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It seems hard to go through the world nowadays without hearing about the concept of mindfulness, but if this is your first time, let us be your introduction. Mindfulness is essentially just the idea of attuning yourself to the present moment and paying deep, close attention to your surroundings and tasks at hand, without letting your mind wander or letting intrusive thoughts serve as a distraction.

Mindfulness is hugely popular in the world of wellness, therapeutic practice, and self-help, and it’s easy to see why. When we practice mindfulness, we align our minds and our bodies rather than letting them drift apart or allowing our minds to do what they do best: ruminating and anticipating that which might hurt us.

Mindfulness is also essential to the FISH! philosophy, as focusing our attention and being aware of our thoughts is core to practicing the four central FISH! pillars:

Be There: Engage fully with the present moment

To Be There is to be fully present to those around you, listening and helping without distraction or judgment, and Being There also means doing the same for yourself. You simply cannot have the former without the latter, and finding time to be present with your own environment (both the physical environment around you as well as your internal mental state) is crucial to showing up successfully for others.

While we’re big fans of meditation if you’re able to find the time and focus to do it, mindfulness doesn’t have to mean setting aside 15 minutes to clear your mind entirely. Mindfulness practice can be as short as finding 2 minutes between meetings, before lunch, etc to set an alarm, close your eyes, and just focus on your breathing. Or it can be as simple as focusing your senses fully on any routine task like eating, washing your hands, or walking through the courtyard. Any time you can find to focus fully on you will be great Be There practice for when you need to focus fully on others. 

Choose Your Attitude: Be mindful of your thoughts and judgments 

Being mindful isn’t just about focusing your attention on your external surroundings; it’s also about gaining a useful awareness of our internal surroundings as well. Mindfulness allows us to take a step back and acknowledge our own thoughts and judgments as they pass through our minds, rather than acting immediately in response to them with little-to-no consideration.

This skill is the fundamental core of Choose Your Attitude, which pushes us to be more in control over how our internal thoughts and feelings influence our external actions and reactions. When we can be mindful of our thoughts, we can choose how we respond to them and choose how we show up for others. This is how we Choose Our Attitude to be successful in our workplace, rather than being controlled by our emotions and snap judgments.

Play: Accept and embrace every moment and opportunity 

A core part of mindfulness is to be aware of your present moment without passing judgment. After all, no matter what situation we’re in, the simple truth is that we are in that situation, and the only way out is through. By acknowledging the present moment without making immediate snap judgments, we’re better set up to see all the opportunities available to us, which is foundational to the idea of Play.

As you may be well aware, to Play isn’t just to have fun; it’s to keep an open mind about different ideas, different possibilities, and different approaches to solving problems. When we practice mindfulness, we open ourselves to these opportunities and set ourselves up to play with them, viewing each one fully and completely before deciding on a path forward.

Make Their Day: Rethink your approach to conflict

As we practice mindfulness and learn to Be There and Choose Our Attitudes more consciously, this attention can be turned to how we approach interpersonal interactions and even conflicts. Rather than allowing our emotions to take control and react to negative engagements without thinking, mindfulness allows us to make more conscientious choices about how we approach others, even when we feel they’re attacking, provoking, or criticizing us.

Learning to share your position using “I feel” statements instead of “you” statements allows you to express your honest feelings without going on the offensive in return or giving in to someone else’s negative pressure, and will often prompt someone else to follow your lead and soften their approach. When this happens, it can be an amazing opportunity to engage in real conversation–even on difficult topics–and heal or improve relationships. And if that doesn’t Make Their Day, we don’t know what will!

Ideas to Reflect On:

• Do you find yourself easily distracted when others are talking, or unable to hold your focus on a single thought? How might mindfulness practice help improve these abilities?
• Find 3 times a day (either a few minutes of space or an activity to focus on) where you can practice mindfulness, and put that into your calendar. What are they?
• How can mindfulness of your own thoughts put you in control of difficult situations, such as receiving critical feedback or engaging in disagreements with coworkers?

Whether you work in business, education, or healthcare, FISH! offers accessible, intuitive solutions to empower your workers, bring your team together, and avoid the symptoms of impending burnout. We invite you to contact us today at 800.695.4534 or info@charthouse.com to speak with our cultural specialists, who will help you find the right FISH! Philosophy solutions that will nurture your organizational culture and motivate your team!

Want to Implement FISH! in your organization?

Are you a leader?  Do you train others?  Do you want others to be leaders?

Charthouse Learning, the creator of the world-famous, award-winning, FISH! film is offering an in-person, 2-day workshop, interactive Train-the-Trainer lead by our Senior Trainer.

During our time together you’ll learn how to:

• Share the motivation and foundation of FISH!
• Introduce the FISH! film with the four practices.
• Present the invitation to apply the practices in everyday interaction with others.
• Build a sustainability and reinforcement program to transform the culture.
• Pick up tips from other FISH! Philosophers and develop a strategy to embed the practices into the DNA of your culture.
• Create an energized organization that is the “first choice” for employees, faculty, staff, leaders, and customers.

Plus, you will learn how to create a workplace where people choose to “be and bring” their best self everywhere, every day.

At the FISH! Train the Trainer you will:

• Dive Deep: Discover The FISH! Philosophy – full of “A-ha!” takeaways and perspective-shifting realizations.
• Transform: Make the four FISH! practices – Play, Be There, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude – an essential part of your professional and personal skill set.
• Discover: Learn practical ways to apply the FISH! practices to improve teamwork, service, leadership, retention and performance.
• Develop: Brainstorm strategies to embed The FISH! Philosophy into the DNA of your culture, strengthening your mission, vision and values.
• Collaborate: Learn and laugh with like-minded folks from across the globe.

Click Here for More FISH! Train the Trainer Information

Click Here for More FISH! Executive Briefing Information

 

Whether you work in business, education, or healthcare, FISH! offers accessible, intuitive solutions to empower your workers, bring your team together, and introduce Play into your organization. We invite you to contact us today at 800.695.4534 or info@charthouse.com to speak with our cultural specialists, who will help you find the right FISH! Philosophy solutions that will nurture your organizational culture and motivate your team!

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