Meditation is a hot topic these days. It’s no longer viewed as an activity for granola munching hippies. Meditation has made its way into the lives of many successful people as a means of relaxation, grounding and recharging.
Meditation is especially useful in combating work related stress. As much as we may love our jobs, all careers come with their share of stress. Long hours, long commutes, stress over getting ahead in our career, and losing sleep can all add up and take a serious toll on our health. In turn, these stressors can negatively impact our career, causing a vicious, never ending cycle of stress and the way in which that strain shapes our career.
If we do not take measures to manage our stress, that build up will ultimately begin to chip away at us and we will be unable to perform at our highest potential. At the very least, we will underachieve. In the worst case scenario, our performance can suffer so greatly that we can lose our jobs or miss out on potential opportunities that we would have otherwise have been capable of achieving had we better managed our stress. Why leave it to chance? Why let it get to that point?
In today’s super busy and high-stress world, we couldn’t urge you enough to take ten, center yourself and just breathe.
- Meditation is a stress buster. When practicing mindfulness and meditation, you learn to control your breathing, clear your thoughts, relax your body and center yourself. Not only is the meditation itself incredibly relaxing, continued practice allows you to have more control over your panic response in stressful situations.
- Meditation increases happiness. Consistent practice of meditation has been found to improve depression and elevate moods. Creating a strong mind-body connection can have a very powerful affect on how we see ourselves and the world around around us. When we feel more in tune with our bodies, we tend to feel more in control of our emotions and our moods.
- Meditation increases self-awareness. Being self aware is a really important skill to have as a leader in the business world. Meditation is one of the best ways to increase self-awareness. When you are able to fully tune out all of the noise of the outside world and even the noise in your own head, you can achieve a level of self-awareness that most never will if they don’t take the time to develop themselves.
- Meditation improves concentration. When you habitually take the time to clear your mind, you will vastly improve your concentration and focus. It takes a lot of skill to be able to completely quiet your mind, so each time you do it you sharpen your ability to focus and tune out distraction. You will find it easier and easier to concentrate with distractions and perform under stress.
- Meditation decreases anxiety. When you are able to calm all of the noise in your head and routinely practice deep breathing, you will start to notice that your anxiety is slowly subsiding. One of the greatest things about meditation is that its benefits last long beyond the actual meditation session. If you are someone who suffers from anxiety when you have to make a speech or in other similar situations, you will notice a decrease in nerves. In addition, you will have your breathing and grounding techniques down pat and you will be able to center yourself quickly each time you are in a nerve wracking situation.
- Meditation promotes a healthier lifestyle. Each time you add a healthy element to your lifestyle, it encourages another healthy change. If you begin each day with meditation, you will likely continue to make positive, healthy choices throughout the remainder of the day.
As much as we all love our jobs, when you’re working hard toward your career goals, workplace stress is unavoidable. By beginning each day with a ten minute meditation practice, you can recharge, regroup and destress to ensure a happy and productive day!
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