September 4th Mindfulness and Missed Opportunities

We are currently on our half term break so this is a nice opportunity to look back at what we have been doing in course so far this semester and to examine what we have learnt. I think that one of the most unusual sections we have done this semester has been the mindfulness exercises we have been through in the Creativity In Business course. It has been a section that many people have laughed off or not taken seriously. I think this is understandable because the ideas expressed in this section are not typical of what we understand business to be about. At the same time I think those who laugh this section off are missing a useful opportunity.

 When I look back at my education there have been many times where I have had workshops or classes that didn’t seem valuable at the time. I was put through a touch typing course in high school for example. At the time it was fun and interesting but as a 14 year old I didn’t have the foresight to see just how valuable that skill would be in my future. Needless to say I didn’t take the time to embrace the skill at the time and regularly kick myself for it now.

Thanks to this and a few other examples I’m far slower these days to dismiss things out of hand simply because they seem a little left field. This is true of the mindfulness section we recently finished. Perhaps having more experience of the working world than many of the other students on the course, having worked a 9-5 job for a couple of years I can more easily see the benefits of managing stress via mindfulness. I also feel that there is a tie in Covey’s work on time management, planning ahead and making time to be mindful of the present, even just for 15 minutes a day, sets an example to yourself. It’s a quadrant 2 activity that lends perspective to your day and focus.

Mindfulness is still something I am trying come to grips with. I realise that it’s not something that one becomes proficient in overnight and that like with everything else it takes time, effort and continuous practice to get right. I will be continuing to try and get better at it, hopefully it will be a something I can look back on and say “Wow, I’m really glad I made that extra bit of effort, mindfulness has turned out to be as useful as being able to touch-type”.