This month, our three articles focus on mindfulness. I intentionally picked this topic because I want to elevate my own mindfulness. I will admit that at times I find myself operating without a great deal of thought. When I do that, I’m not working at my best.

As a professional certified coach (PCC), I take my work seriously and commit to my ongoing development of reflective practices. After all, people are opening up with me and with themselves about ways they want to lead and live a better life.

One of the newly revised International Coach Federation (ICF) competencies addresses a demonstration of ethical practices. Within this competency there is specific attention paid to developing and maintaining a mindset that is open, curious, flexible and client-centered. This year, I will increase my own awareness of mindfulness in preparation for and during my client sessions and within my own life’s journey. What about you?

Below are some research-based ideas about the importance of using mindful exercises. While you may not see a need for each idea, what are some possible ones that you are willing to try? Or, if you already practice mindfulness, how do these ideas align with your best practices?

Talk to Yourself Using Positive Language

What do you do when you feel like you have messed up or even suffered a major failure? Martin Seligman, recognized as a leader of positive psychology, says, “Talk to yourself. Give yourself a cognitive intervention, and counter defeatist thinking with an optimistic attitude. Challenge your downbeat thinking, and replace it with a positive outlook.”

Retrain Your Brain

Daniel Goleman, who quotes Seligman in his article on “Resilience for the Rest of Us,” reminds us that everyone messes up at one time or another, while few of us ever experience major failures. So, let’s look at the annoying screw-up’s (his words, not mine), minor setbacks, and irritating upsets, that every leader experiences. Goleman says, “Resilience is the answer but with a different flavor – you need to retrain your brain.” Yes, we can actually retrain our brain on best ways to bounce back from life’s downers.

Think about a time when you became highly agitated and said something you later regretted. When you became angry, your brain, specifically the amygdala, went into action to protect you. The important point is how quickly we recover from the hijacked state so that we don’t later regret our actions or words.

Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at The University of Wisconsin, worked with the CEO of a high pressure 24/7 biotech start-up and meditation expert, Jon Kabat-Zinn, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School to strengthen employees and give them an opportunity to teach the brain to register anything happening in the present moment with full focus – but without reacting.

Here are the guidelines they offer for each of us:

1. Find a quiet, private place where you can be undistracted for a few minutes. For instance, close your office door and mute your phone.
2. Sit comfortably, with your back straight but relaxed.
3. Focus your awareness on your breath, staying attentive to the sensations of the inhalation and exhalation, and start again on the next breath.
4. Do not judge your breathing or try to change it in any way. See anything else that comes to mind as a distraction—thoughts, sounds, whatever. Let them go and return your attention to your breath.

After eight weeks and an average of 30 minutes a day practicing mindfulness, the employees became more resilient and less stressed-out. Also, they remembered what they loved about their work.

We know the importance of physical exercise for our bodies. Let’s include a bit of daily mindfulness exercise to strengthen our positive attitudes.

Source: “Resilience for the Rest of Us,” by Daniel Goleman, from Mindfulness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series; Harvard Business Review Press; 2017)