading to higher quality in all of those undertakings.
When you are mindful, you take the time to think about every decision you make—which means the decisions you make are more fully-informed. You are also more present in meetings, conversations, and presentations—meaning you are more active as a listener, more engaging as a speaker, and more likely to be effective in building and sustaining key relationships, including relationships with your fellow team members.
Mindfulness Training
Mindfulness is not something that a team can develop without the proper direction, which is where mindfulness training comes into play. With meditation and mental exercises, your team members can cultivate these habits—and all of the benefits that come with them.
To learn more about all kinds of workplace training, don’t hesitate to visit the ACES home page today.