As things speed up and tasks pile up, it can be easy to drop habits and practices that help us in the name of being more productive. The Durée & Company Dynamos have been working with Shelly Tygielski during our year of mindfulness, and she’s made a difference in our work environment since the beginning of the year. After 20 plus years in Corporate America, Shelly turned to teaching “modern-life mindfulness” full-time, with a special emphasis on the business sector and athletic organizations. Ever since working with Shelly, We asked Shelly to debunk the top three myths about mindfulness in the workplace to learn more about how to implement it into our daily lives.
Myth #1: I’ve got 1,000 things on my “To Do List” and I’ll never be able to quiet my mind or stop my anxiety over them.
You’re in luck. The goal of meditation is NOT to clear your mind of the 70,000 (!) thoughts you have on an average day. The goal of meditation is to learn to co-exist with your thoughts, be mindful of your thoughts as they arise and be in control of your response to them. An unmindful mind reacts; a mindful mind responds. If you find that as you sit in silence, your mind immediately takes you to the place where you are thinking of the things on your agenda or “To Do List,” notice your thoughts and how you react to them (physically and mentally.) See if you can file them away for later and come back to the present moment breath.
Myth #2: I can’t sit in a meditation position at work and I don’t have the equipment I need to meditate.
Meditation is the most portable thing you will ever own; it’s even more portable than your phone! You can access it anywhere, anytime and can be lying in bed, sitting on a plane or in a long meeting. A meditation practice requires no investment in equipment, doesn’t dictate that you have to sit a certain way, wear a certain outfit or say a specific thing. You don’t need to go to a fancy center or pay a meditation teacher or coach. All you need is the will and a conscious mind. You can find some amazing, free web content or apps on the topic to help you get started. However, you can also just set a timer and sit in silence, noticing your breath and thoughts (no judging!). Nobody even needs to know that you are meditating when you are on that conference call! You can focus on your breath or count your breath in silence and still experience the same effects.
Myth #3: I don’t have time to meditate, there is so much on my plate already.
For meditation to be effective, you only need ten minutes a day. If you can’t find ten minutes to spare in your day, you may need to rethink your life. The only thing you need other than ten minutes is a daily commitment to finding that ten minutes – consistency. Think of meditation as a “gym for your brain.” You don’t go to the gym for a week and expect to come out with washboard abs. A physically fit body requires dedication. So, too, does a fit mind.
Now it’s your turn! Visit Shelly’s Facebook, Instagram and website to learn more about how to lead a more mindful life. Follow our team’s journey to mindfulness on our Instagram @DureeCoPR.
About Durée & Company
Durée & Company, Inc. is an award-winning full-service public relations, marketing and special events firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Aspen, Colorado. The firm serves the corporate, agency and non-profit arenas for local, national and international clients focusing on public relations for real estate, public relations for restaurants, public relations for law firms, public relations for charities, public relations for healthcare, and many more. Durée & Company services include Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Special Events, and Radio Promotions and Outreach.
