Luke Wright: Your Mindful Business
It’s no secret that there’s a cost of living squeeze happening, with people and businesses feeling the pinch. But as Meditation Instructor Luke Wright says, it’s the approach taken during such times that shows the foundation of people and businesses alike.
Fear is a natural response to external changes that are beyond our control, and feeling helpless isn’t lovely no matter which way you slice it. However, for those with a solid foundation in the values of their business and themselves, fear is the uninvited guest who is welcomed to the dinner table nonetheless.
Often survival mechanisms can kick in without conscious consideration, with anxiety and stress leading to an increase in the hustle or panic decisions – a reaction based in the psychology of lack. There’s no denying your work rate is important, however the atmosphere you inhabit while carrying out that work can make all the difference to how it is received.
Being conscious about our fear is the first door to walk through in the quest to transforming it and to be mindful of your own atmosphere is the first step in the ability to contribute ‘calm’ to colleagues and clients alike.
To that end, what are the tools you need for your stability when the cycles of change sweep through? It’s the same in business as it is for an individual: a foundation in values and principles with contingencies in place – rather than a foundation based in ideas and expectations – with trust in yourself being the basis for everything else.
Therein lies the rub. To trust ourselves beyond the environment around us is no small task, for it’s the environment that has shaped us from the start. To swim upstream despite the voices telling us otherwise is an exercise not so much in self-belief as it is in self-understanding.
Knowing your ‘why’, both individually and for your business, is the ballast required when the seas get choppy. Another is seeing what you do have in your boat – your health, your family, your friends, your staff (if that’s the case) – rather than looking for what is currently lacking: revenue, leads, clients.
Acknowledge the reality of the situation and find your foundation in the things that will always be with you, not in what will always come and go. In the words of spiritual teacher Anthony de Mello, prioritise your eulogy virtues not your resume virtues; who you are, not what you do.
There’s nothing like a rough patch to find out what’s really important and why, and making that process conscious before it gets drastic will help counter decisions based on fear and seeking short-term comfort.
In the principles of mindfulness, it is the endured discomfort that leads to long-term stability, expanded capacities and experience for the next challenges. You are the arbiter of your response to life, both personally and professionally, and tending to that everyday, even during stormy seas when your mind is insistently reacting with fear, is stability and long-term peace in the making.
First things first:
- Stop for three minutes and give attention to what does matter most – this puts your system into a more open and receptive state.
- Turn your attention to your circumstance, individual or business, while staying open and receptive as much as you can – this trains your system to view your circumstances from a less reactionary standpoint.
- Allow yourself to feel the circumstance, even if it’s uncomfortable, without the need to actually do something about it.
- Notice how what matters most is still the case, even if you’re uncomfortable – this trains your system to accommodate discomfort without going into a fear response.
- Practice with the small things so that when the larger challenges arise your ballast stays true.
Check out Luke’s website www.lukewright.com.au
