Many of us have jobs that we consider stressful, but we often forget we have the power to control what we let cause us stress. On this adventure we call life, I’ve learned that through meditation I can keep myself calm in tense situations. It’s taken some practice , but the benefits are undeniable.
At one point in my life I was constantly believing that people were thinking negatively of me. It affected my performance at work, and how I perceived my coworkers. I was caught up in my thoughts and I let if affect how I saw the world. Like many people, I have a job that can get very chaotic very quick. Because of my years of practice with meditation and self-accountability, I’ve been able to keep a fairly level head during stressful situations. I’ve been practicing meditation for about 4 years now and I use what I’ve learned to help me stay calm when others tend to start getting emotional. My current challenge is maintaining focus. Sometimes if there is too much going on I can get easily distracted and forget to implement what I’ve practiced. In these moments I allow my emotions to get the best of me.
For those unfamiliar with meditation, it’s a common practice to focus on your body, breath and monitor the thoughts that occur. It is fine for your mind to wander at times, and when this happens attention should be brought back to the breath. This practice transfers to our everyday lives and helps us be more present. In my experience, the more I have going on the harder it is for me to maintain being present.
With my current job, attending life coaching school, and all the things I want to accomplish, meditation is more important than ever for me. When I don’t practice regularly, the effects become painfully apparent. My mind wonders, at times I feel like my mind is in a haze, and I get frustrated/irritated far quicker.
People are starting to acknowledge that meditation is a legitimate form of stress relief (among many other things I’ll go over another time). That said, there are still far too many people who have not experienced the benefits first hand because they don’t know where to start. This is where guided meditations come into play. Meditation can be a task to master, especially if you’re on your own, or not in the right mindset. My mind tends to wander quite a bit and so it’s been a hard 4 years for me. I understand the basic concepts of mediation, but still find occasional guidance to be infinitely helpful.
Guided meditations have been a huge help for me. They help in monitoring my thoughts so that my mind drifts less. I use the voice to guide me back to the present when I get lost in my thoughts. All it takes is 5-15 minutes a day to get the mind back in the game and focused on the tasks at hand.
The next time you’re on a brink of a meltdown at work (or anywhere) I invite you to try meditation. Take 15 minutes (during your lunch or break if possible) and try it out. Don’t think about what others are thinking about what you’re doing, you can even listen to this with your eyes open. Just plug-in your headphones and focus on the voices(don’t worry you’re not going crazy!).
I’ve posted a video below. This is one of the guided meditations I use. There are a wide spectrum of different guided meditations out there, I recommend experimenting. They range in length from 5 minutes to 2 hours depending on what you want to get out of it.
Did you find this useful. Do you think that this is all nonsense and unnecessary? Please share your thoughts. I want to continue to grow and help others grow along the way.