Mindlessness is Automatic habitual thought. It is

• The application of yesterday's business solutions to today's problems
• Treating information as though it is context-free and true, regardless of circumstances
• Most common when people are distracted, hurried, multitasking and/or overloaded.

Mindfulness
Opposite of Mindlessness: It is:

• Attention on the present moment; an orientation toward one's experiences in the present moment that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance.

What is Mindfulness?

At the simplest level, being mindful means knowing what you're doing (and thinking and feeling) in the present moment. Mindfulness practice helps us know clearly what is happening, and how we are reacting to what is happening, as it is happening - so that we might choose a skillful response instead of reacting mindlessly.

Because leadership is exceptionally difficult and challenging, research has found that mindfulness could be very helpful as a tool for developing social and emotional skills for working with the challenges of leadership as leaders are often expected to provide the solutions to complex problems. Mindfulness is practiced by focusing your full attention on whatever is happening in the moment with clarity and acceptance. Mindfulness increases our ability to see what is actually happening, and more importantly, our reactions to what is happening, clearly, and therefore to work more skillfully with the inevitable difficulties of life.

Mindfulness as a Benefit to Leaders; Proven by Research

Research has shown that mindfulness helps people manage and reduce difficult thoughts and feelings in many contexts: anxiety, stress, depression, chronic pain, intense emotional reactivity, and stress-related physical conditions such as psoriasis and eating disorders.

When mindfulness is strong, we can respond to difficulties in a less reactive, more conscious and accepting manner. For example, with mindfulness we can see our habitual emotional reactions in the heat of the moment. When something "pushes our buttons" and we feel intense fear or anger. Rather than react with fear and anger, mindfulness makes it possible to have those feelings without getting lost in them, so we can choose an appropriate response rather than react in an automatic and often counterproductive way.

Mindfulness also helps us see how we often relate to people or situations based on our thoughts and feelings about them rather than who they really are or what is actually happening right then. With practice, mindful awareness can help us generate insight into our habitual/unconscious reactions, our patterns of thought and interpretation, and our motivations.

Mindfulness helps Leaders develop awareness, acceptance and insight, which supports the ability to respond with greater wisdom, clarity, and compassion in any situation.

The benefits of mindfulness include increased self-awareness, self-trust, and self-acceptance; an enhanced appreciation of life; calm in the face of difficulties; more fluid adaptation to change; development of more effective coping strategies; decreases in a variety of stress-related physical symptoms, including chronic pain; significant decreases in anxiety and depression; improved concentration and creativity.

Click here for information on the next Mindful Leadership Workshop