Exclusive article by Lindsey at EMRIndustry.com
Meditation is a practice with a rich history that seems so simple, it has to be complicated. At its most basic form, it involves sitting down for a moderate amount of time (usually 20 minutes or so), and simply observing the rise and fall of your breath or a mantra of your choosing, as you aim to move yourself away from the stress and burden of thoughts. Should a thought arise, you simply let it be and try to observe it and your body’s reaction to it.
Meditation been shown to have numerous benefits for one’s health and overall well-being. As a business owner, you are likely to face high-stress and high-pressure scenarios on a daily basis. If you are looking to find a positive habit that will improve your focus for business in a myriad of ways with no negative consequences, meditation will be a good fit for you.
Stress Reduction
As a business owner, you need to keep track of a lot of things. However, this can overwhelm you, leading to stress and a lack of clarity that overwhelms you further. Meditation purges stress from your mind and body. Through the consistent flow of oxygen to your brain, meditation allows for you to unfog a potentially hazy mind and proceed with your decisions as wisely as possible. You can also gain larger trust of your clients and coworkers by establishing yourself as somebody who does not let stress get the best of them.
Staying in the Moment
You need to be thinking ahead if you want to be competitive in the business world. However, being too burdened by the future (and the past) can be a great detriment to you as a business owner. A focused businessperson is one who stays in the present to make their future as great as possible. With meditation, you are encouraged to tap into the present moment. By doing so, you feel more vibrant and whole compared to being tethered to the past.
Flashes of Insight
If you’re a fan of “30 Rock,” you know of the “shower principle,” the idea that one’s moments of inspiration happens when they are away from distractions (such as being in a shower).
Meditation is like a shower for your mind. By taking the time to decompress by shutting your eyes and just observing what goes on in your head and with your breath, you are priming yourself for the focused clarity you need to have great sparks of insight. This doesn’t mean that the first time you sit down to meditate your mind will be overflowing with ideas. However, you will be unclogging your mind, much like you would unclog a stubborn shower drain.
Executive Testimony
Many CEOs and other powerful businesspeople have spoken of the benefits of meditation for their own business careers and well-being. Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Recordings, says that practicing Transcendental Meditation “changed [his] experiences in life.” Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods, says 20 minutes of mantra meditation every morning helps him to clear his mind and come up with solutions, similar to the shower principle.
As a busy business person, the idea of having a new item for your to-do list seems perhaps unthinkable. However, if you can squeeze in 20 minutes per day for a meditation exercise, the benefits we have listed, plus the testimonials of other business professionals should be enough to have you preparing to meditate already. It might seem like a strange process at first, and you are bound to fidget some. However, the more you meditate, the more calm you will become. The calmer you are, the better off your business will be. Meditation is proof that sometimes the solution was inside of us the whole time.
