Working Under Pressure
Tips for Being Mindful in Stressful Situations, Part V
You already know how to use your senses to be more mindful, but there are many more strategies you can use. Increased mindfulness will help in other areas of your life. Those that are more mindful report better relationships, sleep, and more happiness. Mindfulness is like the vitamin pill of mental health.
What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way. You choose the thing you’re going to pay attention to, and you pay attention in a non-judgmental way. Suppose you come across a homeless man on your walk to work. You notice his shoes.
So far, so good.
But once you make a judgment about his shoes, you’re no longer mindful. You might say to yourself that his shoes are cheap or dirty, or even blue. You might say to yourself that he has nice shoes. It doesn’t matter whether your judgment is negative, neutral, or positive. Once you apply a label to the shoes in your mind, you’re no longer mindful.
If you can walk through your day this way, you won’t believe how relaxed and happy you feel.
You’ll be amazed!
Learn to be mindful during the most challenging of times:
1. Focus on your breathing. Just observe your breathing. Notice how the air feels when it moves through your nose. Notice how your chest and belly move.
• The key is to observe, not make judgments. If you say to yourself, “I never noticed how big my stomach is from this angle,” you’re not mindfully paying attention to your breath. Avoid labeling your breath as good, bad, big, small, or anything else. You’re just observing it.
2. Use simple tasks as practice. While you’re getting dressed, don’t think about anything other than getting dressed. The same goes for taking a shower, driving to work, or eating your lunch. Be mindful of your activities.
3. Observe nature. Be mindful of a natural object, such as a tree or a bird, in your environment. Just focus on it and keep your thoughts quiet. Observe anything about it without talking to yourself about it. There’s no reason to say to yourself, “That bird sure is blue.” You’re looking at it, so there’s no reason to tell yourself something you already know.
• If you’re stuck indoors, look out a window or find a photograph online.
4. Use a reminder. Use a timer to remind yourself to be mindful several times during the day. At least once each hour, spend one minute or more being as mindful as you can be. It will soon become a habit.
5. Meditate. Those that meditate regularly can’t say enough about the benefits. There are many ways to meditate, but the simplest is to sit comfortably and focus on your breath for at least 10 minutes. When your mind wanders, and it will, bring your attention back to your breath.
It’s hard to believe that something so simple can provide such powerful benefits. Keep at it. Try to work up to 30 minutes at least once each day.
Everyone can gain from being more mindful. It’s not just for monks meditating in a cave. Mindfulness has become a popular tool in the field of medicine and psychology. You have everything to gain from increasing your ability to see the world from a mindful perspective.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
- William James
Conclusion
Stress and pressure are part of the human condition. Consider that if your ancestors never felt nor responded to pressure, you wouldn’t be here. Your genes would have been extinguished from the Earth long ago.
But times have changed. Those living in first world countries don’t face the types of threats that plagued our ancestors. We have plenty to eat, no one is trying to kill us in a war, and wild animals are not chasing us. The need for a strong physiological response to stress rarely exists anymore.
You have challenges, but the fight or flight response does more harm than good in the modern day. It’s questionable if you could ever eliminate these instinctive responses, but you can minimize them and enhance your ability to work through them without being negatively impacted by their effects.
Pressure results in physiological changes that alter the way your brain works. The ability to make good decisions and ignore distractions is compromised. Your brain attempts to eliminate the discomfort caused by adrenaline, even at the cost of your long-term success. All it wants is a release.
Tools exist to lessen the impact of these negative body sensations. You can also learn to become comfortable with them.
As with anything else, the key to success in dealing with pressure is knowledge and practice. Practice making good decisions and staying focused during mildly stressful situations. The practice will prove to be invaluable when the pressure is on, and you must be at your best.
Remember that no one is truly at their best when under a high level of pressure. Enhancing your skills at managing pressure-filled situations will ensure that you can do your best under the circumstances.