Staying on course.
- Mindfulness in business
- Being true to higher values
- No way around Practicing
Mindfulness in business
So we have been leaning about breathing and how it will help you be effective/real in your relationships. We previously talked about leaning to be still. This leads to the much written about concept of “mindfulness”.
Mindfulness in business occurs when you are paying close attention to what is going on within you and around you. This is also expressed as being fully present. It is said that just ‘showing up’ consistently is half the battle of being successful. I say it’s only about one quarter of the battle. One of my teachers, Angeles Arrien, teaches a cross cultural shamanic path based on her research of indigenous people. She calls it the Fourfold way.
- Show up (and be present)
- Pay attention to what has heart and meaning
- Tell the truth without blame or judgment
- Let go of outcome
For an in depth look at these concepts check out her book; “The Four-Fold Way”.
Show up, be present and be mindful. The breathing exercise in the previous blog will help you accomplish this task. Doing this will increase your chances of being real with yourself and others.
Being true to higher values
Knowing what your values are and then acting and making choices based on those values is an important part of your life’s work. So it goes in business as well. People have values and a business should have values as well. The Mission statement should touch deeply on those values. Most small businesses don’t have a mission statement but they have an owner and the owner’s values then become at least part of the business values.
Dr. Arrien’s statement, “Pay attention to what has heart and meaning” is one way to get at the values conversation. But the saying is more instructive in that it is itself sort of a values statement. If I practice what that statement says then I will become an active engaged participant in the business and in life. To stay true to what has heart and meaning takes another important step when we commit to telling the truth…without blame or judgment. To do this, to speak and think in this way is no small task and in doing so you will become a most valuable player in any business and in life.
Perhaps the hardest of the four directives is the last, “to let go of outcome”. In business we are all about outcome. As in life each one of us has dreams and aspirations and goals and wants to succeed in one thing or another. How can we ‘let go’ of all that?
This is one of those conundrums we face. To have goals is not just a good idea but recommended. But how you hold them in your mind and heart are integral to the process of achieving them. Letting go is more like ‘surrendering’ to the outcome. There’s a saying in some spiritual circles that goes, “let go and let God”. This saying can move one in the right direction. The letting go is a way of acknowledging that we don’t really have control of very much. And yet, we are responsible for so much. I know this all sounds a bit like “the sound of one hand clapping”, but if you will be still and ponder these ideas you will find peace and they will move your closer and closer to reaching your goals. More importantly, they may also help you be the kind of person you always wanted to be.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Each day is the proverbial new day. You can be the same old you or the new old you.
The new you (old or not) is the one that takes life lightly and seriously at the same time.
Take yourself more lightly and the way of being in the world more seriously. Time has taught us humans that we must practice being the best at whatever we choose to be.
So start practicing now because NOW is all you’ve got.
