As more and more people are learning, being mindful of the present moment is key to staying connected to your inner self and maintaining a positive outlook. But staying in the present moment is often easier said than done. Especially when you leave the comfort and control of your home and enter one of the most challenging environments known to enlightenment... the workplace!
So how do you stay positive when you work in a "less-than-positive" environment? No matter how relaxing your weekend, nothing challenges your Zen-like being more than a serious case of the Mondays.
Here are 10 tips to help start your workday right and keep that positive energy flowing throughout your day.
1. Have a positive morning mantra. Start every morning with positive thoughts. Remind yourself of all that you have to be grateful for and what you plan on achieving in your day, year and life.
Write down a positive mantra and leave it where you will see it when you wake up. It doesn't need to be long or complex. Something simple and to-the-point works best, just make it specific to your life. Every morning when you wake up, take a moment and read your mantra to yourself. This will help start your day on a positive note.
2. Avoid TV, radio and social media before breakfast. If you are someone that reaches for your alarm first and your smartphone second, try and fight the urge. It's better to wait until later in the morning to update yourself on all that you missed while asleep. Avoid watching the news, listening to news radio or checking social media websites until your morning is well under way.
If you start your day listening to negative thoughts and ideas it will only serve to generate negative thoughts and emotions in you.
3. Make time to meditate. I cannot stress enough how important meditation is to the human body, mind and spirit. A simple 20 minutes of meditation can help set the tone for a relaxing, mindful day.
4. Don't be in the office before you leave the house. Many people spend their morning thinking about everything they have to do when they get to work. Being present is all about being aware of right now. Focus on what it is you are doing during the moment you are doing it.
When you are in the shower, be aware of the shower. Feel the water on your skin, the smell of the shampoo, the patterns of the water drops as they roll down the shower curtain.
Keep your attention on every detail of everything you do. If you notice your thoughts drifting, just be aware of that and re-direct them back to the present moment.
5. Focus on one task at a time while at work. No matter how good you are at your job, you can only do one thing at a time. Make yourself a physical list of the things you need to do that day. Once you have your list, select one item and focus on that one task. As you work on that task, do not think about the next item on your list, or on the existence of the list at all. Keep all your attention on the one thing you are doing right now.
If you are interrupted with another request, simply focus your attention on this new request, complete it, and then focus your attention back on the task you were working on before. Frustration only comes when you are doing one thing but wishing you were doing another.
6. Take a break and get out of the office. If you can, take a break and leave work completely. This means both physically and mentally. Go for a walk outside, breathe fresh air, feel the sun and wind on your face. Most importantly, leave your job behind. Allow your brain to rest and recharge. Your job will still be there when you get back.
7. Avoid office gossip. It is easy to get sucked into the bonding practice of complaining about your job with co-workers. As tempting as it might be, this type of negativity only works to bring you down.
If you work in an environment where negative talk is commonplace, always attempt to remove yourself from the conversation without placing judgment on either the people talking or the people they are talking about. It may be hard to remember but everyone is doing their best in life based on their level of consciousness... including your boss.
8. Q-TIP: Quit Taking It Personally. Who you are is not defined by the job you do. You are far more than anything you do while having this human experience. A job is simply another activity for you to experience.
Do not take criticism, direction, orders, requests, feedback or lack of respect personally. If someone is disrespectful to you at work, it says more about where they are on their journey than it does about you.
9. Remember to breathe. As you work through your day keep some focus on your breathing. Try to be aware of each breath in and out, even as you do other things. Deep, aware breathing helps to align your physical and mental states.
You can't take a breath in the past or the future, only in the present moment. So if you are aware of your breath, you are aware of the present moment.
10. Leave the office at the office. When you leave your job for the day, make sure you don't bring it home with you. Avoid running through the events of the day in your mind after you've left. In fact, pretend you job doesn't even exist. That part of the day is in the past. Leave it in the past. Focus all your awareness on what it is you are doing now that work is over.
Much of the stress people feel towards their jobs come from mentally being at work 24/7. Learn to leave the office at the office.
Namasté