Title: The Benefits of Being in the Moment :: March-April 2007

Author: Administrator

Date: March 01, 2007 2:16:56 PM or Thu, 01 March 2007 14:16:56

Summary: How we think about and process people and tasks is just as important as what we are focusing on and with whom we are working. Being in the moment is a re-emerging skill that affords tangible business and personal benefits to leaders, and organizations.

Body: Our previous article expanded on the benefits of time management by being in the moment. This article is Part 1 and a summary of the main business benefits of being in the moment.

Creativity and Innovation

For the goals of creativity and innovation, being in the moment allows us to see the thinking that pops up automatically in our minds. This automatic processing is sometimes called conditioned “in the box” thinking. And it happens without our direct involvement.

Neural scientists have found pathways in our brains. As we travel these pathways with our thinking, they become larger. We can’t be aware of the neural pathways themselves but we can become aware of our thinking. When we are aware, we don’t get ‘stuck in a rut’.

Seeing this automatic thinking gives us a critical tool for creative thinking. And allows us to think differently, experiment, and find new solutions. Because we can directly witness our own thinking, we now have choices, multiple options and are not tied to what we did yesterday. We can avoid our predictable reactions by resolving to first being aware of them.

Solving Problems

Being mindful of how we frame and think about problems, especially complex problems, allows us to concentrate on what we do want, instead of what we don’t want. Instead of wasting critical time and energy blaming someone else and focusing on why a problem is so terrible or all the trouble the problem is causing, we think more effortlessly and constructively on what we can do now, in this moment. When we focus on what we want and what we can do, decisions and actions become clearer and happen sooner.

Higher Performance

Being in the moment means we can maintain our focus on what we are doing to get to where we want to go. Without this focus, the urgency or gravity of our task or situation or unexpected obstacles are likely to take our attention out of the moment and into the land of worry and fear.

If we are not careful our attention turns to worrying about achieving our goals. This splits our attention between the result and the process. The skills and abilities we had before are now halved because part of our attention and energy is consumed by thinking about what is not happening now instead of what we can do now for the result we want in the future.

Planning

But don’t we need to plan and care for our future? Are planning and worrying the same thing, or are they different? Is there a difference in the quality of our actions when we plan compared to when we worry? The difference is that one is useful and one is not, one leads to action and the other leads to more misery and fewer solutions. After your next bout of worry, ask yourself what changed as a result.

Consider how the quality of each moment determines the next moment. Consider how worrying adds something to reality that was not originally there. When this happens, we react, and take on stress and frustration by focusing on what is imaginary - and call it normal.

No More Buttons Pushed

When we are in the moment we can turn our reactions into responses. People and situations will no longer have the power to control our thinking and behaviour. And we no longer create stress or agitation.

When someone comes along to press our buttons we can think "Sorry, but I’m sold out of buttons. Try the stress-pretzel down the hall. I’m not getting any more stock either." We become response-able and are spared the indignity of being unconscious carriers of negativity in any form where we lead, work or live.

No Stress to Manage

Stress is created by our reactions. When something is not created then there is nothing to manage. Stress, frustration and worry happen when we are not minding the store. Observing how you create stress is fast tracking yourself to dropping it. And you won’t spend any money or time learning how to manage the stress you didn’t create in the first place.

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