MINDFULNESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The most powerful tool for emotional management is mindfulness. It is the ability to observe emotion from the outside. And this ability is trainable for everyone. It consists of disassociating yourself from the emotion, in the sense that I am not the emotion. When you observe emotions from the outside and realise that you are not 'your emotions' is when you can manage them.

In this sense, we must not let the river overflow when things are going very well or the ship sink when things are going very badly (the entrepreneur's roller coaster). 

The mindfulness state allows you to be very attentive to what is happening through observation.

I also recommend mindfulness as mental training to be in the present. The stress we suffer, in most cases, is self-generated, because we anticipate hypothetical negative consequences and also because we are stuck in the past.

The objective of mindfulness is bring your attention to the present, "because the past and the future are what generate stress. The suffering the body goes through in anticipation of what is going to happen is much worse than if it were to happen and we had to face it.

Mindfulness helps us to be able to stop and realise what is happening now. and, from there, be able to give the most appropriate response to each situation. In short, to have the mental clarity to face challenges and achieve our goals.

Improvement of the work environment, activation of creativity, strengthening of soft skills, reduction of personal and organisational stress, are some of the most outstanding benefits of the use of mindfulness in the business environment.

Entrepreneurship is one of the activities in which mindfulness has a wider field of application no doubt due to the fact that the entrepreneur moves on a kind of roller coaster ride largely caused by changes in moods, uncertainty, high level of demand, risk or stress. This negatively affects analytical skills, decision-making and productivity. There are therefore very good reasons to make mindfulness a tool that is always ready to be used when needed.

Mindfulness could be understood as mindfulness, mindful awareness or mindful presence. The English word mindfulness comes from the word "sati" from the Pali language, a language similar to Sanskrit, which was spoken more than 2,500 years ago. This is the time when the Buddha began to transmit his teachings. Sati means to remember or to bring back to the present.

In short, sati or mindfulness refers to our ability to live in the present, to live in the here and now. 

HERE AND NOW

The ability to live in the present and to recognise one's own experience is part of our human condition. However, this very condition causes our disintegrated thoughts to prevent us from having a total perception of reality as it is and we introduce discriminatory elements by fighting against what we do not like and want to disappear.

Mindfulness induces us to perceive the present as it is, to actively accept it and act accordingly. Despite experiencing something unpleasant, which is unavoidable, we avoid the added suffering of having to make it go away. We accept what we experience without further ado.

Mindfulness is implicit in many religions, but it is generally accepted that it is Buddhism that gives the discipline its greatest depth and sophistication.

MINDFULNESS IN THE WEST

For three decades now, mindfulness has been under scientific scrutiny and has gradually been integrated into Western medicine and psychology. The truth is that mindfulness is recognised as an effective way of becoming aware of ourselves, of controlling stress, and of alleviating the physical and psychological effects it generates. 

Neuroscientific advances attribute mindfulness with very positive effects on well-being. Jon Kabat-Zinn was a pioneer in the introduction of mindfulness into Western medicine and founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. There, patients practice mindfulness in the treatment of physical problems or the management of chronic pain. 

Kabat states that mindfulness is "intentionally paying attention to the present moment without judgement". Minfulness helps us to become aware of ourselves and of reality which allows us to discard worries about things that have already happened or have not yet happened, allows us to regain our inner balance, allows us to discern and face the challenges ahead of us with much more energy.

Relaxation, yoga or a simple walk that helps you to disconnect and rediscover yourself can be enough. Secondly, act with passion!!! The main way to overcome it is to enjoy your work day by day. Your business has to be your passion. You have to love what you do. Also, it is important, leaning on your environment. Talking more with my partner, my brother, my parents or a friend about my day-to-day life helped me to continue to grow as a professional.

Finally, exercise. "Sport helped me to force my head to rest. When you are sweating and struggling to keep up with the class, you stop thinking and just focus on breathing and keeping up".

All this makes minfulness an excellent resource for the entrepreneur!!!

For more information about mindfulness, we recommend this informative video from the Dr. Mario Alonso Puig (+).