In terms of ‘targets’, I have decided to take a different orientation than previous articles. Rather than go beyond the inward facing – self-actualization, etc. context, this article will speculate that maybe the answer is: not looking “in” but looking “out”.
I have lost track of how many times I have thought (and written) that I was ‘coming to the end’ of my “COVID series”. As depressing as that may be – as I look back on initiatives to date, perhaps there has been a ‘silver lining’ in that we have had ample reason to become more familiar with coping mechanisms (arrows) and positive states of mind (targets).
This is the latest (but almost certainly not the last!) effort to share ideas/resources related to dealing with the impact of world challenges: with the COVID-19 outcome still uncertain – climate issues looming that will likely dwarf COVID-19, all this against a backdrop of social and other inequalities.
This post is simply a cross section of information designed to illustrate some of the many documented benefits of mindfulness. As a quick sidebar, I believe it is philosophically inconsistent with mindfulness for it to be used to “enhance performance”.
Given the world view (perception) you create is subjective and constrained, mindfulness helps you to step back and see the “big picture”. In other words, it is more about thought and less about emotion.
I trust after writing several articles, that I have done an adequate job of creating a case around the relevance of mindfulness (largely but not exclusively through meditation) to the world of business.
The obvious question arising as a result of these alarming results I reported on previously: What is a businessperson (any person) to do? The obvious (but impossible) solution is to avoid stress. Alternatively – could a businessperson (or anyone) deal with it effectively?
In addition to affecting how a brain ‘thinks’ mindfulness has also been shown to have actual physical effect on brain structure. For some orientation I refer you back to Your Brain: By the Numbers. The following reinforces the fact that reported improvements are not because people are just feeling better but because they are spending time relaxing.