Statistics show that approximately 83 percent of working Americans experience work-related stress, which in turn causes around one million workers to miss work every day. Even more startling, 43 percent of employees think their employers don’t seem to care that they’re distressed. Between budget cuts, open office environments, an overly abundant workload, unrealistic expectations, poor company culture, and lack of vacation, these facts aren’t exactly surprising—but they are disturbing nevertheless.
While quitting your job is not an option, incorporating meditation into your daily life is. Meditation can be described as the process of being mindful, which means that you’re making an effort to focus on a specific thought, activity, or object—nothing that’s stressing or consuming you—in an effort to become more in-tune with yourself. With regular practice, you can train yourself to achieve a more clear and emotionally stable state so that you can conquer challenges and stress with ease.
New to this concept? Here’s how meditation can help you conquer the demons that can creep into your life on a weekly—if not daily—basis. And no, you do not need to be psychic to practice meditation for work stress or any other taxing situation that comes your way.
Meditation can…
1. Set you up for a positive workweek.
If you’ve ever wondered why is meditation good for stress, can we say Sunday Scaries, anyone? Nothing is worse than the feeling of only being able to enjoy Friday night and Saturday before being plagued by the Sunday Scaries, a specific type of anxiety that sets in preceding a workweek. Don’t let this condition sabotage your weekend and ruin the potential to start the work week on a positive note. Meditating can help you set the right tone and put things in perspective so that you’re more present and living in the moment when you have time off, which in turn will give you the balance you need to walk into the next workweek feeling organized, confident, and as stress-free as possible
2. Help you be more productive.
It’s been scientifically proven that meditation has a positive impact on our minds and providing you’re practicing regularly, meditating has the power to deter distractions. In addition, your productivity levels will be increased and you’ll start to feel more positive about what lies ahead—in both the short-term and long-term future. Attitude is everything, so if you want an increase in productivity, meditate!
3. Make you the ultimate team player.
It’s all too easy to freak out and put yourself first when it comes to work-related stress. Perhaps you feel you’re superior to the older or younger colleagues or maybe it’s just a classic case of a personality clash. Meditating can help boost your confidence level while helping you have a greater understanding and level of compassion for those you’re working with.
4. Help you regulate your emotions.
Anything you want to perfect in life takes practice, to include meditation. But once you do, you’ll feel more comfortable with banishing unpleasant thoughts and emotions while training yourself to react to stressful situations serenely, empathetically, and thoughtfully instead of being like a bull in a china shop.
