Will mindfulness hurt your career?

When we work, most of our mental space is being used up by applying our energy toward a certain task, worrying about deadlines or responsibilities, or ruminating on past mistakes or conversations.  Sometimes we are even susceptible to bringing these defaults into our lunch breaks and home with us (or outside of our working hours) as our careers can be important to us, and we worry about performing well. Although some anxiety and self-reflection can help make improvements and complete tasks, most of us tend to get caught up in unproductive fears and doubts.

Mindfulness can be a great way to not only help ground those insecurities and concerns but also provide a necessary “brain-break.”  Mindfulness connects to the present moment, whatever that looks like including any emotions and thoughts that arise.  For example, if you are working on meeting a deadline, you may take a mindful break to ground yourself by focusing on your breath, observing any emotions or thoughts that show up (rather than being victim to them).  This break can allow your brain to re-energize, giving you more momentum to push through the task you are involved in. 

Practicing mindfulness outside of work can also help with performance and recharging.  If you often struggle with thinking about work when you aren’t working, you are probably spending a lot of time and energy replaying those thoughts rather than truly getting a break and/or being in the moment with yourself, friends, or your family.  Implementing mindfulness for even five minutes a day can reboot your brain and help you focus on what’s happening now vs. what may happen tomorrow, next week, or a month down the road.  Continually contemplating all you have to do or haven’t done can lead to burnout and doesn’t permit us the mental space we all need away from our jobs (even if we love what we do!).   Letting ourselves be present at the moment can help us to feel more enabled in completing tasks required of us eventually. 

If you want to try out mindfulness for yourself, you can search for guided scripts on Youtube, through Google, or through the apps such as Calm or Headspace.  Repetition is key here as mindfulness is a skill our brains need to practice often to build.  Mindfulness doesn’t always work for everybody, but giving it a try could be worth your time if you struggle with work-related anxieties!