Press Pause to Take a Breath
By Angel Santiago
If you have been reading the last couple of articles in this series, our focus has been on what it takes to be a great leader. Self-leadership is an essential quality to develop because if you are not successful in this area, leading others will be extremely challenging.
Hi, my name is Angel Santiago and I’m a Leadership and Mindset Coach. For the past five years, I’ve coached health entrepreneurs to move beyond their roadblocks and achieve success.
I recently spoke with Lisa Ingle-Stevens, co-owner of The Union Fitness and Fun on the importance of leading yourself. She understands that self-leadership takes practice, patience, and most importantly, a major investment in your personal development.
“The best way I lead is by self-leading because I’m no good to my team, my husband, my daughter, or my business partner if I don’t take care of myself. I have to invest in self-care and the things that fill my tank and clear my mind, like doing something physical and getting eight hours of sleep. And if my team and my family see me doing these things, that’s the greatest gift I can give them, so I can be who the world needs me to be.”
Self-leadership requires self-mastery. You must learn to be more authentic, have a presence of mind, and become completely self-aware. Regardless of how big your vision of success is, you’re going to have to commit your attention to learning about yourself. Only then will you have what it takes to be fully ready to make it happen. Whether you want to run a successful business or have a successful career, you must first be a successful YOU. I want to invite you to shift your perspective, just a little, from your business and career to yourself and learn that by bettering yourself, you can then better your career.
Self-awareness can be developed through mindfulness practice. Mindfulness, according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, is purposely paying attention in the present moment, and without judgment. It’s being present with what is. Mindfulness can be used at any moment through meditation, body scans, or pausing to breathe deeply throughout the day.
Breathing is one of the best ways you can tap into mindfulness throughout the day. Following the breath helps focus the mind and body back to the present moment. Breathing will relax the mind and body so you can calmly observe and respond to the world around you, rather than mindlessly reacting to events. It helps the mind and body to work together to recognize troubling thoughts and teaches you that feelings come and go. So, it helps you accept your troubling thoughts in order to let them go. As you focus on your breath your thoughts settle and your mind becomes calm and clear and what results is a feeling of contentment, happiness, and inner peace.
The presence of mind is one of the most important characteristics a great leader can possess. It is a practice. It is simple but it’s not necessarily easy. When the mind is aware and prepared, you can put aside all distractions, and pay careful attention to whatever you are doing in the present moment. For you to be successful at it, for you to see results, you must make time for it. You must practice it.
Blessings,
LifeCoachAngel
