Coaching for Mindfulness 1

I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite “National Speaker Association (NSA)” people, Dr. Michelle May, MD, give her speech about mindful eating this past week. She was our NSA Arizona chapter president last year and is very busy with taking her business across the U.S. and to eight other countries around the world. Over this past year, she took the time to share her insights and experience with me when I had questions about business licensing. Recently when I was scrambling with the NSA programs committee responsibilities for the chapter she even offered, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do to help, even the little things.” And then she did it, she jumped in and helped with distributing the meeting hand-outs in our last meeting (some may view as a task below them).

Michelle’s business is all about mindful eating; it is called “Am I Hungry?” (linked). But before you stop reading (if you have no problem with yo-yo dieting), she also emphasizes mindfulness in all we do and for me this is especially powerful because she does business this way.

What Does Mindfulness Look Like For Business?

• Paying full attention to the person you are talking to in a room full of 100 different talkative business owners.
• Returning phone calls and e-mails with-in a day or so even if you are extremely busy and then working to figure out when to connect.
• Listening with full attention on the phone and offering suggestions or questions that are specific to the conversation.

And Mindfulness For Your Life?

• Eating a meal by savoring each bite, focusing on the flavors and enjoyment of the food and stopping when you are full. As opposed to quickly shoveling in the food and not even noticing that you are still standing in the kitchen and half of the bag of tortilla chips is gone (my own embarrassing example).
• Noticing the details of the beautiful architecture or nature that you come across in your day.
• Taking the time to connect with a good friend or family member you have not talked to in a while.
• Paying full attention to your child or pet for at least a few minutes of fun play.

No doubt, we are all extremely busy. But, rushing through each moment leads to arrival at your destination with a feeling of dissatisfaction and emptiness. Use your internalGPS to look for opportunities to be a little more mindful and experience how much more you enjoy the journey and your destinations.

If you have been a yo-yo dieter (like me) then I highly recommend Dr. Michelle May’s book, “Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle.” (click on link to order). It is full of simple and yet powerful ideas and it may change your life (and is not a diet).

How do you savor mindful moments? Please share in a comment.

photo credit: EuroMagic via Flickr creative commons