Big Career Change? Do These 3 Things for Mindfulness
If you’re an employee of a large or fast-paced company, you know that change is constant.
When a company restructures, moves headquarters or transitions into a new market, questions about job security, career development and personal finances arise for employees. This affects not only our work performance but also our mental state at work and at home.
As my Fortune 6 company underwent relocation, I turned to my mindfulness meditation practice and shared this practice with my colleagues. I learned a few things along the way. Here are three tips to make mindfulness a part of your day when facing big career transitions.
1. Start or commit to a mindfulness practice
My company was restructuring and relocating from San Francisco to Dallas. Needless to say, things around the office were uncertain and in constant flux. Colleagues were either contemplating moving with the company and relocating their families to Dallas or determining the next step of their careers in the bay area.
In stressful times, every person reacts differently. Whether you distract yourself with food or the TV, the first step to release stress is to simply become aware of it.
A mindfulness practice opens the possibility to become aware of the present moment exactly as it is. My colleagues told me that they were uncertain about whether to make the move with the company but the mindfulness sessions helped them to see their options more clearly. It also offered them the opportunity to realize what state their body and mind was in because of the unresolved questions.
For example, many of us clench our jaws and teeth while sitting in a meeting or at our desk — due to stress. In mindfulness practice, we become aware of this sensation and try to release it. This heightened level of awareness becomes stronger the more we practice mindfulness. Overtime, the goal is to become aware of the stress before it manifests in the body. When the body and mind are relaxed, we can think more clearly about what we truly want.
If your company does not offer in-person mindfulness sessions, give an app like Headspace a shot. Headspace offers free meditations you can do anywhere. Try reserving a conference room and practicing the meditation as a group. If Headspace is not an option, simply play background music such as the piano or the sounds of rain for 15 minutes.
2. Team up with colleagues for support and accountability
In a time of transition, there are many events that will begin to lose their cadence due to attrition and prioritization. If you begin to lose trust in processes that once were a given, it may be difficult to feel valued and productive.
Mindfulness is a beautiful response to the whirlwind of uncertainty that can feel overwhelming at times. Come together with your colleagues in a room to practice mindfulness and create a community of support and trust. For remote team members, offer a telepresence option. In my experience, attending mindfulness sessions that are set to a reliable cadence in the same or similar space can be beneficial to company morale and feeling self-confident.
3. Set an intention for each session
My colleagues’ common concerns were building resilience and reducing stress. Therefore, my mindfulness curriculum focused first on stress reduction and breath/body awareness. In the later sessions, we focused on manifesting our deepest desires and dreams for our careers.
When you practice mindfulness, try to set an intention at the beginning of each session. Even something as simple as “I am grateful for my ability to breathe,” can create an anchor point to come back to when the mind starts to wonder.
My hope for you, and anyone who practices mindfulness, is to spark the power of resilience that lies within us all. A kind of resilience that can weather unexpected job and career changes and see the beauty of starting down a new path. For me, no matter what challenges I face in my career or personal life, I know that my mindfulness practice helps me to remain flexible and joyful in the face of uncertainty.
