Entrepreneurs know this. ROI (Return on Investment) is most typically discussed with regards to money. But when it comes to creativity and innovation, the most powerful ROI always comes from TIME and ENERGY you invest in yourself and in your project and/or business.

In other words, when you want to develop new creative ideas and bring your project to a whole new level or when you want to start an innovative business venture, what you invest will be a combination of the following 5 elements:

TIME + EFFORT + DISCIPLINE + DETERMINATION + TRUST

This powerful combination is key in ROIs for creative endeavours and requires to develop a mindful meditation practice that will help you gain more clarity on your project, think outside the box and keep focus while feeling energized. How so, you ask?

Here are a 3 main benefits of a mindfulness practice for your project.

Benefits

• Gaining more clarity on your vision

First of all, meditation increases neural connections, helping your brain better process information and organize it. When you focus on your breathing, a powerful image or a particular intention that speaks to you, you are building your concentration and strengthening your mind. Each time that you notice your mind wandering, and that you pause to acknowledge it, you are in a moment of mindfulness. Noticing and sorting out thoughts will help you gain more clarity on what is at the core of your vision.

• Refocusing to envision new ideas

With more clarity and personal insights due to mindfulness, you then may start visualizing new possibilities. And you silence your inner critic as you learn self compassion. You also become more resourceful and may come up with new creative ideas for your project.

• Managing stress and Being more self confident

A mindful meditation session will provide you with calmness when you usually feel overwhelmed or stressed out, simply by taking a much needed break and focusing on your breathing for a few minutes. Your self confidence will also increase because of the positive mindset framed by meditation. Bonus: Feeling resourceful, energized and creative will not only have a positive impact on yourself, it will also impact your other relationships – whether in your personal life or in your work relations (clients, partners, employees and assistants).

How to do it but, more importantly, how to commit to it?

A mindfulness or meditation practice is a little bit like mental training – you need to practice regularly or as often as you can, so that you can see long term benefits for your creative or entrepreneurial work. The key here is PATIENCE. Give your practice some time and be kind to yourself. This is not about performance and there are no quick fixes.

Here are 3 TIPS that will help you commit to a mindful meditation practice that reflects the powerful combination of “time + effort + discipline + determination + trust” for your ROI in creativity:

1.     Make a daily date with yourself! The effort you will put into taking this time for yourself will be highly rewarding, but you need to be consistent and block a particular time in your calendar to commit to it. Ask yourself the following questions: What is the moment of my day when I can take a short break? How can I integrate it into my routine (morning, evening, etc.)? What ritual could I create to make it a special and pleasant moment that belongs to me? What will help me stick to it?

2.     Focus on one intention during this practice. Setting an intention for yourself or your business/project is very much like setting goals. By identifying one particular objective linked to your vision, you decide what deserves your primary focus and you already start getting more clarity on what matters most to you in this moment. Verbalizing this intention gives it weight and you’re more likely to remember it and live by it the rest of your day. Your intention may look like a key phrase phrased in a positive way starting with “I…” It could also be a series of positive keywords, qualities or values that resonate with you.

3.     Find your pace. Sometimes it is best to start “just” with 5mn. There is no such thing as not enough meditation time/ duration! You cannot “fail” at meditating and everyone meditates differently (the amount of online articles on the subject will prove it). Any time you can set aside to breathe and make space in your brain is a gift to yourself. You can also increase your meditation practice time as you feel more comfortable and used to it!

For some guidance on three short meditation exercises, I like this simple article. These tips are easy to follow at home or at your office.

I will soon post a new article about my own personal ritual. So if you’d like ideas on how to incorporate mindfulness and meditation techniques in your daily life, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter here.

Make sure you follow Ariadne Coaching’s Instagram and/or Facebook page for more inspiration and tips!

Coach Virginie