I wear a small black string on my right wrist.
some one asked me recently what it’s for.
“It’s to remind me to be mindful.” I replied.
“Mindful of what?” they countered.
(Pause from me)
“Mindful of being mindful I guess…”
Somewhat perplexed my friend walked a way.
My yoga teacher summed it up better.
While focusing on our breathing she encouraged us to center ourselves and tune out the outside world.
To focus on our intentions whether they be peace, connectedness, joy etc.
For me this is being mindful.
Sometimes I look at the string on my wrist and it reminds me of my commitment to losing weight and getting healthier.
So I put the unopened candy back in the jar or reach for the yogurt instead of the chips.
Sometimes I look at the string and I become more mindful of professional goals and I refocus on the things that are most important to take care of to reach them.
Sometimes in a moment of stress (whether work or family related) the black string reminds me that “this too shall pass” and to be mindful of all the blessings and good I have in my life.
What’s all this have to do with branding?
I think a lot of times we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our lives.
The stress of deadlines and office politics that we fail to really focus on the issue in front of us.
Perhaps a littel more mindfulness, a deep breath, a clear undistracted focus on the issue at hand would help up come up with stronger more thoughtful solutions.
I always think the most disorganized people are the ones that seem to hide behind the veil of “busyiness”.
They are on the phone for example and checking email, at the same time.
But they’re not giving full attention to either. So they are not really responding well, dealing with the issue, or giving the proper attention to deal with the issue at hand -really commit to a solution and move on.
Perhaps a bit more focus on being mindful would help.
That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
How do you stay in the present?
Hi Julie,
though it seems at first sight that these are issues not worth writing about, it is in fact becoming a very important issue in our everday lifes. Coping with all kinds of “attention eaters” and dealing with our most important ressource every day: our time!
The most important thing I learned is that stress and trying to manage a dozen things simultaneously (the holy “multi-tasking”) doesn’t lead to better results. Instead I try to do one thing after another.
A suitable picture for me would be someone who goes on a long walk and tries to make a dozen steps at once. It seems as if he can proceed much faster…but you will stumble, fall over and be short of breath pretty quickly.
The other approach is to do pne step after another and focus on every single step. This way you will be able to control where to go and always see where you’ve been coming from.
Best wishes,
Florian
I TRY to stay in the present by doing one thing at a time.
It doesn’t always happen, but when I do, I’ve found that professionally, I’m more efficient, productive and alert if I focus on the task at hand. It takes effort to NOT check email while on a client call and to NOT think about another project while working on another, but when I’m able to do it, it pays off.
It also pays off in my personal life. Focusing on one thing at a time, whether it be the conversation I’m having with a friend or my morning breakfast, gives me a greater sense of satisfaction and connection than if I’m distracted by other elements.
In fact, as I write this it seems like being mindful is also similar to being respectful. It’s about giving tasks and people they respect they deserve. Including yourself!
On the flip side, I think it’s important to balance mindfulness with a little bit of non-mindfulness too. It’s what makes us human. Judith Warner writes about this in the NYTimes – the article reminded me that letting go is good too!
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/the-worst-buddhist-in-the-world/
In regards to brands, maybe it means being prioritizing and focusing on the most important tasks at hand instead of trying to do a million things at once and scattering your resources in a million directions, and knowing who your target is and really connecting to them instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
Comments are closed.