Focus is a fundamental requirement in today’s workplace. In the knowledge workforce focus is necessary for productivity and efficiency; It’s necessary for quality and for safety; It’s necessary for self-awareness; And it’s also necessary for the practices of mindfulness and meditation. A colleague of mine who suffered from alcohol addiction, found it impossible to focus for any length of time. This lack of focus blocked her ability to do the meditation and prayer taught in the 12-step Program she was participating in for a sober life. She was however, able to re-wire her brain and train herself for focus and meditation, and she shares her story in her book “Madly Chasing Peace – How I went from Hell to Happy in Nine Minutes a day”, by Dina Proctor.
Dina is a bestselling author, speaker, and coach for corporations and individuals. She developed a very simple and quick technique to focus within. Dina’s 9-minutes a day, 3×3 Technique (3 minutes, 3 times a day) delivers impactful changes and has earned the support of co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield, renowned cell-biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton, professional coach and teacher Bob Doyle from The Secret, and a featured presence on Maria Shriver’s blog, among many others. Dina has given me permission to share her technique which is found on page 141 of her book.
“Many times I will do nothing more than sit quietly with my eyes closed and count how many times my heart beats during the three minutes. When I first started meditating, I tried counting how many breaths I took but kept getting distracted – maybe because there was so much time between breaths that my mind had a chance to wander. For whatever reason, putting a hand over my chest to feel and count my heartbeats with my eyes closed keeps me completely focused. Even if my thoughts are negative or overwhelming before I sit down to meditate, distracting myself with this little task always gives me relief.
It also helps for me to have a mantra or some words I can repeat over and over to give my crazy mind something to put its focus on. My favorite mantra that I use when I’m feeling overwhelmed, anxious or paralyzed with fear is: “I’m open, I’m willing. Show me. Guide me from within.” This mantra puts space around whatever thoughts are choking me and creates an opening inside of me for willingness, letting go and a bit of peace. You can choose whatever words suit you. Other examples are:
a) “I know there is another way to approach this. Just because I can’t see it right now doesn’t mean it’s not there. I am open to the possibility of a new idea, a new way of doing this.”
b) “There is space inside me for new ideas to flow in and to show themselves. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t need to. I’m open to new ideas.”
It can be as easy as setting the timer on your phone for three minutes, three times a day. If you find at first three minutes is just too long to do this, then start with just one minute and increase the timer by 15 seconds every day until you’ve made it to the three minute mark. You will soon notice that the three minutes flies by in no time at all. It is in these moments of total focus that your emotional energy is in harmony within you and around you. It is in these moments of total focus that you are at peak performance.
This is an example of just one of many techniques/exercises for training your brain for focus. Using your innate skill of Positive Presence will create the necessary thought habits for a focused brain. Learning the skill of Positive Presence provides you with a plethora of tools, exercises and techniques that will lead you to a greater capacity for achieving peak performance, for building and maintaining good relationships, and for experiencing good health.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.