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Assuming you have watched the video on mindfulness, I must share with you some of the associated challenges in developing mindfulness.

You will realize the meaning of the phrase, “Ignorance is bliss.” As you become aware of yourself and your surroundings, your anxiety may increase. This is counter intuitive, mindfulness is supposed to bring calm and reduce stress!

This may happen because you do not know what to do about the problems you have uncovered. An assumption of mindfulness is that the “answer lies within you” and it will emerge. This is true, but the journey is painful. You can accelerate the process by learning tangible skills to address the problems that have been revealed.

Assuming you have made progress in dealing with the anxieties of mindfulness, or are making satisfactory progress, the next problem is dealing with co-workers who are mindless. Remember, you cannot go around teaching mindfulness to your co-workers. That is not only not your role (unless you have permission to do so), but you will set yourself up for failure with your co-workers. The need to show, not tell becomes even more important.

The burden of leadership will be fully revealed when you develop mindfulness. You see what others do not see. You have to be determined, vigilant, cheerful, take a stand, and open minded at the same time. Prepare yourself and and be resilient. The Buddha cracked the code for the non-work environment by laying out a roadmap. You have to discover or invent a roadmap for yourself in your workplace.

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Any decent course on leadership these days teaches “mindfulness.” My book does so as well, but does not use the word. I figured the word is being overused, and decided to avoid it, but instead address the heart of how to develop and apply mindfulness. I am still unsure whether that was a good move or a colossal marketing mistake.

I also stayed away from abstract thinking used to describe mindfulness, and go straight into applications. Once you apply the teachings in the book, the taxonomy and abstractions around “mindfulness” will make sense with a blinding clarity.

Here is a video from the Great Courses® that provides an awesome overview of mindfulness. Enjoy!