4 reasons why you and your workplace should start meditating
1. It'll make you more money
You wouldn't think money and meditation go hand-in-hand, would you? Well, they do.
Whether you're the owner or working for a business. New empirical evidence has come out to suggest that meditation can put more moolah in your back pocket. The business school INSEAD ran a series of studies monitoring the difference in the decision-making of professionals that meditated and those that didn't. It concluded that those that did, made better and more profitable decisions. Particularly when it came to increasing resistance to “sunk cost bias”.
What is "sunk cost bias" I hear you asking?
It is when you persist with a bad decision because you're nervous about losing more time and money. For example, you might keep marketing a new product, even after it’s clearly not working because of the ‘sunk cost’ of time, money and, let’s be honest, pride you have put into it.
Meditation brings about a clarity of mind and can help you not get too attached with things. Knowing when to ‘move on’ or persist. A very handy skill, especially when there is money involved.
2. You'll get more done
Ever had one of those days where you just can't seem to concentrate for longer than a couple of minutes? You're trying to write an important email, then for some reason you just grab your phone and scroll through Facebook for a bit, then look back at your screen for a couple of minutes, then get up and make a cup of tea, then google how much Egyptian 1000 thread count bed sheets cost, then try and write a few more lines of that email, then.... you get what I'm saying.
If left to do as it wishes, our mind will just jump around as it pleases. Flicking between ideas, switching from the past to the future to the present in seconds. A study done by the Havard Business Review where MRI brain scans were done on those that meditated regularly showed that it quietened this mind-wandering process. Therefore giving them more sustained concentration and in turn were able to get more done.
Again, quite a handy skill when you’re trying to get things done at work.
3. You'll get along with more people
It's often quoted that you'll spend more time with the people you work with than your family. If this is the case, it makes pretty good sense to do what you can to get along with your colleagues. This is where meditation can help out too.
The International Journal of Psychophysiology ran a study that showed meditation enhances your brain waves, particularly those of the alpha state — which is highly associated with empathy and self-awareness. A strong social emotion that enables you to be more open-minded to others’ ideas and opinions.
4. You'll be happier
I think we can all agree that at the end of the day, this is what really matters. There is countless research out there that now directly ties meditation with your level of happiness. But to throw just a little bit more science your way to prove it, neuroscientist Sara Lazar's has run numerous studies on the effect meditation has on the brain. One showed that maintaining a consistent meditation practice leads to a thickening in a few major areas of the brain, which in turn increases your ability to cope with uncomfortable and difficult situations.
Therefore, if, you're naturally more predisposed to being overly worried or stressed out, meditating regularly can quiet those overactive areas of your brain, and thicken the areas responsible for joy and pleasure.
Another area that changes in the brain with regular meditation is the amygdala. This section controls fear and anxiety, so the smaller that bad boy is, the happier you'll be as a whole.
So there you have it. If you do want to give it a try, maybe forward this article to your boss or circulate it around the office to rally some support.
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