Successful business leaders never fail to amaze us with their exceptional qualities. They excel in being calm during chaotic business situations and building long-term bonds. These characteristics originate from Mindfulness, a helpful act for those aspiring to be future business leaders.

How do we define Mindfulness? It’s as simple as it sounds. Mindfulness means taking a break. It is as simple as taking a minor pause to create an awareness of your feelings and thoughts. Mindfulness also refers to being conscious when reacting to a situation and making sensible decisions. As unrealistic as it sounds, research has proven that Mindfulness is helpful for employees of corporate organizations where decisions are taken in a matter of a few seconds.

You can learn techniques of Mindfulness in two ways. The first is to let your life experiences teach you. For instance, workplace issues and misjudged decisions will be a perfect guide to gaining Mindfulness. Even though this will be a long and exhausting journey, the results will be worth it!

The second approach is complex for many; self-acceptance. Once you accept that you’re prone to mistakes, you’ll find Mindfulness. But here’s the catch! By using mindfulness techniques, you can decrease the number of errors you make.

How can one be mindful in specific? Marc Margolius drafts for us a process of three steps. The first step is to take up non-judgment clarity by reflecting on your thought process. This self-reflection is to observe how you react to unforeseen conditions without criticizing your old ways of dealing with them. All it takes is simply an acknowledgment.

The second step is recognizing the wide range of ways in which we can respond. Rather than reacting in damaging ways, we can always choose to respond healthily.

The third step is to choose how you would like to present yourself in the presence of others. You might want to give a good impression like being wise, calm, truthful, and a trustworthy person. Mindfulness allows you to paint yourself in the best way possible and be your ideal self!

Let’s create a scenario to see what Mindfulness looks like when applied in real-life situations. Ronnie is a branch manager of her restaurant and gets a leave request email from one of the chefs. This email stirs extreme anger in her. Her instinct is to give the email a harsh reply and deny the leave request.

Instead, she gives herself a minute to observe how she might prevent herself from being empathetic if she reacts harshly. She acknowledges many options for her to choose in how to respond while weighing the pros and cons. In the end, Ronnie grants the leave request in response to the chef’s hectic hours in the restaurant’s kitchen.

Knowing the difference between responding and reacting should always be very clear. To sum up, Mindfulness is an essential tool that will help you to respond rather than react. It aims to promote being thoughtful and achieving success. On a personal level, Mindfulness helps us achieve our ideal selves.