Ambition is a marvelous trait to have! Ambitious people can liven up a room with their determination and excitement. They are usually the ones who encourage others to stay on task and see the end goal as a certainty. Here’s the thing that go-getters often neglect though: their personal down time and self-care when it comes to health, relaxation, and sleep.
It’s easy for goal-driven individuals to get engulfed in the project at hand. This is understandable and much of the reason they so often succeed. However, there is a specific relax time that is not only good for you, but also good for your goals: meditation.
You might be thinking you don’t have time to sit around and meditate or you can’t turn off your thoughts. The truth is, you do have time—if you choose to make the time. A meditation practice doesn’t have to take a lot of time. In fact, there are some easy ways for you to include it into your busy life, no zen room needed.
1. Road Warrior
You’re called a warrior for a reason. You have fought traffic, road rage, weather, long hours, flat tires, and break downs. The question is: Were you trained for this? Probably not. You were taught the basics of driving, but there is a lot more to deal with that how well you handle the wheel. Meditation can be a tremendous help in fighting it all:
*Pull off the road.
*Turn off the radio.
*Hear that? That’s your breath that you may not have heard for a few hours now.
*Take a few minutes to breath in and out your mouth slowly, with intention of filling up your lungs. Listen to the sounds of your personal life force.
Before taking off again, remind yourself that no matter the situation, you are safe. Often you become impatient with how long it can take to get from point A to B. Relax and remember how many more goals can be met when you’re unhurt.
2. Visualizing
What is the end goal? Can you see it? Most ambitious people have great vision. Take that into your meditation practice. This will help you manifest the outcome while you do something great for your health as well. This step is super simple:
*Sit in silence or with music on a low volume.
*Close your eyes.
*Build the vision in your mind like a piece of art, one piece at a time.
*Enjoy the view for a few moments. If random thoughts arise, you may repeat one of the affirmations covered above.
*If you love to draw, take this step to another level and draw your vision, which is also a form of meditation.
3. Indoor Elements
All humans love the elements. Fire, water, earth, space, and wind just make your soul happy. Which one is your favorite? Start there and bring it into the office! Do you love fire? You don’t have to wait to enjoy it until you go to your friend’s bonfire night. There are multiple, inexpensive ways to have a fire, flowing water, or visions of space in your office.
*Choose your favorite element to create inside.
*Stop for five to 10 minutes a few times a week to just observe your creation. Watch each flicker of light or stream of water.
*Use various affirmations for each element as you watch. Fire may be a transformation statement as water may be nurturing or cleansing.
4. Becoming a Vessel
You may have heard the saying, “you cannot pour from an empty vessel.” Many ambitious people focus so intensely on the goal in front of them they neglect to refill. This can be fixed through a simple meditation. Whatever it is you feel you need more of, allow the universe to supply:
*Close your eyes and imagine the top of your head like a battery and a charger. Use a visual guide of when you plug in your phone and see the juice start rising to the top.
*The universe is your energy, healing, and source of “juice” for all you need.
*Repeat a mantra here like “I am ______” (whatever you are wanting to receive).
5. Desk Time
More than likely, you spend a significant amount of time at a desk. Whether researching, emailing, or invoicing, today’s world of work requires a lot of tech time. Sitting for long periods can be rough on your body—all the tabs and tasks can overwhelm the mind. Taking a mental break for five to 10 minutes for a short meditation can actually be productive to the current goal. You will restart with a more relaxed mind, less tension in the body, and possibly an epiphany toward the mission.
Here’s how to do it:
*Put your computer on sleep mode.
*Set a timer for five to 10 minutes.
*Find your most comfortable position in the chair.
*Allow your arms to relax and rotate your neck down and around, rolling the stress away.
*Think silently to yourself affirmations such as “I am successful”, “I am productive”, “I am healthy”, “I am a leader.” Choose any sentence you would like and repeat it slowly. After each repetition, increase the time before starting the sentence again. If another thought comes into your mind, just observe it, and begin your chosen affirmation again.
6. Team Time
Introducing and encouraging your coworkers to meditate as well is productive for everyone. Meditation is crucial to the manifestation process. If you are all meditating, think of how much faster and smoother it will be to arrive at each goal marker. Your team will be more patient with themselves, each other, and clients. They will build an intuitive process that can help decrease mistakes, increase productivity, and give a deeper understanding to challenges. This is certainly a win-win for each individual and the team.
Provide them with this article, share with them how it is affecting your life, and be a “reminder system” on occasion as well. If a coworker says, “hey, did you meditate yesterday?” it helps keep each other on track.
7. Lunch on the Lawn
Any opportunity that you have on your lunch break to get outside, take it! Did you know you can meditate with your eyes open? After your meal, sit for five minutes—this is good for the gut and your mind:
*Set your eyes on something in view: a bird, a tree, or a couple enjoying a date.
*Look with intention, using the same precision you use when reading each word carefully on an important email or spreadsheet. Except now, you are in the moment—your mind is actually where you are instead of back at the office or running through the script of the next meeting. What is happening right in front of you?
