You may know about mindfulness, and you may think you already practice it in your everyday life, but I'm here to tell you - you don't.
Mindfulness is basically a state of awareness and attentiveness, so the first thing to remember is that there is a difference between being mindful and being inattentive.
Being mindful is taking a moment to notice that you're doing something (like eating a food). You stop and observe yourself.
Being inattentive is doing something (like eating a food) without noticing it. This is also known as "mindless."
The biggest misconception about mindfulness is that the only way to practice it is by meditating.
While meditation is an excellent way to cultivate mindfulness, meditation is simply a method of achieving it. In other words, meditation is the process of learning how to become mindful.
In contrast, mindfulness isn't really all about you. It's about taking a moment to notice what you are doing and then being able to respond appropriately to those things instead of reacting reflexively.
Let me give you an example. Let's say you're eating a salad. Instead of just going about your day while shoveling lettuce leaves in your mouth, you could stop and notice what you're doing. You could also take some time to look around you and see if you can figure out why you're eating a salad.
What if you're eating the salad because you think you're hungry. Well, you could notice that you're actually eating the salad because you think you're hungry, and you could also notice that you're thinking.
Being able to recognize that you are thinking and taking some time to acknowledge it could help you respond appropriately to your thoughts instead of acting on them. You could also take some time to recognize if you feel bad about the fact that you are eating a salad. You could take some time to figure out whether or not you are feeling guilty.
Another way that mindfulness can help in the workplace is through its ability to help you be more productive.
There are plenty of studies that show that meditation can reduce stress. There are studies that show meditation helps alleviate depression. And there are studies that show it's even beneficial for your sex life.
But while we know about the benefits of meditation, we often overlook the most important benefit:
Mindfulness can help you learn to slow down and stop multitasking. You don't have to stop working and sit around to meditate; however, you should try to dedicate 10 minutes every hour to focusing on yourself and what you're doing.
You can practice mindfulness during this 10 minute period either with a pen and paper in front of you or by watching a short video or podcast on your phone.