My mindfulness practice transformed the way I lead in the most unexpected of ways.
I’ve had a consistent practice for years. It started with yoga, then began to deepen as I studied meditation and went through a breathwork facilitator training. Journaling and gratitude practices helped me integrate what I was learning.
These practices have had a massive impact on the way I live in so many ways.
I’m better able to manage my attention and bring it to the present moment. I’ve learned to accept – knowing that acceptance is not the same as agreement – and move through life holding less tension. I’ve learned how to trust the moment and notice how it’s happening for me.
The list goes on.
But the lesson that’s had the most transformative impact on how I live is understanding that we don’t experience life through our minds – we experience life through our bodies. It’s a subtle shift that’s fundamentally altered how I move through life.
I know it sounds a little woo-woo, but hear me out…
Our bodies are the vehicle through which we experience life. Our minds interpret these experiences and assign meaning to them.
Our bodies are always here, in the present moment, interacting with life. Our minds, on the other hand, are mostly thinking – removed from the present moment, missing most of life.
We eat breakfast and think about work.
We’re in a meeting, Slacking someone about a different project.
We’re eating lunch thinking about what we’ll do for our workout later.
We’re working out thinking about what we’ll eat for dinner.
We’re eating dinner thinking about walking the dog.
We’re walking the dog thinking about what we have to do at work tomorrow.
Most of the time, we’re thinking about something other than what we’re actually doing.
Therein lies one of the greatest challenges of being human – we spend 99% of our day thinking, rarely paying attention to what our bodies are experiencing and the information they’re sharing with us.
And when we’re thinking instead of being present, we miss so much of what’s happening around us. That makes it really difficult to interact with life in a way that’s aligned with what it’s telling us, because we simply aren’t paying attention to the signals.
So if we’re to move through life in a way that’s aligned, learning to place our attention on our bodies and what they’re sensing in the present moment is paramount.
It’s a practice.
For me, this practice has been transformative.
Every day, as part of my morning ritual, I do a body scan. It helps me observe what’s happening in my body and notice areas of tension, of ease, of discomfort, of lightness. It allows me to notice emotions that might be present and where they’re being held.
When I hike, I practice placing my attention on my different senses.
I notice what I can hear, moving from near to far and far to near. I pay attention to the sounds my feet make on different surfaces and how the sounds change going uphill vs downhill. I listen to the way the leaves rustle as a breeze starts off in the distance, making its way towards where I am on the trail. I hear my poles making contact with the ground, the water jostling in my pack, and the gentle patter of rain on the canopy before the droplets make their way to the ground.
I notice what I can see, zooming in on what’s in front of me and zooming out to what’s on the horizon. I focus my attention on the colors and patterns of the rocks in front of me, the veins of the leaves I’m passing, and the colors of the trees flowering in different seasons. I look out to the entire forest, taking in the vast number of trees, standing strong and steady amidst changing weather patterns.
I notice bodily sensations, paying attention to how what I feel in my feet changes with the terrain. I sense the breeze on my face and my neck as it dries sweat. I feel the vibrational differences in my poles as they make contact with rocks, dirt, and roots. I notice where my clothing makes contact with my body and how it changes with each step.
I notice smells and the direction they come from. I pay attention to how scents change through the seasons and in different weather patterns. The smell of wet dirt. The lightness of the breeze next to a field of lavender.
I notice the flavors and textures in the snacks I eat. The sweetness of dehydrated mango, when it’s fresh and melts in your mouth. The sour flavor of dehydrated pineapple, with its stringy and fibrous texture. The welcome saltiness of chips and the relief felt with a squirt of electrolytes.
It’s all a practice in tuning into the present moment.
The practice then allows me to show up differently in my day-to-day.
It helps me be more fully present when I’m in conversations. It helps me notice subtle changes in body language or expressions or tones so I can better meet someone where they are. It helps me notice feelings within myself more quickly. It helps me be aware of when my mind is agitated and pulling my attention from the present moment.
All of this is information that allows me to respond with deeper alignment to the what’s actually happening, rather than missing these cues and reacting simply to what’s in my head.
This practice has had a transformative impact on the way I experience life.
Then, two years ago, it completely transformed the way I lead.