*Notice your breath and the calmness of your body as you enjoy this real-life, present moment.
8. Chakra Power
Goals require more than just hard work. Energy behind the work can be more important than the amount of hours. Our intentions and daily practices of keeping a higher vibration is the real work. Once this becomes a daily routine, you will notice goals manifesting with more efficiency.
If you are not familiar with what a chakra is, read about it here. When working through all chakras, start at the bottom and work your way up. You may also target specific chakras if you’re looking to gain the benefits from that area or increase its liveliness. There are many aspects to chakras, but this article will stay focused on utilizing them for goals:
*Root (Muladhara) Chakra is located at the base of the spine. This chakra is your foundation. You cannot build an empire without a strong foundation, right? This energy center is responsible for your sense of feeling safe, grounded, and stable. When out of balance, you may try to manifest from a survival mode subconsciously. A meditation for this area can be done by giving attention to the very bottom of your spine with eyes closed. Visualize the color red and imagine your spine connecting to the earth like tree roots. A mantra for this area could be, “I am a survivor” or “I am safe.”
*Sacral (Svadhisthana) Chakra is located two inches below your belly button. Here is where your creativity comes from, an important aspect while striving for destination. Maybe you need some creative new marketing ideas—this would be your go-to chakra. Color here is orange. You will do the same meditation technique as with the root, but use the mantra of affirmation of something like, “My ideas are unique and gain the attention that is needed.”
*Solar Plexus (Manipura) Chakra is located two inches above the belly button. Here is where your personal power, confidence and true sense of self-worth arises. If this chakra is out of balance, you tend to second-guess yourself, hold your head a little less high, and overthink the small things. The color is yellow and a good mantra would be, “I am powerful by the divine way” “Courage is my nature” or “Strength comes to me easily.”
*Heart (Anahata) Chakra is located in the center of the chest and the color is green. Naturally, this chakra is in charge of love, emotions, and feelings—something that is often shunned and outcast in the business world. As previous generations were told, it’s weak to show emotion. The world may be changing, but the programming can still be there. You may feel it is better to have a “harder” exterior at work. This can take its toll on your mind, body, soul, goal outcomes, physical health, and connection to other humans in general. Remember, you can be firm, yet loving; fair, yet gentle. Use this mantra: “Genuine love is always the right path.”
*Throat (Vishuddha) Chakra is located in the throat with the color blue. As a person with an ambitious drive, communication of what you need, want, and envision are vital aspects of who you are. However, it’s important to remember that everyone processes words and life from their own perspective. Your sentence may mean one thing to you, but something completely different to an employee. Focusing in this area will help with communication so that all understand clearly, allowing the universe to speak through you. A good mantra for here is something like, “All ears hear me with comprehension.”
*Third Eye (Ajna) Chakra is located between the eyebrows with a color of indigo. This chakra is your intuition—that gut feeling is first processed in this area of the mind. If you don’t give this area attention on a regular basis, you may begin to allow your doubts and subconscious to move in, thinking they know better. The intuition is always correct. This is your personal GPS system to any and all manifestations, safety, and alignment. A good mantra for the ajna is “I receive messages clearly, with an understandable difference of my thoughts versus the gifts of my higher self.”
*Crown (Manipura) Chakra is located above the head with a color purple, sometimes also shown as just bright light. This chakra is not only a connection to your higher self, but also the feeling and awareness that you are connected to all things. When you process from this area, you strive to create a world better for all things on this earth. From humans, plants, animals, water, air, and space, you know that what you do to one, you do to all. Your goals and ambitions, no matter how great or small, automatically provide a higher vibration for every living thing now and to come. Sometimes it may feel as though your dedication to whatever it is you do goes unappreciated. Through giving attention to this chakra, you can feel that those around you do not need to see or acknowledge your efforts because you can sense so many who do.
9. Phone Games
Phone games can provide a form of meditation. They require your attention, the score is irrelevant, and worry or stress seem to slip away with all the fun. Allow yourself to play a game in times of prolonged waiting—at a doctor’s appointment, waiting for the bus, or while kids are at soccer practice. Remember having fun is being productive, too.
10. Guided Meditation
Guided meditations are fun, unique and provide endless possibilities. Check your area for live guided meditation events or utilize the many opportunities online with apps, YouTube, and SoundCloud. Many wonderful meditation teachers are out there to help be your voice so that you can just listen and go with the flow.
As you start this journey, remember to take your time, try out each technique, and see what you love the most. Keep your favorite for your general practice and skip around when various areas need your attention and intention. This is all about what you want; there are no rules to how many variations you can create. The number one suggestion is do at least one meditation per day. If you want to increase to more times per day later on, that’s wonderful, too.
As someone who is ambitious, it’s important to keep your focus and health intact. If you feel you don’t have time, ask yourself: Would I rather take a few minutes a day to meditate or take weeks correcting a mistake or recovering from an illness? Meditation has been proven time and again to provide so much of what we desire. Start the journey today and reap the benefits.
