Thriving Under Pressure – Shift 3
SHIFT 3: Keeping a clear and present mind in the midst of endless problem solving and infinite possibilities.
I have now been in the interim CEO role at DHA Labs just over 2 months. Wow! I’m so grateful for this opportunity to lead a great group of people, customers, and partners who collectively are the stewards of a very important mission - to bring functional medicine practices to the treatment of mental health and other chronic ailments. Being in the CEO seat again after 5 years has thrust me back into an arena whose intensity I had forgotten. The lessons and tools that I have gathered related to inner mastery have never been more important, and I am getting the chance to re-embrace them and refine them from a new vantage point that I have as a more mature leader. I hope that you too can benefit from my learnings.
Through my own continued journey, wisdom accumulated along the way and in corroboration with many others around me, I have found 5 purposeful shifts to be key in transforming stress into energy and thriving in the midst of it all.
Today we discuss shift 3 – mind training and boundaries as a path to staying present against the odds.
I am reminded that upon stepping into the role of a leader in an entrepreneurial endeavor, one instantaneously opens the door to a very wide array of exciting possibilities, coupled with an endless potential for challenges and problems to arise. I often joke around with my team and other entrepreneurs about how we could have never dreamt up all the ways that things can go wrong! Simultaneously however, we are in a privileged position where possibilities are endless, and we can create new offerings to our customers and build next level systems in our company.
If you already have an active mind, this constant problem solving and creativity can hijack your experience as a human; personal time is sacrificed and quality of interactions with important people is diminished. Not to mention, sleep is compromised, which then has a lot of other side effects.
So shift #3 is using mental training and boundaries to think about business when you want to, and not think about it when you don’t want to. To do this, I’d highlight 3 critical tools: scheduled daily formal meditation time, present momentary awareness throughout the day, and boundaries that proactively direct to mind to turn off from work. Let’s touch on each of the 3.
Formal daily meditation: the research is clear at this point about the many benefits of meditation. In this context, it serves to dampen the busy nature of the mind and turn the volume down on the noise, so that you can be clearer in making critical decisions and in tune with your intuition. Setting 10 to 25 minutes aside in the morning, first thing, to where it becomes an unquestionable habit, has been transformative for me. When closing out your work day, set aside a second short session of 5-10 minutes to transition away from the work day, observing the busy mind as it settles down and relinquishes it’s role as a problem solver and creator.
Present momentary awareness: when things are really intense during the days as you jump from one important activity to another, I have found that 2 sessions of meditation are not enough for me to stay centered and connected to most power. It is helpful to reconnect to those present moment experiences from meditation throughout the day to keep a constant flow of mindfulness. So I find 5-10 opportunities to take one full conscious breath throughout the day. This can be at the start of a meeting, in the bathroom, before I log in my computer, when I first get in the car, or other times that can become habits where you start to do this automatically. Fully aware of the beginning of the inhale, the end of the inhale, the beginning of the exhale and the end of the exhale. That is all. One trick I’ve used is setting a single ring alarm to go at the top of the hour throughout the day to remind me to do this.
Boundaries: If I don’t tell my mind when it’s starting to work and when it’s stopping to work, it will work 24 hours, even in my sleep. This is not what we want for obvious reasons. So I recommend a specific check in and check out ritual – no indulgence in work thoughts after check out, and no indulgence in work thoughts before check in. When you check out, I recommend something physical as a reminder – I take off one “work” bracelet or necklace and replace it with another. It is also helpful to free journal for 7 minutes, jotting down any residual thoughts or emotions from the day. Do the reverse for check in. When you journal, note what was left over from the day before. In the morning, move towards and do those items that are causing the most leftover emotional burden at night. So if you’ve been avoiding a difficult conversation, that should be the first thing you do in the morning, so it is not left over again the next night.
These are 3 critical practices for keeping a free and clear mind in the midst of an intense and open ended entrepreneurial journey. Decision making has become easier as I have access to my full intuitive powers. Over time, this will make a tremendous difference, or at least it has for me and many others.
Can you imagine the power of your mental present moment awareness if you can do this? How much more attention will you be able to have in the midst of difficult personal situations, or how much more joy will you be able to sense as you remain present in your personal activities?!
May we all experience the freedom and peace and joy that comes with a clear and present mind.
Stay tuned for the discussions on the 2 other shifts to thrive under entrepreneurial pressure.
FUND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
We now have six investments in the fund and are offering a final chance this year in 2024 for you to come aboard as an investor at the original valuations in a portfolio that has performed well. So join our mission and do well by doing good. We truly believe investing in the inner healing space within wellness will both change people for the better and have good financial returns. Please let me know if you would like to explore this possibility.