What is mindfulness? 6 characteristics

You may have heard of mindfulness. But you don’t know exactly what it is. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is being alert and awake with full attention. Because it ensures that you worry less, deal better with stress, work more effectively and experience more satisfaction in your life. That is why mindfulness is essential for personal leadership.

1 Mindfulness is power

What is mindfulness? It gives you power. Mindfulness means being fully present in the here and now. And that gives you strength. You learn, after all, not to get carried away by thoughts and emotions. Because getting carried away by every thought or emotion that comes along, makes you powerless. Mindfulness means that you are at the helm of your life. This allows you to manage your life and your work from strength.

2 With a scientific basis

Mindfulness is centuries old. Thanks to the pioneering work of scientist Jon Kabat -Zinn, mindfulness is increasingly embraced by science. It has been scientifically proven that mindfulness works effectively with depression, stress, burn out etc. Since mindfulness makes you more alert and true, you experience more satisfaction and satisfaction in your life and work.

3 It strengthens your focus

With mindfulness exercises you train your attention and your focus. Just as you train a muscle to become stronger. According to current scientists, our ability to focus has been quite weak in recent years.

You probably know it. You are in the car and you drive to your destination. But on arrival you can’t remember the details of your trip. What you saw, felt and heard completely escaped you. Because you were somewhere else with your head. Or at work you are thinking about your son who you have to pick up from the day care center. Can you manage to be there on time? So you are only half focussed on your work. The other half is with your son. And when you finally have picked up your son from the day care center, you are back at work with your head. You should have sent that and that e-mail and you forgot. What now?

Goldfish today score higher on the ability to focus than humans. That makes you think. Nowadays we are so easily distracted by all social media etc. that our ability to focus is decreasing. That is why it is time for us to abandon the autopilot and take the helm of our lives back in our own hands!

4 It provides stress management

Mindfulness sharpens your ability to observe yourself. Because it helps you to look at your thoughts, emotions and reactions from the position of the observer. This makes them less threatening and they no longer drag you along. This way mindfulness helps you stay at the helm when you experience stress.

Being able to perceive yourself is essential for personal leadership. To manage yourself, you first have to get to know yourself. This awareness allows you to step off the autopilot and consciously respond to situations in your life and work. If you cannot manage yourself, you will not be able to properly manage others.

5 You experience more satisfaction

When you train your awareness, your senses become sharper. You will notice more. See better, hear more, feel better. As a result, you will experience more satisfaction in your life and work. You enjoy life more as it is. This gives peace and satisfaction. In your life and in your work.

6 Mindfulness increases your effectiveness

It increases your effectiveness because you develop more focus. And focus increases your effectiveness. It is a must for anyone who wants to live and work effectively. Successful leaders such as Steve Jobs use mindfulness for focus and effectiveness. Companies such as Google know the power of mindfulness. And now it’s time you do too!

Train personal leadership and have a holiday at the same time:

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De golven zwiepen hoog achter ons op in een onvoorspelbaar patroon.

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