Rasmus Hougaard has written an excellent book, One Second: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness. Hougaard believes that we all have the ability to control our own minds rather than have our minds control us. His book focuses on practical uses of mindfulness training in the workplace.

The key is to train yourself in a skill called “open awareness”. Hougaard defines open awareness as “the ability to observe your mind”.  It helps you become “familiar with the workings of the mind and how that causes us to experience challenges in life”. Open awareness “engenders a certain clarity in the mind, allowing you to stay one second ahead of your reactions, regardless of the situation”. According to the author, “it is your own thoughts that are the cause of your problems”. Your mind is easily distracted by external events and thoughts – resulting in you having no control over what you pay attention to. Open awareness gives “sharp focus direction and intentionality”.

According to Hougaard, “Open awareness isn’t about minimizing the number of distractions in your life. On the contrary, it’s about seeing those distractions as precisely what they are and choosing which ones deserve your attention. The essence of open awareness training is “observing your thoughts, senses, emotions and tasks in a neutral way – like a mental observatory”. Open awareness training consists of a model Hougaard calls the ABCD model, with four parts:

  • Anatomy – It’s important that you’re sitting upright but relaxed with feet on the floor. It’s important to release any tension that might exist in your body. Place your hands on your lap and close your eyes. More details are provided in the book.
  • Breathing – It’s important to have an anchor to focus on to manage your wandering mind. That anchor can be your breath as “breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, enabling you to rest and relax better”. The book provides details on how to anchor with your breath.
  • Counting – According to Hougaard “counting your breaths is “a great way to stay focused”. The book provides guidance focused on counting (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10) after breathing out and then breathing in and repeating the breathing cycle.
  • Distractions – There are many distractions that will prevent you from focusing on your breath – “smell, taste, bodily sensations, sights, sounds and the mind itself”. To deal with these inevitable distractions, Hougaard recommends relaxing (release any tension in the body) and releasing (letting go of any distracting thoughts by redirecting your focus toward your breath).

Importantly, “the ability to observe your own thoughts and experiences instead of being your thoughts and experiences not only results in more effectiveness and mental peace but also preserves your energy”. Hougaard presents three important insights that “relate to the nature of change, the sources of our unhappiness and the nature of our own self”. They are:

  • Insight #1: Everything changes – “The more you come to grasp, in a meaningful way, the fact that everything changes, it becomes easier to deal with negative things, because you know they will change”. Furthermore, “Since unpleasant things disappear, any resistance is a waste of energy. On the flip side, pleasant things also disappear, making any attachment a similar waste of energy”.
  • Insight #2: Happiness is a Choice – “The situations we experience don’t cause frustration or anger on their own. Rather, it’s the way we relate to our surroundings that creates the problems we perceive in life. Regardless of external circumstances, we are the source of our own happiness or frustration”.
  • Insight #3: Everything is Potential – “The more we come to appreciate that we are not as simply and clearly defined as we think, the less vulnerable we become”. Indeed, “the myriad of distractions we’re faced with daily transform from petty nuisances into possibilities. Everything is potential”. The reality is that “we can break free of our own limited definitions of ourselves and others”.

One Second: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness is a highly recommended book to read.