New Ross Standard

Achieving wellbeing in the workplace

- CA LO DAG H M C CUMISKEY’S

MARCH 31st is National Wellbeing at Work Day. When people are well, they do well. When they are not well, they don’t do well. This is a great time to reflect on how well you are and how well you are doing. This is a great time to focus on ways to improve your wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around you that you influence and encourage–your colleagues, friends, families, neighbours and communitie­s.

Wellbeing is not something that is built in one day. It involves consistenc­y and commitment and is cumulative.

What does being well or wellbeing mean? It means being mentally, emotionall­y, socially and physically healthy and feeling alive. It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

To be physically well involves giving the right attention to proper exercise, diet, sleep, relaxation and breathing. It also involves keeping your mind positive and focussed.

A ‘well’ mind is strong, balanced and flexible. So how can we achieve this? To maintain a ‘well’ mind in life requires training and consistent effort. In the same way, the body needs consistent training to be physically fit and needs the right kind of food, so too does the mind.

Meditation is the best way I know of training your mind. Meditation is simply focussed awareness on something. When we train our mind to focus as we do in meditation, we can bring our mind back to balance in even the most stressful of situations. As a result, we can make the best of both difficult situations and the opportunit­ies that are in front of us.

When your mind is agitated so is your breathing. This is why so many meditation practices and traditions balance the mind and thinking through focusing on the breath.

There are many ways we can look at this. In the same way that a computer needs an anti-virus programme to avoid causing problems and maintain well-functionin­g performanc­e levels, so too does our mind. And as I have shared in earlier weeks, if we can change our mind, we can change anything. If the baggage of the past is affecting you and slowing you down, this needs to be addressed. If your thinking patterns are unresource­ful and stress-inducing so do they.

The reward for wellbeing is joy, aliveness, happiness, creativity, thriving and realizing your potential.

Not feeling or being well comes from overstress, exhaustion, worry, dis-ease depression, anxiety and ill-health.

In modern life, the biggest block to wellbeing is stress. This is the epidemic of the 21st century. The financial cost to the economy, organisati­ons, companies and schools of non-wellbeing is great. The social and personal cost is even greater. The cost of non-wellbeing at a personal level is that we do not get as much joy out of life as we could. We do not thrive. We do not realize our potential in the world. We do not fully live as we could or would like.

So, this week let’s see how we can be well and how we can help others be well so we can all do better and be happier. And remember that the real results will come not from what you do on the day or any one day, but what you do every day as it is what we do consistent­ly and with commitment that brings powerful and lasting results.

We would love to hear about any workplace wellbeing activities that your company is currently doing to celebrate the day or promote wellbeing in your organisati­on. Or if you are looking for ideas, please get in touch.

Calodagh McCumiskey teaches meditation and yoga. She offers business wellbeing programmes for businesses and weekly meditation classes in Wexford and Waterford 087 1335230 | info@spirituale­arth.ie | www.spirituale­arth.ie

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Wellbeing is not something that is built in a day.
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