Mindfulness

Mindfulness is something we've probably all heard of and many of us may practice mindful techniques from time to time, but what actually is it?

Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn a leading professor of medicine and the founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction describes Mindfulness as "The awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally".

Put simply, mindfulness is about being present in the moment.

So how can this practice benefit us at work?

Well, according to research, mindfulness has many benefits to both our psychological and physiological well-being. It can help to reduce stress and anxiety, improve focus, awareness, memory and even physical pain. It can even have positive implications on the relationships with those around us, it can help us to deal with the daily challenges of life and even help us to achieve a better work life balance.

So it's fair to say that there are many positive outcomes of being more mindful, and while some of us already practice mindful techniques, others may only practice mindful techniques from time to time, and some of us, not at all.

The great news is that mindfulness is something that can be developed and worked upon. And while its not always easy to immediately change your focus to be more mindful, , with the right support it is something that can be achieved, and coaching can help to do this.

As coaching is all about asking questions to raise self-awareness, thinking creatively, looking at things from a different perspective and putting new behaviours into practice to create long term change. We've carefully chosen some micro-coaching exercises and challenges to help you work on your mindfulness.

And remember, throughout the module. You can make commitments to yourself to start to do some things differently.

So, lets make a start now!