Awareness, attention, mindfulness and meditation

Like probably for many of us, my personal reactions to the pandemic followed the classical change curve with a moment of shock, a period of disbelieve, denial, anger frustration and then moved on to acceptance, adaption of new behaviors and eventually a certain level of integration. Sometimes I am finding myself going back through the same steps in circles. And there are moments when I am feeling stressed and worried - thinking about several of my family members who are part of the “high risk” group and the financial security of family members and friends who depend on the airline and travel industry. At the same time, the glass is always half full! This pandemic and all the changes that come with it continues to teach me extremely valuable lessons. I started focusing much more on what I can personally influence (e.g. my own behavior, my thoughts). In my experience smiling to myself helps me to adopt a positive mood and when I smile to the world, it is much more likely that I get a smile back than a frown. This doesn’t mean that I always smile – every day I have plenty of moments when this logic doesn’t work. However, I am getting better in consciously taking time to calm my mind and in “letting go” of negative emotions. I am trying to focus on the present moment with full attention and an open mind – without thinking too long about failures of the past or worrying about the future. What is helping me in my inner journey are mainly three aspects:

1. Awareness and self-reflection

Being a psychologist by background, and having studied neurology, I know that negative reactions to change or uncertainty are normal. The oldest part of our brain which is responsible for survival (mainly the amygdala) gets activated and causes our focus to narrow. When change happens, worst-case scenario thinking gets primed or we deny the threat. These reactions negatively impact our ability to think creatively and analytically and we are less likely to empathize with others or to listen. If we are aware of our brains’ natural inclination, we can consciously “steer against” our reactions.

2. Directing my attention to positive aspects
There are so many things I am grateful for daily! Starting with my husband, my family, my friends and most of us being healthy and well. I love my work, my team and all I am learning from so many colleagues and business partners. My work is a very important part of my life and my personal purpose is to try to make a positive difference for people around me. GE rises to the challenge of building a world that works and our People Operations purpose is to supports the people of GE in their moments that matter. So when I can help to resolve a problem and support the people of GE, I feel I can make a difference.

3. Practice mindfulness and meditation

One of the main goals of mindfulness and meditation is to reduce distractions which can be one of the main triggers to let worry take control over our thoughts. These techniques can help us to take more control over our thoughts and allow us to “be in the moment”. When we are fully concentrated on what we are doing, when we are immersed in the experience, we are not distracted. In times of uncertainty, I have often felt an urge to start the day by checking news and emails. This immediately brought my brain into a reactive mode and I might have ended up fighting one “fire” after another without pausing and reflecting. Since I have decided to begin my days with some sport and a 15 minutes meditation, I feel much calmer, more concentrated and everything seems to flow easier. GE’s health ahead program recommends several apps which can be helpful with nurturing your mind (such as Calm, Grokker) but there is also a lot of free information and sources available. 

Catrin Busatti
Catrin Busatti
People Operations Region Leader
General Electric
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