Have you ever wondered if it's possible to excel work life without limitations and to be in constant peace? Well the answer actually is Yes! Today, I'm going to share with you a book called The Untethered Soul at Work by Michael A. Singer.
Most people know of Michael A. Singer as a spiritual teacher but perhaps you didn't know he actually is a founder and a CEO of a billion-dollar company. When it comes to mindfulness, spirituality and business, he is an amazing expert. In this article, I'm going to share with you some of the techniques he recommends for you to do at work so you can be more mindful and ideally more spiritual ensuring that you are connected to who you are and really doing a great job at work.
What's the untethered soul at work about?
The Untethered Soul at Work tells us that we view work from a vantage point of ourselves. It's always about me.
You think that...
- I work in order to travel
- I work in order to get this thing
- I work in order to prove myself
- I work in order to get that promotion
...but in reality it's not about me or you at all.
It is about serving and contributing to a greater good, really the unfolding of the universe and as a result it's not about us. So we have to do a reset on how we view work that's going to help us to use work as a practice ground to get closer to mindfulness, really to get closer to spirituality.
If we have problems with work, it's not about work. In reality, it's really our attitude and how we view things.
We're really spiritual beings who are meant to connect and serve, not to be focused on our ego trying to get what we want out of it.
Why?
Because it's about the universe, it's unfolding, it is greater than who we are. And if we are looking to control it by focusing on what it can do for me, we're missing out on the bigger purpose which is for us to be practicing to be closer to spirituality, to be closer to our souls.
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This is what this book teaches you, some techniques that you can do every day to help you practice so you can live in purpose and peace.
So let's get to some of the amazing tips and techniques that Michael A. Singer gives in his book.
Before you arrive at work
Michael A. Singer recommends you to take a look at specific interactions that happen at work from a mindful spiritual perspective.
Before you arrive at work, take a moment to connect with yourself. Remember it's not about them getting something done, it is about serving and ensuring that you're doing the best job that you can do.
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So get grounded, get in a state of mindfulness before you even step into the building.
Things that you can do to get you in the state of mindfulness:
- Write a morning journal
- Meditate after you wake up
- Wake up 30 minutes earlier so that you'll not rush to work
- Get an early rest the night before
Avoid office politics through Email
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Email has become the de facto standard for business communications. For this reason email has become the new form of “on the record” types of communications within organizations, thus like everything else subject to office politics.
Michael A. Singer actually looks at emails in a way that can come from a mindful and spiritual way.
Before you send an email, think of the followings:
- Is it coming from your lower personal self such as your ego?
- Are you upset about something you just want to kind of dump on somebody?
- Where the content that you wrote come from?
Ground yourself, really understand, and connect back to the universe. This is the spiritual side of things, and really understand what is it you're trying to convey.
Next, remove all personal agendas from the email. Because work is about serving and contributing by doing it in a loving respectful way.
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Number three is, really re-read it, you want to be mindful with what you're doing, just don't send it out, make sure you have the right attachments, make sure you have the right verbiage, take a moment, a breath, to re-read what you're saying, does it make sense?
The biggest thing is, if what you just put down on paper got printed on the front page of The Wall Street Journal would you be happy with what it said?
Because emails are forever, it's not a conversation that you're having that is going to go away as soon as you finish your words, it is there forever so you really want to be mindful with what you're writing.
Answering the phone
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Answering the phone can get stressful, particularly when you know that someone asked, "Hey I need to speak to you. I'm going to call you in an hour."
So the point here is to let it go.
Understand why you're even getting stressed in these situations. You can't control it. You're just a person who's about to answer the phone.
So embrace that moment and learn from it.
Let go of any fear that's stopping you or creating a story that is going to have potentially a negative impact on a conversation in which you have no clue what it's even about as of yet.
So let it go, answer the phone and really just be at peace knowing you're just here answering the phone.
It's no big deal!
Talking to someone
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A lot of times when we're speaking to people, we are actually not connecting with them and particularly if we're on the receiving end. We're usually not listening.
You know what we're doing?
We're formulating our answer back.
We need to let it go. Really focus on listening to what the person is saying. Everybody comes up with different ideas and thought processes.
Why?
Because we're all unique and different and that's what you want at work. You want to embrace the differences because there's going to be amazing ideas.
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But in order to do that, you have to listen.
So when you're talking to someone really take a moment and clear your head, let go of what's going on. Don't try to come up with an amazing answer because you're not listening to what is being said.
When you listen, you may find that what they just said is either an answer to a problem that you are having or an amazing strategic solution.
That is our job, to serve and contribute at work and that's part of the spiritual practice that we're supposed to bring in to work to help us every day, practice listening to each other.
How do you plan to untethered your soul at work? Write in Journey now.