Mindfulness may seem like an odd topic in the world of accounting, but it’s a topic worthy of your consideration for several reasons. Practicing mindfulness can reduce stress, improve focus, and help you accomplish more in your accounting business. It’s easier than you think to begin a meditation practice. All you need is a comfortable place to sit and breathe.
What Is Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing on the present moment, including thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, without judgment. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living (1990), mindfulness has seven basic pillars.
Non-Judgment: You must become an impartial witness to your own experiences without judging or categorizing them. By doing this, you release yourself from the patterns of reacting and repeating thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Patience: Cultivating patience means you accept that things happen in their own time. You allow yourself kindness and compassion so you can deal with the situation as it is instead of trying to rush through it.
Beginner mind: A beginner’s mind watches as things unfold with curiosity, but without trying to force or control a situation, much like a child seeing things for the first time.
Trust: Learn to trust your own feelings and believe that no one knows you better than you. You don’t have to look outside of yourself for understanding.
Non-Striving: Non-striving means you release the need to constantly change a situation or feeling.
Acceptance: Let yourself see a situation for exactly what it is without imposing your feelings as a filter. Focus on the here and now, not the “what if.”
Letting Go: Instead of clinging to a desired outcome in a situation, learn to let it go. Regardless of your feelings, what needs to happen will happen, so just let it be.
Why Mindfulness Is Important for Success
Mindfulness is critical for success as an accountant because the skills you cultivate while practicing mindfulness will also carry over into your time management, productivity, and ability to handle stressful situations at work.
You’ll interact better with your accounting clients through the practice of mindfulness. You’ll communicate more clearly, collaborate more fully, and develop a stronger sense of wisdom to help you confidently advise your clients.
This starkly contrasts with the modern mindset of “push, push, push” to be in control, work more, and accomplish more, which is a common mindset among accountants who feel the pressures of handling multiple accounts, clients, and deadlines. But a Control Mindset actually creates a lack of control because it forces you to look beyond the here and now and focus on everything at once while accomplishing very little.
Meditation: It’s Not What You Think
So how do you learn to be more mindful? Meditation is the key to a more relaxed, mindful state of mind, but meditation isn’t what you think. You don’t have to sit on the floor with your legs crossed, chanting “Om” to meditate. In fact, there are many ways to meditate, including a relaxing walk, yoga, or even dancing. The most important thing to understand is that mindfulness meditation is a practice. That means it’s an ongoing thing, not a once-and-done activity.
To do it, just find a quiet place to sit, and wear something comfortable. You can even practice at work on your lunch break if you’d like. Consider an app like Insight Timer to give you a gentle alarm after a certain time has elapsed, so you don’t have to worry about meditating too long and being late. Other helpful apps are Calm and Headspace.
Once you are seated comfortably, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Breathe in and out through your nose and pay attention to the rise and fall of your belly. When thoughts cross your mind—and they will—just witness them. Let them float past like a leaf floating on a gentle stream. Then return your focus to your breath again. If your mind wanders and you get lost in a thought or feeling, just acknowledge it and then return to your breath. When you first start meditating, this will happen often. Don’t worry. It will get easier the more you practice. You can start with just five or ten minutes of meditation; over time, you may build up to 20 minutes or more. Soon you’ll wonder how you got through the day without it.
Welter Consulting
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