24 Feb Mindfulness……Getting past the hype

Mindfulness conjures up all sorts of ‘happy-clappy’ positive thinking stuff, but can it ever be truly helpful in our busy chaotic world? My first thoughts were quite skeptical: do we ever have time to add something else in just to help us be more ‘present’? I had to admit that my first thoughts were that it might be for some people, but not for me. I could also never see how Mindfulness would translate to the corporate world – it seems too ‘spiritual’, too detached from the cold hard reality facing most people in organisations today.

Never one to give up though, I decided to sign up for a Mindfulness training course to test out my own prejudices and to see if there was anything to be gained from becoming more ‘Mindful’. How wrong I was proved to be! The wonderful Ronnie Freeman – a Chartered Psychologist and accredited Mindfulness trainer – transformed my ideas in a very short space of time.

Instead of ‘finding time’ to do Mindfulness, I discovered that being mindful is a way of life and that it can only bring benefits if incorporated into your everyday routine. I also discovered that it doesn’t take time, in fact it buys it back for you. By practising 3 minutes of Mindfulness a day, I now feel that I have more time because I can free my mind from the everyday ‘clutter’ that usually gets in the way of me focusing. Our own minds contain such a lot of ‘inner speak’ that it is sometimes difficult to push through it all. If only everyone saw these benefits, how much more productive and energetic would we all be?

Come along to our CPD Day on the 15^th March to hear Ronnie Freeman speak about her experiences of using Mindfulness. You can also find out how Mindfulness can become part of your own daily routine by signing up for our accredited 2-day Mindfulness Training programme in May that ECA is delighted to be delivering in collaboration with Ronnie. We look forward to seeing you there!