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Debra Lindh

Mindfulness. Mindful. Being mindful. Practicing mindfulness. Look around these days and you’ll find a myriad of discussion, news, groups, and classes all around this thing called mindfulness. From the Huffington Post to Time magazine, mindfulness and being mindful is more than a hot topic. Mindfulness is THE hot topic of the early 21st Century.But is mindfulness here to say? Some say that mindfulness is just another flavor of the day. A fad. The latest thing of the moment. Regardless of if you or I think mindfulness is a fad, its presence is real. Mindfulness is here—right now.But what is this thing called “mindfulness?” What is “mindful?” What do these words mean…really mean? How are they defined? Of the definitions out there, whose is right?A search of the words “mindfulness” and “mindful” on the internet pulls up more than 2 million results. Let’s take a look at the more common or well-known definitions.Founder of the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) technique at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness in Full Catastrophe Living as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding experience moment to moment.”Out of the University of California Berkeley, the Greater Good offers a definition of mindfulness as “maintaining a moment-to-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.”Another well-known figure in the field of mindfulness is Sharon Salzberg. Her definition of mindfulness is “the state of being fully present, without distraction.”Some would argue or present the argument these definitions are Westernized, and they engage in a dance of debate of the definition of mindfulness as well as question its origin. (We’ll save that discussion for another blog post, though.)I prefer a definition that is simple, and I tend to go old school and lean on a reliable and respected source such as a dictionary. Merriam Webster defines mindfulness as, “The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.” To make the definition even simpler, when I am asked, “What is mindfulness?” my answer is, “Mindfulness is awareness.” Quick. Simple. Short. Easy to remember. Easy to understand.Mindfulness is as complex as the word love. Actually, the word mindfulness reminds me of the word love. Ask 10 people the question, “What is love?” and you’ll more than likely get 10 different answers. Heck, ask 50 people on Facebook “What is love” and you’ll receive some long answers, some short answers, and some answers that are as long as a peer-review journal article.And in the workplace, mindfulness also differs from person to person, team to team, division to division, and organization to organization. What matters is what YOU think mindfulness is? How do you define mindfulness? What does it mean to you?While the industry and field of mindfulness is unregulated, I always caution clients and people I talk with about adopting another person’s opinion as fact or truth for their own beliefs. I suggest doing these few steps in order for you to come to a definition of mindfulness.Steps to define mindfulness:Write down or use a tablet to capture your thoughts about the word “mindfulness.” What do you think it means?Then ask, “Why do you think it means this?”Now explore on Google, through books, articles, discussion with co-workers, family, or friends what are their thoughts around the word mindfulness. Capture all of these in a central document.After collecting the information from steps 1-3 go back and review what is collected. Reflect on this information. Think about what was captured.Ask yourself (and the group if in the workplace) “why does it mean this?” How did it get to this meaning? Why not something else? Where did these come from?Create three columns: 1) can live with, 2) neutral, and 3) can live without. Identify and place these potential definitions and comments into each of the three columns. Anything that falls into the neutral column, repeat steps 2-5 until they get placed in a non-neutral column.Review what’s placed in the “can live with” column and condense and create /into a definition of mindfulness. Now you have your definition of mindfulness.These steps can be done individually or they can be done as part of team work within an organization, school, or home. Once completed the result is an agreed upon definition of mindfulness; one that will work for you, the office, team, school, and at home.Let’s continue this discussion. Send us your comments and thoughts about this blog, as well as your experiences and outcomes of going through the process of defining mindfulness.

What Is This Thing Called Mindfulness?

