Mindfulness shouldn’t be something we fear, it is such a simple concept once you fully understand it. Being more mindful can make you more focused, calm and happy. It can even make you more productive in your daily life.

Cogs, always aspiring to be at the top of their game enlisted the help of Will Foster, Happiness Coach to come and share his knowledge on how to channel your inner calm and refresh the mind. Here we discuss the key takeaways from the session:

Acceptance

“The question that everyone asks me is are you always happy? And my response is honestly, no.” This is the words of Will himself.

Even a Coach of Happiness assured us that being “happy” all the time is not realistic. Being happy depends on how you approach and accept the challenges you are faced with.  In life, there are many episodes and events that challenge us.  These can be internal such as health issues, sleep deprivation, or uncertainty over issues and stress – or external barriers such as dealing with difficult individuals or situations.
We must learn to accept that so much of what makes us unhappy is actually out of our control – so we needn’t put ourselves through the frustration and stress that we do.

It’s all Perception 

Being mindful doesn’t eliminate issues and challenged that we are faced with but what it does do is enable you to be more resilient when they do arise. The more mindful you are the better you are at seeing the bigger picture. Understanding that it is actually the perception of a situation that causes more discomfort than the actual ‘thing’ is the key.

Instead of wishing you could change your life to make it better, it’s really about how you perceive it. The better you are at managing your thoughts about stress and allow them to pass, the easier it will be to accept situations as they are.

Self-Actualisation

It is great to have goals and aspirations. But the reality is you don’t dream for the dream, you dream for the person you become. The journey you take to get to that dream or goal is LIFE. So if you spend too much time focussing on that endpoint you will miss out on so much.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfilment and change through personal growth. He believed that self-actualization could be measured through the concept of peak experiences. This occurs when a person experiences the world totally for what it is, and there are feelings of euphoria, joy, and wonder. It is important to note that self-actualization is a continual process of becoming rather than a perfect state one reaches of a ‘happy ever after’.

Myths of Mindfulness

There are many misconceptions about mindfulness. One of the biggest being that to be mindful you need to ‘not think’, or ‘have no thoughts’. That is not correct. Being mindful is all about repositioning your thoughts and being able to zone out of them for a moment to find a sense of calm.

Body Care

Being happy and focused is not all down to the mind. A healthy body and lifestyle can have a huge effect on mental output. When you are well rested you are naturally able to be mindful. Equally, if you are an active individual and regularly flush the body with natural endorphins this can also help give you a sense of clarity.

Taking on to much in your personal or professional life can also prohibit your ability to be happy.  Juggling too much causes your mind to be unbalanced. Make sure you do make time for yourself and be comfortable to say no.

Ego

To be truly mindful and happy, one must let go of their ego. Accepting other peoples opinions and differences will help you to establish humility and that will help you to feel happier.

In today’s working world we face multiple stress-inducing demands and pressures. We do this while managing fluctuating priorities, high expectations and professional and personal goals. Studies show that mindfulness can have a great impact both personally and professionally. It’s proven to help recharge and regain productivity while improving employee health and even improving leadership and focus.

If you would like to recharge your team and give them some focus on mindfulness training from the amazing Will Foster book your session now. If you want to achieve your own professional goals with a new role or grow your team then let Cogs take the stress out of your search and contact us today.

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