Mindfulness in Remodeling

I founded my company in 1987, and created a successful design/build remodeling company serving Eastern Mass. with 30 employees.

Personally, I’ve always struggled with chronic anxiety, and in the early 2000s, I tried meditation. Then, in 2008, I did a five-day retreat through the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program. That retreat was the eye opener that I was ready to commit to this practice. After that, I began meditating every day for at least 20 minutes.

How Meditation has Helped

I do what’s called Mindfulness Meditation. The practice centers on a very simple concept: Can I learn to just watch my own thoughts without judgment? That’s the foundation. The next few years were helpful, but the real “Aha moment” for me came in 2016. I started noticing that I didn’t have chronic anxiety anymore. I still get situationally anxious like anyone else, but it was no longer chronic. I said, “Wow, this practice really works.”

Teaching Meditation to Remodelers

Once that happened, I wanted to teach it. In 2019, I started a two-year mindfulness meditation training program. My practicums were online because of the pandemic, but one of them became a regular meditation group based out of PRO New England.

My goal now is to bring meditation to people in business. I’d like to normalize it because meditation is really a great business tool.

We all have tools, we have our iPhones and iPads, our hammers, and measuring devices. This tool makes you feel more centered about approaching your business.

What happens with mindfulness meditation over time is that you begin doing the practice even if you’re not meditating. Say I’m in a work conversation, and I feel agitated. I can see the tone of my voice is increasing, and see that the person is getting pissed off. I can breathe, instantly become less agitated, and change the engagement. That’s really the beauty of this.

Meditation allows me to watch my own emotions. I can watch my reactions. My weekly practice group is on Wednesdays at 5PM Eastern time. It’s mostly people from Pro New England and related organizations. I’m also working with one of my cohorts in the PRO affiliates to see if I can make other time slots available throughout the day. I want to reach people who are not necessarily East Coast-based. I’ve started a website: Mindfuldirections.net.

Meditation is an amazing tool to learn self awareness. It changes stress levels. It allows us to learn, to listen better, and to engage with people differently. Mediation has made me a better leader and has improved many of my personal relationships. 

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