Practice mindfulness to develop greater emotional regulation, enabling you to notice irritation or other strong emotions before reacting, thus allowing for a more considered and dignified response.
In high-stress roles, use mindfulness to intentionally slow down your reactive “system one” thinking and engage more reflective “system two” thinking before making impactful decisions.
Employ mindfulness to slow down your thinking, creating space to acknowledge the possibility of unconscious bias and view situations through your own subjective lens with less defensiveness.
When performing repetitive tasks, adopt a “beginner’s mind” by approaching each instance as if it were the first time, which enhances perception and presence.
Practice mindfulness to foster cultural awareness by refraining from making immediate assumptions about others’ behaviors, instead adopting a nonjudgmental approach to interactions.
Incorporate meditation into your routine to manage job-related stress and navigate complex decision-making by creating mental space and fostering a sense of centeredness.
Engage in mindfulness meditation and yoga to cultivate a sense of centering, promote reflection in your life, and achieve deep relaxation, especially through styles like yin yoga.
When you feel “off center” or distracted, take short, informal mindfulness breaks, like closing your office door for five minutes to re-center yourself.
Develop self-awareness to identify when you are feeling “off center,” which manifests as a lack of equanimity, increased emotionality, or anxiety, indicating a need to re-center.
Practice mindfulness to center and calm your mind, which can enhance performance by improving work effectiveness, clarity of thought, and accuracy in stressful tasks, providing “additional bandwidth.”
Cultivate mindfulness to enhance your presence in personal relationships, such as being a parent or spouse, enabling you to be more engaged and give more of yourself.
To combat bias effectively, combine mindfulness practices with cross-cultural education, including listening to others’ life stories, to gain broader perspectives.
Understand that developing a deep sense of equanimity through meditation is a very slow, gradual process that can take years, so be patient with your progress.
Approach mindfulness as a useful tool in your personal toolkit, understanding that it’s not a universal solution and individuals may find different practices helpful at various life stages.
Consider using meditation to desensitize yourself to allergies, as one individual found success by noticing an emotional component to his allergic reaction and subsequently taking better care of himself.