From "undead" to leader

eo(name and character details changed), 40 years old, European, successful manager,share:

"Sabeprofessor , Mindfulness has opened up a new perspective for meI am no longer afraid of my emotions and I believe that this has allowed me to embrace with curiosity every moment when I am with people. Inow feel capable of real success in a team leadership position. ”

ThichNhat Hanh, Vietnamese monk and considered by many as the "father" of Mindfulness in the West, says in his book"The Miracle of Mindfulness": 

"Work is only one part of life. But work is life only when done in Mindfulness. Otherwise, a person becomes a living dead."

We see management courses as processes of personal transformation, adventures of self-discovery on the way to successful leadership. Mindfulness emerges as an essential tool for self-knowledge, for the process that begins with self-leadership and progresses towards solid team leadership. Perhaps... in the words of Thich Nhat Hanh... Mindfulness emerges to "resurrect the living dead", to create truly Alive Leaders.

For managers and teachers whose "business is numbers", Mindfulness is received as "esoteric bullshit". I remember the initial reaction to my proposal to give Mindfulness classes to students: "But what is this Mindfulness bullshit? You know what our students need are strong analytical tools. When I retorted that Mindfulness is an analytical tool, laughter relaxed the hitherto "tense" atmosphere in a Mindful moment.

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After all, what is (this no-brainer of)Mindfulness?

It is the "miracle" of the change of perception that is offered in every instant in which we are truly present. A change of perception from fear (of people, as in Teo's case, or of challenges, or of the market, or of KPI's, or of the "boss") and of the past (of "failures", of mistakes) to confidence (in myself and in others) and of the present (the basis for building a successful future for myself, the team and the company). A change in perception that allows us to "resurrect" in each moment and go from "undead manager" to Living Leader. 

Mindfulness allows us to become more aware of how our mind works so that we can become the present 'observer' of thought dynamics instead of operating on autopilot.

Mindfulness practice is based on objective observation (full attention) of the present moment, of the situation in which we find ourselves. We objectively observe the situation as it is; not as we would like it to be, but as it is. And even if it is only for a brief moment, we refrain from judging the situation.

Mindfulness can therefore be "defined" (initially in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts) as the act of paying objective attention to the present moment without judgment. The techniques of focusing on the breath or on the body's sensations are simple to experience and immediately allow one to alter one's perception of the present moment, making room for new creative problem-solving possibilities.

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And what are the effects of practising Mindfulness?

The scientifically recognised benefits of the recurrent practice of Mindfulness are multiple: from the visible effects on health improvement (for example, the UK's NHS has embraced the provision of Mindfulness services as a way of reducing the costs of illness) to the more subtle effects of the perception of increased sense of well-being and the building of more rewarding interpersonal relationships. And as "the cherry on top "we increase our perception of time abundance: as Mark Williams, author of the book "Mindfulness: The Eight-week Plan that freed millions of people from stress and anxiety", says, "you will soon discover that although you feel time-poor, you are actually moment-rich".

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Does it look like a miracle?

Maybe it is, try it and decide for yourself! Want to know how? Breathe... and learn to live in Mindfulness.