Harmony Within: Meeting Professional Development Goals Through Mindfulness

A calming wall of foliage with a neon pink sign saying "And Breathe"

Western society is fast-paced and results-driven, making it hard to prioritize your inner well-being despite its importance in long-term professional development. Studies have shown that maintaining good mental health is vital to work performance by building resilience and creating coping mechanisms. It's no longer a secret; taking care of your inner world will have a direct and positive influence on your outer world. Here you will find 5 practices for utilizing mindfulness to reach your professional development goals.

1. Prioritize Self Care

It is all too easy to get caught up in a work project and end up making small sacrifices that build up over time, like working through lunch or skipping your afternoon walk. While there are times when you need to be flexible with your schedule, it's vital to make self-care your number one priority. You can't pour from an empty cup. It's just not sustainable. Little moments build up, so even if it's just taking a sip of water or using the restroom, ensure you are prioritizing self-care daily.

2. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness calms both the body and the mind by reducing anxiety, slowing your thoughts, and improving brain functions. For example, you might find yourself stressing over a deadline, but unable to complete the work because your mind won't stop thinking of all the consequences of missing the deadline. In moments like this, you can practice meditation or other mindfulness exercises. You might practice box breathing (4-second breath in, hold for 4 seconds, 4-second breath out, hold for 4 seconds, repeat) or use the 5 Senses Grounding Technique (finding a color, a scent, something to touch, etc).

3. Set Boundaries

Boundaries allow others to know what you will and will not allow. Maintaining strong boundaries is important for preserving peace within yourself and among coworkers. The key to ensuring a boundary works is being prepared to enforce it, should someone choose to cross it. The easiest way to enforce a crossed boundary is to remove yourself from a situation entirely. Nevertheless, this isn't always possible in a work setting. So, sometimes boundary setting includes letting a coworker know that if they continue getting in your personal space, you will bring your concern to management.

4. Embrace a Growth Mindset

No matter your years of experience or the number of framed PhDs you have, everyone has more to learn. It's one of the beauties of being human. Thus, stay curious and open to learning new things. Have grace for yourself when you make mistakes because each one is a learning opportunity. It's better to fail and try again than to never learn anything new. Surround yourself with people and media who maintain a growth mindset, as they'll keep you motivated to keep expanding your knowledge and skills.

5. Seek Support

Humans are social creatures, whether Capitalism likes it or not. No matter what the marketing companies want you to believe, you can't and shouldn't have to do it all alone. Reach out to friends and family members when you're no longer feeling quite like yourself; They can help remind you of your values and ambitions. Lastly, utilize the mental health benefits offered by your job or city as many organizations offer free counseling, classes, and learning materials.