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Practice Mindfulness And Boost Your Self-Esteem

Awareness, Mindfulness, Positivity, Wellbeing / My Holland

It happens to the best of us. We initiate or get involved in a project or some undertaking, put in tons of effort, time and energy and it goes haywire resulting in a lot less success than what we had anticipated. Short of committing Harakiri or going out of our minds and cutting out paper dolls, we go down into a spiral of self-recrimination, despair and absolute dread of trying again. Our self-esteem sinks so low, we’re scared sh-t we’d do worse or even completely fail compared to others who would have done better. Look at what the research studies say: Take consolation in the news that the recent surveys show mindfulness could help us build and secure our self-esteem, the kind of self-esteem that stays with us regardless of how big or small our successes are in comparison to other people around us. Thanks to Christopher Pepping and his associates at Griffith University in Australia, who after conducting a study among undergraduate students, have found that these following four aspects of mindfulness have a powerful influence to raise our level of self-esteem: Having an attitude that is not judgmental toward our thoughts and emotions. This helps us to have a neutral and more receptive attitude about ourselves. Putting a label on our personal experiences with memorable words. This would tend to prevent us, or at the very least divert us from getting obsessed by critical thoughts and emotions. Living in the present moment. Even our wise old folks used to say … “Be happy. Live in the moment.” Doing this helps us to avoid getting trapped in self-critical thoughts and feelings related to what we had done in the past or intend to do in the future. Allowing thoughts, emotions and feelings to enter our hearts and minds, being conscious of them but without reacting, one way or another to them. When these thoughts and feelings pop up, be aware of them, just don’t let anything prod you into reacting or responding to them.. This will eventually help you in managing them better. These results published in The Journal of Positive Psychology did support the researchers’ hypothesis that those with the foregoing mindfulness skills had higher self-esteem. And to further validate this, a subsequent study was conducted which had one group of students participating in a fifteen (15) minute mindfulness meditation while the other half of the respondents were asked similarly for fifteen (15) minutes to read the story of a certain fly-trap plant. When all participants had completed the questionnaires that rated their degree of self-esteem and mindfulness before and after the process, it was found that those who were into mindfulness meditation had a higher level of self-esteem versus those students who read the plant story. So, are you feeling low? Are those “I’m so stupid!” and “Those 5th graders are smarter than I am!” thoughts creeping up on you? Start helping yourself today. Try practicing these four dimensions of mindfulness and help get your self-esteem up there.

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How to Increase Employee Engagement

Emotional Intelligence, Positive Psychology, Wellbeing, Workplace Culture / My Holland

Organizations are now placing more emphasis on employee engagement. Hiring policies today reflect this growing trend. Companies are seeking candidates who not only possess the required skills but have the potential to be highly engaged employees. Companies are also looking inward. They are exploring ways to achieve better employee engagement in the workplace. Below are three suggestions on how you can attain this. Create an Environment for Belongingness A high salary is no longer sufficient to encourage employees to be highly engaged. Many people feel that their employment is only secure as long as their employers view their jobs as necessary. You can’t blame people when they think this way. Employees who dedicated years of their lives to an organization may suddenly lose their jobs because of downsizing or cost-cutting. Fortunately, more companies are beginning to see the benefits of creating an environment where people can feel they belong. They are bringing back the old idea that employees who share their vision are part of a family instead of an organization. Senior officers, department heads and managers are shifting to a leadership style that emphasizes “we” instead of “us” or ”them.” It’s wise if you do the same. Often, praise or an expression of affirmation is all that it takes to make an employee feel valued by your company. If you’re a leader, treat your subordinates as partners who are working with you to achieve shared goals. Unless told otherwise, keep everyone in the loop on the latest news or updates. Recognize effort beyond expectations. Finally, give credit where credit is due. Inspect the areas where your employees work. Are these areas well lit and ventilated? Are the chairs comfortable and desks big enough? Do your employees have the proper tools and equipment to do their work? People won’t feel valued if they work in poor conditions. Employees who feel they belong and appreciated are more liy to become highly engaged in their work. Coming to work no longer feels like a burden. When they are a part of something bigger, they’re bound to be excited every day they go to work. Encourage Creativity and Innovation Organizations claim they encourage employees to think outside the box. Not everyone practices what they preach. Many leaders become insecure when their subordinates come up with better ideas. Instead of encouraging creativity, they stifle it. But if you feel secure in your position, always ask your employees for their opinions and ideas. If there are better ways to perform tasks, it helps everyone in the organization. New ideas save time and also improve the bottom line. Make it a practice to listen to any new idea. Don’t dismiss it immediately if it hasn’t been tried yet. Be receptive and make comments later after you’ve made a proper study. Build Personal Relationships Get to know your employees better. Spend time with them at cafes, bars and restaurants. In a relaxed environment, you can find out what motivates them and what they enjoy doing. Who knows, you might even discover hidden skills which can be applied at work. Also, when they are comfortable with you, they’re likely to be more honest. Keep in mind you should be honest with them too. Foster friendships at your workplace. If employees work with people they see as friends, they’re more committed to the team and the organization. They’re bound to strive harder and become more engaging because they want to help their friends. You know this is true as you would always choose to work with people you call friends. Conscientiously apply the steps above and soon, you will see an improvement in your organization. What was once perhaps a group of indifferent people will now be replaced by highly engaged friends. To learn more about our upcoming trainings, programs, and events, click here.

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How do you infuse compassion in leadership?

Compassion, Leadership, Positive Psychology, Positivity, Productivity, Wellbeing / My Holland

Today, one of the bigger challenges of modern leadership is developing leaders who earnestly and sincerely give a damn about their colleagues in the workplace, their organization, community, and the bigger world. As it should be. A strong, compassionate leadership, along with a healthy corporate culture, after all, is a key factor to a business company’s growth and success. You, as a serious manager, should recognize that injecting compassion in your top people’s brand of leadership in itself is serious business. It cannot be an afterthought like a half-baked pizza. It needs no less than a well-planned, perfectly calibrated and adequately tempered heating system to beat those that come out from the ovens of the Yellow Cabs and Pizza Huts of this world. You will need an integrated approach. And here’s how : When hiring, look beyond technical skills. Sure, technical skills are important but just as essential is recognizing a candidate’s soft skills. Creativity, ability in problem-solving, imagination, intellectual humility and compassion should be right there next to software savvy and those high-sounding college degrees. Hire based on a clear understanding of what a person’s role is. A recent poll says 64% of hired personnel have no clue of what their job is. So, before you finalize those employment contracts, ask these guys to detail and define what their tasks will be, what they should be committed to and point out how they’ll fit into the organization’s culture. Foster and cultivate compassion within the whole organization. Various studies have shown clearly that genuine care for co-workers has a positive influence on a company’s bottom line since employees who enjoy being at work and have a sense of belonging in a culture anchored on compassion have generally demonstrated high productivity and efficiency. Building a culture with compassion as its centerpiece begins with leadership training. This should often be stressed. Leaders must first learn self-compassion and then learn how to effectively spin off these same considerations to their teams. In a nutshell, look into creating an environment where employees feel okay to share their feelings and speak up at any turn and not feel judged or fearful. As they begin to value themselves, their confidence will reach new heights leading to better job performance.

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Wellbeing

Practice Mindfulness And Boost Your Self-Esteem

How to Increase Employee Engagement

How do you infuse compassion in leadership?

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