It started with a simple, yet profound realization:
The same way we experience life through our bodies, I experience being an entrepreneur through my businesses.
So the same way bringing my attention to what my body is telling me allows me to live with greater alignment, bringing my attention to what the businesses are telling me allows me to lead with greater alignment.
So often when we’re leading, we’re thinking.
When that happens, we lead from the inside out. We think we have a brilliant idea and that we know what’s best. A new marketing campaign. A new service line. A new role to hire for.
The thought starts inside of us and we jam it into the business, only to have it fall flat.
It was only when I realized the same principle that reshaped how I interact with life could reshape how I lead, that I was able to break this pattern.
Instead of working from the inside out – focusing just on my thoughts about the businesses – I began exploring how I might work from the outside in – noticing what the businesses are telling me and responding to their signals.
Just like in my personal life, it’s been a practice.
And just like in my personal life, it’s totally transformed entire trajectory of my work by allowing me to let go of my thoughts about what the business “should be” and instead notice the signals it’s offering me.
Example 1: The Start of Our Corporate Retreats
When I burnt out of my career in management consulting at the end of 2021, I was certain of one thing – I never wanted to do anything related to corporate work again. I carried this thought forward when I started Sand and Salt Escapes, focusing on mindfulness retreats for individuals.
I held the thought closely, even as others suggested I consider corporate teams as potential clients. I was working from the inside-out, focusing solely on my thoughts and not the signals around me.
That all changed when I received a call in September of 2022 from a former colleague and good friend who is part of YPO (Young Presidents Organization). He shared that his YPO Forum was planning a retreat focused on how to find more meaning in life and asked if I’d be willing to design and lead the experience for them.
This invitation challenged me to stop thinking “I don’t want to do anything corporate” and start paying attention to what was happening in the moment. As I reflected on the opportunity, I realized the business was speaking to me – offering me signals that this work had potential to be impactful in a corporate environment. It was in conflict with the thought I held of never wanting to work in corporate spaces again, but I had to get out of my thoughts to notice what the business was communicating.
I decided to let go of my thoughts and listen to what the business was telling me.
Naturally, the retreat went extraordinarily well. It totally shifted my perspective and showed me the potential of our work in corporate spaces. This was perfect timing, because we had three unrelated corporate opportunities surface over the next three months, which eventually led to us adding leadership team retreats as a second service line to Sand and Salt Escapes.
This opportunity was only possible by letting go of my thoughts, thinking that I knew what was best, and instead paying attention to what the business was communicating to me.
Example 2: Building Ritual Retreats
By 2024, I had built a consistent practice of letting go of my thoughts of what I wanted the business to be in favor of paying attention to what the business was asking to be.
As Q1 2024 played out, I began noticing a theme the business was communicating. Our corporate work was begging to grow, and housing it under the same entity as our direct-to-consumer work was preventing it from flourishing.
In slowing down and paying attention to the signals from the business, I noticed our messaging was becoming watered down as we attempted to speak to both direct-to-consumer and corporate clients. I noticed the disproportionate time I was spending on direct-to-consumer work, which was a grind, while our corporate work was begging to grow.
But we were profitable and had phenomenal momentum.
If I had just listened to what I thought I wanted – a growing, profitable business – I wouldn’t have noticed the signals and would have plowed forward.
Instead, I got out of my thoughts and paid attention to what the business was telling me – our current model wasn’t sustainable.
It was a massive pill to swallow. It meant we had to reassemble the existing pieces into a structure that was aligned to what the business was asking for – not what I thought I wanted it to be.
Over the coming months, I split our leadership team retreats into a second company, Ritual Retreats, and returned Sand and Salt Escapes back to being 100% focused on consumers, serving private groups.
We’re only weeks in to having two separate companies, but the impact has been incredible. Processes are streamlined. We’re more efficient. Things feel lighter. And with more space to speak to and serve our respective clients, the work is flourishing.
It was only by letting go of what I thought I wanted and paying attention to what the business was asking for that I was able to make this transformation, creating alignment between the structure of the businesses and what they were asking to be.
So here’s an idea. The next time you’re making a decision, ask yourself:
“Is this what the business is asking for?”
It just may change what you see as possible.
