Welcome to this if-then practice to ignite values-driven and energy-infusing breaks in your day.
I'm Mary Beth Highland,
Workplace Culture Consultant and teacher here on Insight Timer.
For years,
I was a victim of my circumstances at work.
I thought I didn't have time to take a lunch break or spend time in nature if I wanted to be productive.
I was tethered to my desk and became addicted to that pattern.
It wasn't until I began mindfulness practices that I realized how simple it was to weave well-being into my habits and routines.
Today,
I'm going to read you an excerpt from my book,
Permission to be Human,
So that we can explore a new way to work within the conditions of your workplace environment and become a champion for your well-being by taking intentional breaks.
Enter the if-then policy.
This is a habit technique that I use to create a condition between two things.
The concept is simple.
If something happens,
Then you take a specific action in response.
As an example in my own life,
If a meeting gets canceled,
Then I go spend time in nature.
Because I work in the city,
That is usually a walk to my nearby park and back.
While I'm there,
I make a point to admire the trees and the critters running around,
Take in the fresh air,
And sometimes even take my shoes off and plant my feet in the earth for some grounding.
So if an hour-long meeting gets canceled,
I take a 15-minute walk in nature and still have 45 minutes to get back to work with greater clarity and focus after connecting with the wisdom of nature.
This practice activates my values of unity with nature,
Reflection,
And connection.
A simple thing like watching a bird take off and land on the very tip of a twig,
The wind rustle the branches of the trees,
Bending them back but not breaking them,
Or even a bug carrying a huge chip on its back to feed its colony,
Can be inspiring to ignite new ideas,
Thinking,
And possibilities for how to go about solving your own problems.
There is a scientific process around this idea called biomimicry,
Which is the practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges and find hope along the way.
So those 15 minutes I invested in nature ultimately brings me back to work with more energy,
Inspiration,
And alignment that I get to infuse in whatever is in front of me at work now.
What might your if-then policy be in order to take more breaks?
Which of your values might you be able to ignite in the process so that you can feel purpose on these little and big moments?
Consider what has worked for you in the past and bring it back into your habits and routines.
It's that simple,
And it can be that simple for you too.
Try it out and share your insights with others.
It's incredible what's possible when we start to embody the little things that add up to be the big things.
This is Mary Beth Hyland reminding you to create an if-then policy so that you can give yourself and others permission to be human.
