Mindful in 5 Podcast

5 Practices to Promote Positive Mental Health

• Spiwe Jefferson • Season 3 • Episode 86

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In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month, let's prioritize taking care of our minds. Join us for a special Mindful in 5 episode as we explore 5 practices to help you clear your mind, find peace, and feel supported. 

Whether it's through self-compassion, mindfulness meditation, gratitude, exercise or social connection, we'll guide you on your journey towards greater mental clarity, inner peace and support. Tune in to discover powerful tools that can help you prioritize your mental health and wellbeing.


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Do you long to feel more joy in work in life? Do you want to reduce stress and sleep better? Are you looking for healthy ways to cope? Join Spiwe Jefferson, mindfulness practitioner and lawyer and learn to operate from your peaceful path. Harness the power of mindfulness meditation to feel softer, more clear, supportive, and cheerful, starting with just five minutes a day.

Well, hi everyone! May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To honor that, today's episode is titled, five practices to promote positive mental health, and is all about promoting mental health and how we can support ourselves as employees in the workplace. 

My name is Spiwe Jefferson, lawyer and certified mindfulness practitioner. Our mental health and well being are important both in our personal lives and at work. Well, today we are focused on mental health in the workplace, the good habits you use to be more effective at work can easily translate into good habits at home and vice versa. So what can you do to promote your mental health in the workplace? Here are five ideas to get you thinking. They are by no means the best or the only ways but just intended to jumpstart your thinking or perhaps reaffirm things that you're currently already doing. 

So thing number one; cultivate self compassion. Mindfulness is all about being present in the moment without judgment, and without being overwhelmed by what's happening around us. But the thing is, for most of us, that whole judgment thing is a big deal. We are often very judgmental in negative ways, when it comes to how we think about ourselves and our performance, whether it's in the workplace, whether it's how we're doing as parents how we're doing in juggling all the different balls that we have to juggle every day, with the various hats that we wear. So self compassion can help us be kinder to ourselves, which then also reduces stress and anxiety. Now, you might be thinking, well, that's great, but how do you actually do that? Well, we can practice this right now. 

So, I invite you wherever you are. Find a comfortable seated position. Whether you're in a chair, or on a couch, wherever you are, just find a comfortable, preferably ergonomically correct seated position. Close your eyes if you can. And take a deep belly breath in and out where you feel your belly expand as you inhale. So let's practice [inhaling] and exhale. Inhale in. Exhale out. Now in that calmness, you can say something like, "May I be kind to myself in moments of difficulty". Or you can say, "May I give myself the love and care that I need? " Or you can also say, "May I recognize my own worth and value?" 

"May I" statements are a powerful mindfulness tool because they can help cultivate positive intentions and shift our mindset towards kindness and self compassion. By using these types of statements, we can set a positive intention for ourselves and focus our attention on positive self-talk rather than negative self judgment or criticism. This can help to reduce stress, increase self awareness and ultimately lead to greater overall well being. Also, "May I" statements can help develop a more compassionate attitude not just towards ourselves, but also towards others. And that's a key aspect of mindfulness practice. So let's bring that intention with us as we move forward today. 

Number two, setting boundaries. setting boundaries is essential to avoid burnout and to maintain a healthy work life balance. setting boundaries for yourself can include managing your day, when you wake your morning routine, how long you work, when you spend time with family, and going to bed at the same time each night. Now, I didn't say these ideas were easy, because I think many professionals struggle with maintaining consistent boundaries around the timing of how much we work. If that's you, remember that mindfulness is all about being present in the moment without judgment. And so first, define your best schedule, and wake up each day and recommit to your intention to manage your day according to that best schedule no matter what happened yesterday. 

Suggestion number three; take breaks. It's important to take regular breaks throughout the workday to rest and recharge, get up from your desk and stretch, take a walk outside or simply take a few breaths to help reset your mind and reduce your stress. I have a smart speaker in my office and I ask her to remind me in - say 30 minutes. When she does I get up and go do something that takes my mind off of work completely. Even that five minutes helps so that I get back to my desk with a fresh perspective and ready to focus. 

Our next suggestion number four;  stay connected. Social support is important for mental health. So make an effort to stay connected with your colleagues and build positive relationships at work. We have to be much more intentional about this in a virtual work environment where we don't just run into people at the watercooler. But schedule a virtual tea or beverage with a co-worker, whether it's a friend or someone you'd like to get to know better, just take time to chat in a social way. Join an employee resource group, a lot of companies have those or some other workplace social group that just allows you to have fun with your colleagues and co-workers. 

And suggestion number five; we already did this a bit. Practice intentional mindfulness meditation. There are at least 200 studies and a growing body of scientific research that demonstrates the effectiveness of mindfulness based therapy in doing everything from reducing stress, anxiety and depression, to improving physical health, reducing fatigue and chronic pain, boosting the immune system, enhancing recovery from things like cold and flu. It can also help treat issues such as chronic pain, addiction and smoking. And so there are so many benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation, I advocate that you start with just five minutes to sit in stillness in the morning, to center yourself, and then take breaks throughout the day to reconnect with your commitment to your own health and well being. And so these are just a few ideas that can help you promote mental health in the workplace. And just remember, it's an ongoing process. We can all play a role in creating our own supportive and healthy work environment. It starts with each of us individually. 

If you have an employee assistance program that is available to you, take advantage of it. There are other tools and groups that may also be available to you in the organization. Take advantage of all of those as ways to promote your personal, emotional and mental well being. 

So go in peace and take some time today to reflect on ways to promote your mental health and wellbeing in your workday. Until next time, this is Spiwe saying Be mindful and be well.

Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend. Follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. Pick up your signed copy of the book and journal from SpiweJefferson.com or unsigned copies from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever you get your books. Visit SpiweJefferson.com to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.