A few weeks ago, New Hampshire had its first “Mindfulness in Business” Conference and the room was just about filled. It’s clear that the idea of training the brain to positively impact health, productivity, innovation and job engagement has begun to take hold in our state. Some of the participants cited that they attended the conference to support the goal of lowering stress levels that have become detrimental to their teams getting along and to employees feeling happy in their positions. Others are looking to shift their organizational cultures so that they feel less constrictive and more creative. Below are some of the ideas shared across the speakers and panelists.
“Mindfulness in Business” Conference Ideas
• Mindfulness increases the gap between impulse and reaction, enhancing the ability to think before speaking or acting.
• Mindfulness has its greatest impact on the brain when it is practiced most days through meditation.
• Meditation is not stopping thought. It’s about training the brain to focus (and refocus) on what is happening right now, whether it’s the breath or a body sensation.
• It’s better to meditate for 2-3 minutes than not at all.
• It’s even better to meditate for 2-3 minutes several times throughout the day.
• Mindfulness programs where people that work together also take a course together often strengthen the positive impact on the culture as a whole.
• Employees that have taken a mindfulness program through work reported that they felt it was a quite good use of their time.