 By now, some people have an idea about what mindfulness is and an actual formed definition of mindfulness. (If not, check out my previous blog focused on the definition of mindfulness.)For the most part, the word “mindfulness” has transformed from some fluffy-thingy concept of fuzz to something with substance—a definition, a collection of words to describe it, something to put your arms around and say, “Yeah, that’s what I mean.” And once we have a definition of something or learn about something, we naturally tend to continue with questions. Overtly or covertly, we ask:“So what?”“What’s in it for me?”“What value could it possibly have?”Indeed, many people who contact me to ask about mindfulness feel the same way and ask similar questions. Honestly, I was the same way too. While I didn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?” using those specific words, I did ask:“What could it do for me?”“Why would I want to bother with this?”“Is this reeeealllly going to help me?”Yes, I had those exact thoughts. I remember the moment clearly. I was beyond my normal stress point and needed to do something. I needed some sort of relief. I needed something to take the edge off, but I needed to keep my edge—just not be ON the edge.Mindfulness is a skill that is always thereMindfulness had always been part of my upbringing, but we didn’t call it that. I didn’t even know that there was a formal study in mindfulness until graduate school. But what mindfulness taught me back in the early 1990s is that it’s like riding a bike. Once you learn it, you know it forever. Years can pass, but you can pick up that bike and ride again like it was yesterday. Mindfulness is the same.Now, I’m not saying go for a 50 mile ride when not have ridden a bike in 10 years, but you will know how to pedal, keep your balance, and say “to your left” when passing. Mindfulness is very similar. We can pick up and use the techniques, what we’ve previously learned, and experience many benefits.Bottom line: Mindfulness is like a good friend. It’s always there when we need it.Mindfulness is the next Blue OceanCommon knowledge states that mindfulness reduces stress, increases performance, reduces unfavorable coping, and reduces absenteeism and costs in the workplace. In fact, there is a long list of benefits of mindfulness. But we want more, don’t we?Perhaps mindfulness is a next Blue Ocean? Is everyone familiar with the book Blue Ocean Strategy by authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne? Blue Ocean talks about how to develop employees to unlock their unrealized talent and energy. I don’t mean mediocre, status quo, go-with-the-flow development; I mean the same energy, opportunity, drive, innovation, creativity, and focus that resulted in great developments from people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Richard Branson.How can mindfulness be a next Blue Ocean? Well, like explained in the book, it’s not about competing; it’s about creating something that eliminates competition. We are aware that there are others, but they have no effect. Wouldn’t that be nice?It’s doable, but it takes everything you’ve got and means doing whatever it takes. Using mindfulness to create a Blue Ocean for “self” is doable and it also takes everything you’ve got and means doing whatever it takes. It takes commitment—an agreement with between you and yourself.What does this look like for business? Well, businesses experience a climate of three major components: exclusivity, massive market gain, and immense results. But imagine a life with increased happiness and joy. Really. These are not just words. These are words with meaning—significant meaning. I am talking about a life with exclusivity, massive gain, and immense results!What would that look like for you? Does that mean happier days and less days of feeling blah? Does that mean feeling physically and emotionally better? Does that mean having more friends? Does that mean being in a healthy relationship? Increased self confidence? Better relationships at work? Does that mean losing weight, finding a great career?Keep in mind, though, that just like most change initiative, if a person stops using their mindfulness techniques, so do the results. If using mindfulness techniques are halted, then so are the results gained from mindfulness. In other words, you need to use it or lose it.Bottom line: Just as a Blue Ocean creates exclusivity, massive gains, and immense results for an organization, mindfulness has limitless results for individuals.Are you ready?The next question is: What are these defined values worth to you?If your answer is something like “meh,” then now is not the time to try mindfulness. I am not saying never, I’m just saying don’t try it now. Come back and explore mindfulness when you are more ready for it. When people do something they really don’t want to do, it only leads to resentment and disappointment.If you’re response is “I’m not sure, but tell me more,” ask yourself these questions:What is my life like? Really like? Be honest.How would I like it to be?If I knew I could do something about it and create that image from question 2, would I? Be honest…would you?What are the three components (exclusivity, massive market gain, immense results) now worth? If it’s still “meh,” then wait. Hold off on doing work in mindfulness. If it’s, “LET’S ROCK,” then you’re ready to explore mindfulness.

Mindfulness: What’s in it for Me?

Summer 2012 - The Public Manager

Federal agencies may soon be facing an unprecedented need for internal leadership development. Training in succession planning and renewal can keep people in the organization and build commitment to the organization’s culture and values. As many Baby Boomer leaders become eligible for retirement, there is a need for new leaders to fill the gaps left by retirement. However, ongoing proposals from Congress to downsize the federal workforce may thwart agencies’ ability to hire new leaders from the outside. Additionally, a declining or stagnant federal budget may force cutbacks in external training and consulting budgets for developing leaders.

Debra Lindh

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