Psychological Safety + Mindfulness: Are You Mindful About Your Mindset?

💖🎉I just wrapped up Phase 2, of my health journey; a month’s worth of radiation. I was unprepared for the emotion I felt when I walked out of the hospital for the last time. Out of the blue I started crying. The tears flowed.

Outward, I look pretty darn healthy. I won’t lie though, some days have been a huge struggle with the fatigue and weird side-effects. Even with all of the beyond, amazing support I’ve received, this can be lonely ride.

With that being said, I don’t let myself go there because I truly feel SO very blessed to be where I am! Breast cancer has taught me so much about resilience and strength. Not to mention autonomy, love, vulnerability and humility. This journey has also been very enlightening as it pertains to my personal outlook and how I now view things. Which leads to the question:

⁉️Are you mindful about your mindset?

You may be asking, “What’s the difference between being mindful and mindset?” In a nutshell, it’s ‘the why.’ Mindfulness is awareness of what’s going on in the moment you’re in and accepting how things are right now. You don’t necessarily change your behavior, but you do accept what’s occurring. It’s the approach of changing your thinking which may lead to changing your behavior. Mindset on the other hand, is about your perspective and how you interpret and learn from your experiences – it’s about changing your thinking and then your behavior.

“Mindfulness is a passive practice that allows us to pause and observe, our habitual thoughts, with curiosity. Mindset is the active practice of identifying depleting thought patterns and replacing them with positive thoughts that are more supportive and compassionate of ourselves.”

Mindfulness isn’t just a ‘woo-woo’ thing. In fact, research suggests that mindful practices can help to reduce and manage stress, cope with serious illness and reduce anxiety and depression. 💡Now that’s a BIG deal!

⁉️Did you also know? Mindfulness is a key component and approach, that helps to manage your personal triggers that can threaten your psychological safety?

I recently took a psychological safety accreditation course by the Academy of Brain-based Leadership. Although I was already a big believer in the practice of mindfulness, this course highlighted some amazing statistics to support the practice of really embracing it.

“Recent findings suggest that mindfulness training can reverse the impact of stress on the brain. This type of training has been shown to increase the efficiency of your Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC), the part of your brain that is wired for conscious and logical thinking and what makes you human (thinking, planning, being creative, displaying will power, empathy).” – Academy of Brain Based Leadership

⁉️Do you need to read that again? Mindfulness training can reverse the impact of what stress does to the brain?! WOW! Now, that’s amazing! I also learned, it’s good to have ‘some stress.’ You need a ‘happy medium of stress,’ which is an optimal level for performance.

Mindfulness training can protect YOU and your brain against stress. A mindful state can help to decrease burnout, increase sleep, and increase protective proteins in your immune system. It can help to reduce stress and job burnout. Here are some fun facts:

• 1 hour a week for about 12 weeks can reduce stress and enhanced sleep quality (Wolever et al., 2012)

• 2x a day for 10 days reduced emotional exhaustion and improved job satisfaction (Hulsheger et al., 2013)

• 2.5 hours a week for 8 weeks reduced burnout (Krasner et al., 2009). Academy of Brain Based Leadership

⁉️So, how has my recent health journey enlightened my personal outlook? The psychological safety course I just took has helped to greatly influenced it. In fact, the timing couldn’t have been better! I see things through a different lens. It’s taught me,

• to listen to my body

• to listen to other people and the environment around me

• that it’s ok to be still

I’m more alert to my mindset and how I approach each day. I’m more aware of the people in my life and each relationship I put effort into. And ultimately, I’m more conscious of the time we’ve been given in this precious thing, called life.

🔔🎉And that bell in the photo, you bet your booty, I rang the hell out of it! I even wore my 💩-kickers, for the special occasion! 😆

Shine on beautiful people. 🦄

💖“Ring this bell, three times well.

It’s toll to clearly say: My treatment is done,

this course has run, and I am on my way.”🎶

You already are. It’s time TO BE.♥️

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about psychological safety and how to deal with female frenemies, follow me on LinkedIn!

I say that it’s time to be different. It’s time to talk about what female rivalry is, to know how to break it down one action at a time. _________

⁉️Interested in learning how ‘female rivalry’ impacts the workplace? 🎉DOWNLOAD my FREE .pdf guide, ‘5 Reasons WHY Good Women Walk’ to learn more!