Welcome to 28-Day Challenge Week 4: Looking Forward!

Congratulations on making it to the final week of the 28-Day Challenge!  We hope you’ve been enjoying the opportunity to practice and integrate what you’ve learned around how Mindfulness can help you stay focused and bounce forward more easily through challenges.  Are you feeling the difference?

Please take a moment to watch the video and then you’ll find this week’s daily dedicated and integrated practices below.  Have a great week!

And remember: keep showing up and you will be part of the elite 2% of leaders who practice mindfulness and enjoy more promotions, lead better, and create more satisfaction for themselves and their teams.

Integrated Practice:

Pick a short task you need to do today, (e.g. writing an email, washing the dishes). During the task, practice focusing all of your attention on the task and notice when your attention wanders, gently bringing it back to the task at hand.

Reflection Questions:

How does this shift the experience of doing the task?

Integrated Practice:

Make an effort to appreciate 3 people today who have impacted your life positively. This may be a team member who has helped you, or a friend who listened, or a family member who supported you. Acknowledge their efforts and the impact it had on you (either directly to them or just in writing for yourself).

Reflection Questions:

What impact does this have on the rest of your day?

Integrated Practice:

Think about a recent Negative experience you’ve had that has derailed your focus based on your interaction with someone.
Now take 2 full minutes to answer the journaling prompt below.

Once you’ve finished journaling, take a minute to reread what you wrote and reflect.

Journaling Prompts:

In today’s interactions with others, whether in person, phone or email, how can you deposit more positives? Think of as many 10 second deposits as you can for people in your life who need more deposits in their relationship bank with you (e.g. Saying, “well done” to a colleague, or “What I like about that idea is…”, in response to an idea before trying to improve it, expressing any appreciation or gratitude, etc.).

Integrated Practice:

At your next work meeting (one you are not leading), practice this. Bring your focused attention to the meeting; when you notice your mind wandering, shift to an open awareness mindset; see how much of the experience you can be present to including the sounds, colors, and physical sensations you feel. Then, gently bring your attention back to focused attention on the meeting.

Reflection Questions:

In what ways did focused attention affect your meeting experience?
In what ways did open awareness affect your meeting experience?
How can you apply this type of practice to other areas of your life?

Integrated Practice:

Write for 2 full minutes for each journaling prompt below.

Once you’ve finished, take a minute to reread what you wrote and reflect.

Reflection Questions:

1. An intention I’d like to hold for myself is…
2. Things I can let go of are…

Integrated Practice:

Practice generous listening with someone today. When in a conversation, place all of your attention on the other person; listen with your ears and heart.

Reflection Questions:

How does that shift the experience of the conversation for you?

How do you think that experience was for them?

Integrated Practice:

Write for 2 full minutes for each journaling prompt below. Once you’ve finished, take a few minutes to reread what you wrote and reflect.

Journaling Prompts::

1. How I want to show up at work/school is…(be descriptive, including how you hold yourself, what you do, how you feel, etc.)
2. What surprised me is…
3. What I feel committed to going forward is…