Boy, did I receive an education this week.
Last week I introduced The Habit of Mindfulness and a lot of people have called, texted or emailed to share their experiences with this practice.
One of the callers was a lady who described herself as a “Human Efficiency Expert”. Never having heard this designation I naturally inquired as to what exactly that means.
She explained to me that for the past 27 years her job has been to work with senior managers and executives of her employer’s clients to assist them in becoming more productive and more effective in their roles.
She went on to say that for many of her clients, their ability to consistently produce at very high levels while exhibiting great creativity in their thinking has had a profound impact on the heights to which they can aspire in their careers. Failure to produce the expected levels is career limiting if not career ending.
Sarah went on to explain that there are countless studies that have extolled the benefits of taking time away from what we do and permitting ourselves to enjoy ourselves.
Finding a few minutes to sit quietly, focus on our breathing, and allowing ourselves to relax and not allow the thoughts from what we have just left – the project at hand – to enter our minds has proven enormously beneficial to her clients.
She acknowledged that there is somewhat of a learning curve to be able to still one’s mind but the very act of relaxing and focussing on our breathing does wonders in recharging and reenergizing our bodies.
She told me several stories of how this technique and practice had proven to be of enormous value to her clients and, indeed, she commented that the frantic pace of her own life would have caused her much anxiety over the years were it not for her own dedication to daily practice of The Habit of Mindfulness.
My friend Ron swears that his wife’s rheumatoid arthritis has become far more manageable and that her incidence of pain has been reduced since he introduced her to The Habit of Mindfulness some nine months ago.
I know many readers will scoff at Ron’s comments as being nothing more than unsubstantiated anecdotes but my own sense is that even if the only benefit to his wife was derived from a belief that practising The Habit of Mindfulness was beneficial, then I hope she continues to do so.
Perhaps the effect is merely placebo-like and I’m all for placebos when they do the job.
I personally counsel my own clients to take time each day to do this and it is so interesting how after a few short days or weeks, they excitedly report of a stronger sense of connection to what they are doing, a renewed commitment to excellence and a noticeable improvement in large tasks completed.
In my own life I am convinced that my daily practice of The Habit of Mindfulness serves to keep me focused, energized and extremely happy with my lot in life.
For those of you who are practitioners please keep those calls, texts and emails coming and keep spreading the word. The more people we can introduce to The Habit of Mindfulness the more people there will be whose lives are on a path of continuous improvement.
Spreading the word of The Habit of Mindfulness is a worthwhile endeavor.
Let’s all do it.
Let’s make a habit of meeting like this.
