[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Suddar here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:41] I'm really excited to announce that in the upcoming weeks, I am launching my new program to help you to optimize your time and your energy to reach the results and impact you want in your business and in your life. If you want to find out more.
[00:56] About my new program, check out thefocusbeat.com program.
[01:02] And here we are continuing the series on attention. Today we're going to go through mindfulness and presence. As I mentioned on the first episode on Attention, Focus and Flow, focus essentially means being present and being mindful. Therefore, if you want to manage your distractions more effectively, if you want to have more time and space in your day and be more focused, it makes sense to work on being more mindful and present because they really are the same thing. And you might think of focus in terms of focused work and mindfulness in terms of walking through the forest, but really they're the same. So how can you be more mindful and present in your day? One way of looking at this is to notice when you're not present. Start to realize during the day if at some moment you feel disconnected from what you're doing, if at some point you are thinking about something totally different and you don't even hear what your colleague says, or you realize you've stopped writing the report. Because if you want to be more mindful, which is an amazing, amazing skill and ability, then being more aware of when you're not will support you in shifting it. So yes, start to realize when you're not mindful during the day, when you start to be no longer present and no longer really with the moment, and then shift it and then come back. You can also look at the moments of the day where you are fully present. And this is directly connected to being in Flow, because generally when we are fully in flow, in the zone, enjoying what we're doing, we are more mindful and present. There are different ways and strategies that you can use to strengthen this and to be more mindful. There's so many books on mindfulness and so many tools and techniques that I'll highlight, some of the ones that I use most, and some of the ones that I have found to be most beneficial in everyday life. One of these tools is using your senses. If you find that you have lost your focus and you're no longer present, notice what are you seeing, what you're hearing, what you're touching, feeling, smelling even. This is the fastest way to be present again. Sometimes I just look away from the computer and just focus on the sounds around me, or the feeling of sitting in the chair or standing if I'm standing. Tuning into our senses and into our body is one of the fastest ways of being mindful and present. And in a similar way, if you tune into your body and your breathing, this also brings you back to presence. So those are two tools that immediately bring you back. One is focus on what can you see, what can you hear, what are you touching, what are you smelling? And the other is take a few deep breaths and just fully focus on the breath in stomach, chest and exhale. In the stomach, chest and exhale. These two tools already bring you straight back, straight back to the present moment. So those you can use as sort of fast bringing you back. But if you want to strengthen being mindful and present throughout the day, it's developing that awareness of when you drift off, and often when we drift off, it's in our minds, in our thoughts and connecting back, coming back to the present within our thoughts. So it's fine if you're using a walk just to brainstorm some ideas, that's fine. But if you want to practice this ability of being fully mindful, then focusing on what's around you, on how the air feels against your skin, feet against the floor, and really tuning in and tapping into this. One reason that I feel mindfulness is overlooked is because people don't actually realize, and maybe you don't actually realize, like I said, that it's the same as focus, but also just how much it contributes to our well being. You're so much more likely to sleep well at night, to have healthy relationships, happy relationships, to perform well in your work. It really, really is a superpower. And this is why I'm so passionate about focus. Because for me, focus is both the gateway to living mindfully and to having high performance. So what's not to love? They're both amazing. And coming back to relationships, being mindful is the best way to have a healthy relationship, but not just with your partner, but also with colleagues and in work contexts. Being able to take a moment, breathe, tune into what they just said, accept it and let it go, and you're far less likely to get triggered if you are fully present. I want to clear some sort of misunderstanding that can happen at this stage. Because you might feel sometimes that you're fully present and yet you get carried away by temper or annoyed and you might think that you're fully present within the conversation, right? You're listening to what they're saying, you're answering back, you feel that you're totally present. There's another level of presence and consciousness that if you have not yet reached it, you're not aware of. This is a bit complex. Let's go through this together. When you're in a moment where you feel everything super calm inside you and you're totally, totally grounded, I think might be another word for it. Choose a moment maybe last week or recently where maybe you were observing or looking at something or something happened and you were suddenly extremely grounded with an acute, acute sense of awareness of everything around you and also going on in your mind and your breathing. If you haven't yet experienced this type of acute awareness, that's okay, you will in the future or maybe you've just forgotten it. And now let's contrast. When you're in a conversation and things are getting a bit heated, what happens in these moments is although you feel that you're fully present, a part of it in your mind is getting worked up about the conversation or annoyed or upset and this little voice inside you and all of these emotions happening, you're going to be so intent on the conversation and what the other person is saying that you will lose touch with, for example, the emotion that's bubbling inside you or these thoughts that are getting really annoyed. And this is what I mean by another level of presence. Because once you learn to realize that the emotions are bubbling up, to notice that you have these types of thoughts, you'll be able to calm them down through breathing exercises, through paying attention to these emotions. And this is another level of presence where you're both aware of what's going on on the outside, fully focused on that, but also totally in tune and totally aware of what's going on within. And this is why I created this episode. Because it's not only a matter of being fully present with what you're doing, maybe single tasking, maybe observing what's going on around you and listening to the noises and yes, connecting with the world, that's great. But also be mindful and present within. And I repeat what I just said. This means to be aware of your emotions and where they're manifesting in your body, of your thoughts. What are you hearing? What are you saying to yourself? What thoughts are coming up? And maybe just your overall energy. Are you just feeling a bit heavy and drained or are you feeling light and exhilarated and excited? It's similar to emotions, but it would be a sort of overall feeling, if you'd like. It's easier, for instance, to describe a day in terms of energy than it is in terms of emotions because you probably have a lot of emotions throughout the day. But you might overall feel that it was quite light or exhilarating or anxious or it's like a tone, if you wish, to the day or to how you are inside. So here's how you can practice mindfulness, as I said, tuning in with your senses, being aware of your breathing and tapping into your breathing and noticing when are you stepping away, when are you losing that focus and presence and within you? And as you work to be more mindful. You can embrace this by eating mindfully, paying fully attention to what you're eating, to how you're eating it, eating more slowly, more calmly, speaking more mindfully, being aware of the words you use, the tone you use, how you speak, showing gratitude for the food that you have, the moments you have in your life. All of these elements will add up and you will start to feel, as I said, more grounded, more present, and just feel that you're actually experiencing life and it's not just rushing by. And another year has gone by and you feel you've lost all of it because you've been caught up in action and motion the whole time. You actually feel that you're living. You actually appreciate these moments along the way. I hope this makes sense. I hope that you've enjoyed this episode on being mindful and being present. It's fundamental for our well being and our fulfillment, but also for our performance. So it really is an essential element to all of these things. And if you found this episode interesting, insightful, and that it has helped you in any way, shape or form, please leave a review so other people can find it. And it makes me happy too. That's a bonus. Wishing you a great Day.
[12:26] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus V show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback, so let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.