What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness training is like a gym for your mind. In the same way that weight and cardio training helps you cultivate a healthy, strong and flexible body; mindfulness training helps you cultivate a healthy, strong and flexible mind. Specifically, mindfulness training builds the “mental muscles” of concentration, clarity, and equanimity — qualities that benefit us in countless ways.
When things are going well, mindfulness enhances your enjoyment, allowing you to more deeply appreciate ordinary activities. And in the midst of challenging circumstances — e.g. relating with a difficult client or an out-of-sorts colleague — mindfulness helps you deal with things more effectively.
Mindfulness gives you the tools to skillfully face the pressures of our high-stress, modern world: to move through your day with more comfort, ease, confidence, and creativity. Sound pretty good? — It is! And more and more people are using secular mindfulness training to dramatically improve their performance, along with the overall quality of their life:
“Silicon Valley companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter have instituted mindfulness programs to help their employees be happier, healthier and more productive at work (and at home.) Public school systems and universities are introducing mindfulness into their classrooms to help their students become more focused and engaged. World-class athletes are using mindfulness to optimize their performance and manage pain. The healthcare industry is turning to mindfulness to help speed recovery, reduce stress, battle addiction, ease pain & suffering and help support psychotherapy. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…”
Seven Healthy Habits To Boost Your Productivity (& Happiness!)
As you cultivate your mindfulness muscles — supported by any one of the many in-person or remote audio/video training now available — consider also adopting one or more of these healthy habits, to prime your body and mind for even greater productivity.
1. Intelligent Dietary Choices. Fresh organic vegetables, high-quality protein (salmon and bone broth are especially nutritious), a variety of whole grains, and healthy oils (e.g. coconut, olive, sesame, sunflower, flax, walnut, almond, avocado) form the basis of a truly nutritious diet. Satisfy your sweet-tooth with some fresh fruit — an apple, an orange or some blueberries — rather than candy or a soda. Avoid partially-hydrogenated oils (aka “trans fats”) such as margarine, shortening or vegetable oils. Also avoid artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, NutriSweet or Sweet ‘N Low. A healthy diet = a healthy nervous system = turbo-charged productivity, creativity, and intelligence.
2. Ample Exercise. Become a member at a gym, or find another way to include strength and cardio training in your weekly routine. Physical exercise is a great way to detoxify your body, “blow off steam,” and return to your work (or your evening rest) with a clear mind.
3. Body-Mind Nourishment. Spend time in nature, even if this means just taking a walk around the block, or sitting in the company courtyard for your lunch hour. Take a yoga, tai-chi or qigong class every once in a while, to learn more about the links between body, mind, and breath; and to connect with a deeper source of power, peace, and inspiration.
4. Install the F.lux app on your laptop, tablet, and phone. Synchronizing the color spectrum of your screen with the rising and setting of the sun will support more regular sleep and waking cycles. Learn more about why sleep is so important to your overall health and wellbeing, and commit to making this happen.
5. Invest in EMF protection devices to safeguard your body and your home from the damaging effects of the man-made EMF “smog” that is now so prevalent in our urban areas. Our human nervous system utilizes information from the Earth’s electromagnetic field in order to function optimally. When this natural flow of information/energy is disrupted by man-made EMFs, we function less effectively.
6. Cultivate nourishing relationships. A network of supportive friends and family members is essential to our mental-emotional well-being. Find people who you can talk to and play with, and with whom you can share your deepest dreams and aspirations. The spacious sweetness of such connections nourishes and empowers all of our endeavors.
7. Follow your bliss. The great mythologist Joseph Campbell famously counseled his students to “follow their bliss.” Discover what it is that gives you deep joy, and carve out time (even if it’s only ten minutes) to engage in this activity every day. The creative energy engendered during this time will almost certainly spill over into your work activities — making them more creative and productive also.
As you incorporate these healthy habits into your life, you’ll notice your overall attitude and mental outlook becoming more positive. With a new energy of joyful ease, as well as improved concentration and attention to detail, your skills as an annuity salesperson will naturally improve — leading to increasing sales, as well as overall joy and satisfaction.