This year the term ‘Mindful March’ is everywhere, with encouragement to be more mindful in your approach to life for the 31 days, trying out a new idea or action to help you live more in the present moment. Lovely ideas and sentiments and I hope ones that will support people to live more connected lives and cope better with day to day stress, anxiety and depression. It is delightful to see and feel the energy on social media as people respond to these ideas.
In ancient Rome before Julius Caesar’s calendar reform, March was the first month of the year. It is the month when winter starts to end and spring begins. To me it feels like a fresh, new beginning each year, I’m always slightly sad that the ski season is coming to a close, but at home in Yorkshire, it means nature waking up and beautiful spring flowers. However, it is also apparently the worst month for productivity and the best month for vasectomies! March was actually named for the Latin Martius, or Mars, the Roman God of War. Incidentally, the Pentagon still seems to agree with this Roman tradition: with the exception of the recent War on Afghanistan, almost all major US-NATO led military operations since the invasion of Vietnam have begun in the month of March. Probably best we send the Pentagon on holiday in March in future!
Mindful Mentoring for March
My challenge to mentors this March, is to consider how you can mentor more mindfully during the month and going forward, so ‘Mindful Mentoring for March’. To me the skills of a truly effective mentor are totally grounded in mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn talks of mindfulness as: ‘The quality of paying attention in the present moment, without judgement.’ When we speak of being mindful, we aren’t talking about meditation, or other mindfulness practices. Instead be more attentive to what is around us and be more aware or even careful about what we do. Having a deeper understanding of how a mindful mind set can enhance a mentor’s practice, both for themselves and their mentee, would improve the effectiveness of the majority of mentors who haven’t thought of their practice through this mindful mentoring lens previously.
So to explore the elements of mindfulness that can really enhance a mentor’s practice further, join me on the 14th March at 1pm UK time for a short webinar. If you can’t make it, we can send you a useful infographic to showcase some of the ideas I will be discussing instead.
Contact us to book your free place or ask for your infographic.
Enjoy your Mindful March!
Enjoyed this article?
Subscribe to Newsletter…I want to know more!
Get in touch and one of the team will contact you to see how we can help.
