World Mental Health Week – Mindfulness in the Workplace
What is Mindfulness and why it is important to practice both in and out of the workplace?
Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment. In other words, when you are mindful you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance without judgement, accept them for what they are and then detach yourself from any negativity or over thinking of aspects beyond your control.
The process of observe, accept and detach is one that should be done with calmness and clarity. If you find yourself being aggravated or upset by a situation then you are not truly being mindful. You need to be able to accept that you cannot change the past and instead identify what you can control and what is beyond your control to ensure you don’t ruin the present or future with unnecessary worry, anger or rash action.
Humans are creatures of habit, we will easily fall back into old ways of thinking and processing situations that can be damaging to our health. Mindfulness requires work and commitment. Practice mindfulness in the everyday by:
- Being aware of changing feelings and taking note of everyday thoughts. Do you find yourself being negative or pessimistic? This is a sign of stress. Try to express positive emotions and take action to change what is in your control.
- Recognising stress and anger early to deal with it before it explodes.
- Setting aside time in the day for yourself, be it 5 minutes each morning to sit in silence or a 10 minute lunchtime walk, it is important to fight distractions and find clarity.
- Support your mental health by engaging in physical health. The mind body connection is incredibly important, exercise is a great way to focus on your body and breath rather than any racing thoughts.
Mindfulness is something that has benefits in the workplace and in your personal life, it is a state of being that allows you to take control of your emotions and achieve the best outcome in a situation or recognise when to move on from something that is dragging you down. A commitment to being mindful is a commitment to your wellbeing.
Ella Harvey
HR Consultant
TalentCode HR
