Mindset Lessons

The more we can practice mindfulness in our businesses, the happier, more serene and ultimately more successful we’ll become. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned, or re-learned, over the last few weeks to increase my mindfulness.

#1 Go on a Retreat (or a mini-vacation)

At one of my first EWN luncheons ever I sat next to a self-employed career counselor who told me that every six weeks she took a week off from her very intense schedule. Since she was her own boss and was responsible for her calendar, it made sense that she could book her appointments and vacations to suit her needs. “You can do that?” I wondered to myself.

I have never forgotten that detail and have worked towards emulating it ever since she mentioned it close to 15 years ago. I recently enjoyed a mini-vacation at Kripalu. For those of you who know Kripalu, two days feels much longer. It’s serene, low-key and unplugged.

After a pre-dawn gentle yoga class, breakfast and a guided hike up Olivia’s Lookout, I participated in a Sharing Circle led by Ken Nelson. I knew I wanted to attend this, not only for the opportunity to take stock of my life at the moment, but primarily because Ken is a gifted teacher. I had taken his 3-day workshop, Creating Powerful Experiential Workshops, in preparation for my retreat offerings which began several years ago. It was Ken who taught me how to structure the days, create interactivity and variety, and allow for deeper trust and sharing.

Read my blog to learn about a retreat Ken and I are planning in 2010 for anyone looking to design how they want their futures to look–vacations included.

#2 Find the Open Spaces

I also took away great value from my short stay at Kripalu in the area of accepting what presently is in my life. In a 1-hour session on mindfulness with Randal Williams, I heard much to reinforce and to help deepen practices I’ve been using.

Before the recession hit, my business life was full of activities, all heading in the direction of my passion, but at such a frenetic pace I never had time to be still and evaluate what I was doing. There was so much going on that sticky issues would easily get bypassed because something new and exciting was coming to replace it. But now there are longer gaps, quieter times and bigger questions that time has allowed to surface.

Are you finding yourself with open spaces of time to mull your direction and wonder what’s next? In Randal’s handout, he noted that ‘What helps to lift us out of our suffering is our infinite capacity to become the transcendent witness: I can see myself having this experience. This witness ability is strengthened through meditation.’

Separating myself out from the businesswoman who is experiencing pain or suffering, because an outcome wasn’t just so, is essential to my peace of mind and my success. Reads an example of the self-talk conversation on my blog.

#3 Increase Awareness of Your Facial Expressions

During one of my Leadership retreats in California–one I was participating in, not leading–an assistant was constantly recording our activities with a video camera. When the discussion came around to a leader’s impact–intended or unintended–we were shown digital footage of ourselves when we weren’t aware of the camera.

It turned out that one of the biggest take-aways for me throughout the year long program was seeing the recording of myself and my default expression. Read my reaction to seeing myself on my blog (it was a real eye-opener). One of the founders of the Coaches Training Institute was a co-leader of this program. He said that he knows what his facial expression looks like when he’s checking out at the grocery store and when he’s arguing with his wife. He has made a conscious decision to take full responsibility for his impact on the world at all times starting with the awareness of his own facial expression.

Regards,