Become a Better Leader!
I found this article on the Internet to be very interesting. Can we learn from this and apply to coaches and athletes as well? Also, Refer to September Tips of the Week on Stress.
Four Ways Yoga and Meditation Will Make You a Better Leader
AJ AGRAWAL, Entrepreneur.com Contributor Posted September 11, 2014 Adopted and modified by M. E. Schloder When Apple’s Steve Jobs passed away, friends and family attending his funeral received a small gift from the late tech genius, Autobiography of a Yogi, a book focused on the ‘ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation.’Like the late Jobs, more and more leaders are adapting this kind of ‘mindfulness’ into their work environment to help decrease stress while boosting their mental state. After being stressed out every day and unorganized, I found that peace of mind and deep stretches helped me become a better startup leader (Agrawal). For those looking to get into yoga and meditation, here are the lessons I learned and why I continue to weave mindfulness into my everyday routine (Agrawal). Related: The Mind-Body Practices of 5 Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs
Achieving the Relaxed State of Mind
In the past, I would wake up in the morning and something would go wrong. My alarm wouldn’t go off, the coffee I had was below par or I'd still bothered by an email I received the previous night. This resulted in a negative attitude that even my work team observed. To prevent this from happening, I meditate 10 minutes each morning as soon as I wake up. After trying a handful of mediation applications, I've found the ‘Headspace Meditation App’ to be the most effective (but there are plenty of others). It helps get your day off to a good start and clear the mind.
2. Building Confidence
As a leader, I'm always in situations where I need to be courageous. Whether it’s going into a big time sales meeting or giving a pump-up speech to my team, I have to make sure I have a confident mindset to get results. Both yoga and meditation have helped me get rid of negative thoughts before high intensity situations. By learning to ignore negative thinking, I worry a lot less about what about could go wrong. This allows me you visualize the perfect outcome, giving me a huge confidence boost. For others, it is important to stay present and ignore the negative talk in the head, as it is just talk.
3. Reducing Stress
In my role as a CEO of a startup company, it's easy to focus all attention on small problems. This causes me to ignore larger issues and hurts my effectiveness. By integrating a yoga practice into my schedule, I was able to relax because the best mindset is one that does not focus on worries. Schedule the yoga activity in the morning before laying out the daily schedule. By doing so, the mind is clear, and one is able to prioritize better.
4. Bolsters Creativity
Both mediation and yoga are helpful. So many times, leaders get stuck in a certain way of thinking and don’t acknowledge a wide variety of different ways to ‘attack’ an issue. Yoga and meditation changed that for me. Now, I am able to approach problems with an ‘outside perspective.’ By getting rid of tunnel vision, I've been able to put together patterns and solutions without even trying to do so.
Like most things, it takes dedication and patience to reap all the benefits of yoga. The key is to learn to focus more on finding personal peace of mind rather than trying to force developing a new mindset. Without the right state of mind, it is impossible to be a great leader
Post comment as...Four Ways Yoga and Meditation Will Make You a Better Leaderhttp://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237313 Related: Become More Positive With These 5 Tipshttp://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230613 Related: What's Worth Chasing: Happiness Now or Happiness Later?http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234785 Harvard Medical School ‘Healthbeat’ provides the following as guidelines to deal with stress: Breaking the connection requires both learning to deal with stress and managing unhealthy habits. These five simple tips can help you do just that.
Stay positive
Laughter has been found to lower levels of stress hormones, reduce inflammation in the arteries, and increase "good" HDL cholesterol.
2. Meditate
This practice of inward-focused thought and deep breathing has been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure. Meditation's close relatives, yoga and prayer, can also relax the mind and body.
3. Exercise
Every time you are physically active, whether taking a walk or play tennis, the body releases mood-boosting chemicals called endorphins. Exercising not only melts away stress, it also protects against heart disease by lowering the blood pressure, strengthening the heart muscle, and helping maintain a healthy weight.
4. Unplug
It's impossible to escape stress when it follows you everywhere. Cut the cord. Avoid emails and TV news. Take time each day — even if it's for just 10 or 15 minutes — to escape from the world.
5. Find ways to take the edge off your stress
Simple things, like a warm bath, listening to music, or spending time on a favorite hobby, can provide a much-needed break from the stressors in your life.
And Coach Schloder says:
Lay off that ‘texting gadget’ – people are getting addicted! What is soooooo urgent! Have a Life!