A friend of mine who is prone to debilitating headaches practices what she calls "non-headache meditation." This practice doesn't make her headaches disappear, and it doesn't lessen the pain when her head is pounding. That's because she doesn't do it when she has a headache. She does it when her head is pain free, when she's experiencing a non-headache.
I'll explain. Let's say you have a killer headache and go to bed early, hoping the headache will be gone when you wake up. If this turns out to be the case, you can't help but notice, with much relief and gratitude, that you're free of the pain that sent you to bed early the night before. That's the moment you practice non-headache meditation.
You happily sit down and savor the bliss of the non-headache. You might even start planning all the work, and all the play, that you can accomplish in your non-headache state. In such a state, the work feels like play, and the play feels like liberation.
If you practice non-headache meditation enough, you might find that your headaches come less often, and are less intense when they do come. At least, that's been the experience of my friend.
My friend also claims that non-headache meditation makes her more productive in her work and that her business has prospered as a result, even though it requires her to carve out some space in her work-life – and in her head – to do it. She says it pays off, and I believe it.
Maybe you don't have debilitating headaches or any kind of literal headache. But you probably have plenty of metaphorical headaches, particularly in your business. The good news is that non-headache meditation works in these situations too.
Let's say one of the biggest headaches in your work right now is lack of productivity. Maybe your own productivity is low, or maybe those who work with or for you are not producing as they should. You could beat yourself up, complain about partners not delivering or even berate co-workers. None of this is good for morale, or for business, of course.
So consider non-headache meditation instead, and recall moments when both morale and productivity were high. You can savor those moments again, and gain insight into how you might return your business to that level of productivity – or even exceed it.
Maybe your headache is a lack of sales. You're working your contacts and making the follow-up visits, phone calls and emails, but sales are stagnant. It might be time for non-headache meditation. Instead of worrying about it and pouring over ledgers, take some time and recall when business was booming. Enjoy the recollection, with the confidence that the good times will come again, and "re-collect" the reasons why you found success at that juncture. In your meditative bliss, you might also discover new methods for boosting sales. Again, non-headache meditation will not make headaches go away in the short term. But they will help you appreciate your non-headache moments and give you insight into the causes of the pain, which will make a difference in the long term – in your life and in your business.
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