How Meditation Can Help Your Career Through Inaction

Distraction clutters your mental workspace and can keep you from seeing problems clearly. Responding to every email immediately and reacting to everyone’s expressed opinion can result in losing sight of the forest for the trees. But by simply concentrating on being present for a short amount of time each day, your mind will naturally prioritize events and keep you calmer and more focused in the office.

“According to a recent study published in the journal Psychological Science, people make more decisive and rational business decisions after just a 15-minute meditation session. Those who practice mindfulness also receive higher performance ratings and are less likely to quit. What’s more, even if you’re not Zen, it could help you to have a boss who is, as the study found employees tend to perform better when their managers are meditators.”

In her Big Think interview, artist and activist Sharon Gannon explains that meditation is essentially the process of allowing feelings and emotions arise and then letting them go. In other words, meditative inaction means prioritizing our most important goals so we better understand when and why we should take action.