You're One Step Away from Zen in the Board Room

We step into the zendo* with… the foot nearest the outside edge of the doorway. There is no religious significance to that. If you step in with the other foot, nothing awful is going to happen. Really. But it's a way for you, at that moment, to notice where you are. You can see if your mind is where you are, or if your mind is somewhere else.

- Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman

The next time you’re about to enter the board room, a team meeting, a client meeting, or even cross the threshold into your own home after a long day, stop for a moment just outside the door.

Notice where you are. Observe how you feel – tense, anxious, angry, ecstatic, bored, tired, distracted, whatever it is. Name that feeling or those feelings. Then, step away from that moment and into a new one. As you enter the room, intentionally, mindfully, step in – always with the same foot.

This simple, seemingly insignificant act will help you gain focus, practice discipline and step forward with purpose and poise. Go ahead, put your best foot forward.




*A zendo is the meditation room of a Zen monastery.