I was live on Facebook talking about how great leaders develop certain mastery by developing certain habits. One of the habits great leaders develop is mindfulness. Mindfulness is not just a function of the mind. On top of being mindful of what you think, you should also be mindful of your words, behaviors, and actions.

Ask questions such as does what I think right now reflects who I truly am (or who I want to be) and what I stand for? Does this word or this behavior or this action align with who I’m and my values?

Be also mindful of whether your words, behaviors, and/or actions build or tear down your self, your people, or community. Be mindful of the full impacts of your words, behaviors, and actions and if you feel that they negatively affect who you’re, your and your company’s brand, and the people around you don’t say or behave or act that way.

From my experience, I can tell you that being mindful all the time and in every circumstance is hard. However, I came up with certain approaches to increase my mindfulness. For example, whenever I get an email or text that irritates me and tempts me to respond right away with anger and without thinking (mindlessly), I would say to myself, let me respond to this in an hour time. By then, I will most probably have enough perspective and mindfully write the response that reflects who I’m, and according to my core values showing respect to the other person even if I may not agree with what they said.
Another tip: When somebody offends me or treats me badly, I put myself in their shoes. Not always, but mostly, I immediately start to experience empathy for the person. I right away remind myself how myself too imperfect and have said or behaved or done similar things in the past against other people without being conscious the impacts of these against the other person. I give people the benefit of the doubt believing that they may not consciously aware how they impacted me.

Here is how I’ll start the email or text in response to an unpleasant email or text 🙂 …I understand that this is important to you. I know how it feels like… Then, I may express my feeling afterward in writing while still showing respect in my words, adding some emoticons, etc.

Of course, I don’t always succeed but I’m making some progress. What about you? Watch the facebook chat (https://www.facebook.com/PROLeadershipGlobal/videos/428949774641155/). It gives you some new perspectives and encourages you to start to be mindful. You cannot lead successfully, in the 21st C, without developing self-awareness and mindfulness.

Wherever you may be in your mindfulness journey, keep working on it, and take it to the next level by practicing mindfulness on a consistent basis.

You may also consider reading more about these. The first chapter of my third book ‘Soft Skills That Make or Break Your Success’ (https://successpws.com/?page_id=2254) provides some great insights, tools, and approaches to develop your self-awareness, and in turn, achieve personal mastery. The latter is key to lead others successfully. Remember, leadership begins with self…

If you haven’t done it by now, go ahead & ‘Like’ PRO Leadership’s Facebook page to get alerts about future Facebook chats: https://www.facebook.com/PROLeadershipGlobal/