You probably didn’t know this, but meditation is a remarkably common activity amongst some of the most highly successful people in the world. Examples of great meditators include Oprah Winfrey (billionaire TV mogul, actress, producer and presenter), William Clay Ford Jr. (Executive Chairman of Ford) and Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn). Nearly ALL highly successful people will engage in meditative music or activities as part of their day and that includes listening to what we at Transcend Coaching refer to as meditative music.
What is meditative music? Well, first and foremost it is not necessarily ‘meditation music’. We don’t necessarily mean you need to go searching Spotify and YouTube for the sound of wind chimes, whale songs and Tuvan Throat Singing.
Side note, throat-singing and chanting is incredible for focusing the mind or helping you to sleep.
No, meditative music is using a single track or album in a mantra like way. As a way of zoning out of external distraction and focusing on a specific task. For instance, in the case of writing this blog post? Slipknot’s first album. The song itself doesn’t necessarily have to have a ‘meditative quality’ either.
The Slipknot album is good because the rhythmic blast makes it easy to fade out background noise whilst at times having the fiery testosterone pumping roar to give drive to work faster. Tim Clover, the CEO and Founder of ‘Glow’ listens to ‘Dog Days are Over’ by Florence and the Machine to get into the right mindset for prioritising activities and starting the day.
Not feeling the meditative music idea? Not everyone is a fan of using music to help productivity, and that’s just fine because everyone is an individual! Here’s four famously meditative activities that you should try to incorporate into your daily routine. Fitting them in early in the day or late in the evening before you go to bed is the best idea. They will either give you the time to mentally prepare for the day or some breathing space in which to compile the day you’ve had.
Cleaning!
Grabbing a mop, vacuuming or doing the washing up. Even Loading the dishwasher! These activities are fairly free from intensive thinking and full of repetitive movements – perfect for allowing your brain to tune out and to ponder things.
Adult Colouring Books
Colour books have such a massive surge in popularity in the last five years with adult colouring books making their way into many shops. There are even monthly adult colouring magazines now available. Why? Simple. Colouring in is an easy monotask (singular activity) which gives your brain a break whilst also helping you to sharpen your ability to focus on a task.
Single Object Focus
This is technically actual meditation it just doesn’t require the ‘ommmms’, breathing techniques or incense. Just focus your attention on a single object for a few minutes to half an hour. Don’t actively stare at it, merely allow it to be the centre of your vision and unfocus. As if you were allowing yourself to fall asleep with your eyes open. Using an object with some movement to it like a baby’s mobile or a flickering candle is best.
Brushing your teeth
As an adult you have literally no need to focus on the act of brushing your teeth because it is all muscle memory. You also do it morning and evening so you’re hitting the two key times of day for reflection and thought.
Transcend Coaching is a small business consultant and life coach offering business management coaching and personal coaching. We primarily serve businesses and individuals in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Walsall, Dudley and the West Midlands but we can help nationwide. Whatever your needs – whether you are attempting to hit sales targets, achieve personal goals or start-up your own business Transcend Coaching is here to help you. Get in touch today for a free consultation!
