- Rotary Club of Battaramulla explores mindfulness during panel discussion
Mindfulness is a topic that is discussed more widely today, especially within the corporate sector, where more and more focus is being drawn to mental health. The World Health Organisation states that globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of $ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity. This highlights the need for discussions on mindfulness in one’s personal and professional lives and tools or resources one can access to improve one’s mental wellbeing.
“Mind full or mindful?” was the topic of discussion at a recently held event organised by the Rotary Club of Battaramulla. Held on 24 August, the panel discussion aimed at also raising funds for a Rotaract Club of Battaramulla project to assist orphaned girls.
It was also mentioned that the Rotary Club of Battaramulla ensures that all projects they undertake will ultimately make the world a better place, with the organisers acknowledging that the situation in Sri Lanka, especially given the economic crisis, makes it more challenging in terms of mental wellbeing.
The panel discussion was moderated by transformation coach Archana Law, with the panellists including FCBKI.lk Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Santosh Menon, Women in Management Founder Chairperson Dr. Sulochana Segera, and Coca-Cola Managing Director and General Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Pankaj Sinha.
“Have you ever wondered if there was a way to strike a balance in your life, which is so hectic, full of things to do, and a long to-do list? What if you were able to explore a way that you could integrate into everything that would make your life better, your work and effort more productive, and also give you adequate time for things that you really value and cherish?” Law began by asking the audience.
She added that the panel discussion aimed at answering these questions while also providing some practical tips on how to practice mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
The first question, on what mindfulness means and its impact, was posed to Menon, who shared that mindfulness has made a difference in his life. He explained that we are conditioned to have many things occupy our minds. This could be regarding one’s professional life, relationships, education, and so on. “What if XYZ doesn’t happen?” was a question that plagued his mind, Menon said, especially as an Indian setting up a business in Sri Lanka.
“The result of that stress or the thought in your head that something may not happen and that the consequences could be dire, is that the body responds in a completely different way. The first thing that happens when you have a ‘what if?’ thought and think of the consequences is that you tend to have a sense of anxiety. And the key result of anxiety and stress always stems in your body in a negative way,” he said.
Menon referred to this as “the experience of suffering”, but said that he has since overcome this way of thinking. “One of the key things I did at that time was reach out for help, and when I say I reached out for help, I mean I reached out to books,” he shared, adding that when you are in a situation where you feel a certain nervousness or suffering, as human beings, you tend to figure out what to do next.
“The first thing I did was start reading,” he said, sharing that one of the first books he read was The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle, which Menon said was a clear expression of the concept of mindfulness. The book was a game changer, and Menon shared that one of the key things in mindfulness was enjoying what you are doing at the moment.
“Too often, our future enslaves our present,” he said, stressing that he saw a significant change in his life once he started living in the moment and being mindful, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking more about stress and anxiety in terms of his field or industry, Menon shared: “The advertising business is a deadline business. We have clients, and clients impose deadlines. And often, the deadlines are very challenging, so there is intensive stress within the way our industry functions.”
This negatively impacts one’s health, body, and sleep, among other things. “One of the biggest positives of mindfulness is the unleashing of creativity,” he said, highlighting the importance of mindfulness in an industry like the advertising industry.
Mindful leadership
While Menon touched on the advertising industry and how mindfulness can unleash one’s creativity, Sinha shared his views as a corporate leader, with Law asking him the question: How do you navigate the demanding complexities of what the role demands and what does mindful leadership mean to you?
Sinha shared that management schools teach you to be mindless, with education systems teaching people to go by the rules. “You have various stories of management. What happens is that as you go up the ladder and as you keep absorbing, you tend to think that you know it all, and this makes you become judgmental.”
He added that this also gives one a certain perception or idea of how things are. “You lose sight in the corporate world that there are different ways to achieve the same objective. That’s something which, as a corporate leader, you have to be mindful about.”
Going into more detail about the challenges of the corporate world, Sinha said: “The other big thing which is challenging in the corporate world is that the corporate world lives in the past. If you have to evaluate a company’s performance, you look at its annual report, which is a report of its past. Or if you want to invest in a company, you look into its outlook, which is a look or peep into its future. So the corporate world is designed to be either in the past or in the future.”
This makes it a difficult task for a corporate leader to live in the present, but it is important that the corporate leader strikes a balance.
Sinha also spoke about stereotypes, saying that we tend to become prisoners to them, but that we need to break these stereotypes. He shared that, especially for his generation, there were certain stereotypes about professions, and not following these made society change its perception of you. “Whereas in today’s society, people understand that to achieve the same goals, you have various ways or means. And the kids of today, I would say, are more mindful than the kids of our generation.”
Challenging stereotypes
A different perspective on mindfulness was brought by Dr. Segera, who shared her personal challenges as a woman. Law approached her question to Dr. Segera by saying that her success story was about the growth that comes from many setbacks and the lessons learned, which Dr. Segera has put to good use. Law then asked Dr. Segera what helped her cope with these setbacks or obstacles.
“I found my life purpose or why I am living,” Dr. Segera said. She explained that becoming a single mother during her late 20s limited her life significantly, with her parents and relatives telling her to change her life to “suit” that of a single woman.
“In Sri Lankan terms, to be a respected and successful woman, you need to be married, you need to have kids, and you have to have your in-laws. All these boxes have to be ticked. And we women are very mindful that we have to put all the ticks,” she said. Dr. Segera explained that she found it difficult to stand up against these societal norms or expectations, and took a backseat for 2-3 years.
“But then I lost myself. And my kids lost me,” she said, adding that she then made a decision to quit her job at a multinational company and start her own business. “Business is not for women, especially single mothers,” is among the many discouraging words she heard. Even when registering her business, Women in Management, she faced several challenges, and approval bodies themselves questioned why an organisation about women was being registered as a non-profit organisation as opposed to a charity.
She has since overcome these obstacles, and said: “For me, success isn’t material. Happiness is my success. Anyone can be successful. Have a target, achieve it, and you are successful. However, every successful person cannot be happy, and yet, every happy person can be successful.”
Kindness to oneself
When asked how she was kind to herself, Dr. Segera shared: “I think women are not kind to ourselves. We feel there are a lot of faults within us because we always listen to people who are judgmental. That’s where I changed myself.”
“I realised that the more I looked into the mirror, the more I saw a woman who listened to others about herself, and not to the inner her who was saying, ‘you have come so far’,” Dr. Segera said. She added that before having empathy for others, she started having empathy for herself.
“Ninety percent of happiness is within us. Only 10% is outside. In the same way, 90% of control is also within us. But we are letting others put barriers to us. And I always ask: who put the expiry date on women’s dreams?” Dr. Segera said, leaving the audience in deep thought.
Sinha was also asked to share a way in which he started being more mindful. He explained that there was a stage in his life when he spent most of the day on social media platforms and other apps, becoming a prisoner to them. “These apps or social media platforms are algorithmically designed to keep you captive. They know what you want to see and they keep feeding you that. I slowly became a prisoner to that.”
“I lost my habit of reading. I lost the appetite to exercise. And it was taking a personal toll on me. One fine day, I thought: what do I do about this? How do I bring my life on a track which I want my life to be on?” he said, adding that he joined a mindfulness session, called the 5 a.m. Club, which had participants waking up early and practising various mindfulness exercises. This was his starting point, and it gave him time to read and exercise.
“It has been a journey of personal, physical as well as mental transformation. There have been challenges, but I feel that I am much happier, both physically and mentally, in this journey,” he said.
PHOTOS Saman Abesiriwardana