Meditation for financial advisors is no longer a woo-woo concept. Meditation has become a an accepted practice that many enlightened, successful advisors perform to help them focus on their practice while enjoying good self-care and a balanced life. Advisors I have worked with since 2004 who practice meditation are more enlightened, calmer, and focused on their business goals.
I first began meditating after reading an article on how many top business development gurus practice meditation consistently. I figured that if they were doing it maybe it would be of benefit to me as well. Boy was I ever right!
You see, my monkey mind was taking over my life and I wanted to be calm and serene. A monkey mind can be defined as an overactive mind that is often a Type A personality with nervousness and anxiety ruling the mind.
So I made a plan to practice meditation and improve my life! I know it can improve your life too.
Meditation classes
If you’re very new to meditation, it might benefit you to take a class which can allow you to become accustomed to clearing your mind.
I took a 4 week meditation class to help me figure out if it would work for me. Our instructor told us all about the benefits of meditation and then guided us to imagine we were walking down a set of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs there was a door. We were to open the door and go into our meditation room. We were instructed to create our rooms just the way we wanted them furnished. This is where the guidance ended and our meditation became what we wanted it to be.
I found my mind was not ready to be still. It wanted to go to all the unfinished tasks on my desk at the office. My mind kept wandering and I had to learn over the years how to bring it back to stillness.
How I meditate using affirmations
1.I use the “Reminders” app on my MacBook to create affirmations to meditate about. That way my intentions are always with me on my iPhone. This is not the way everyone should approach meditation. This works for me, but you may find other resources that work for you.
2.I sit in a comfortable chair with my feet flat on the ground and my arms at my side.
3. I open my “Reminders” app on my phone or MacBook to access my affirmations (My clients create their own affirmations from a menu on my Private Client Website).
4. I close my eyes and then imagine myself going up a set of stairs. I count to myself as I ascend the stairs one step at a time, with 10 steps in total. The hallway is lined with my husband’s artwork and is a very pleasant space. I think the way the wood railing that goes up the stairs feels to my touch. There is a light at the top of the stairs coming from under the door. I get to the top and open the door. I am in a treehouse with big windows all around letting in light. It is a calm and motivational place.
5. I read each of my affirmations in my mind, while breathing and exhaling deeply, and then I imagine what it feels like to accomplish or be the affirmation.
For example. One of my affirmations is about good health. Due to a melanoma health scare in 2010, this is important for me.
My health affirmation is: I am healthy. I am strong. My body heals itself.
I then imagine my white blood cells chasing down bad cells in my body, eliminating them, and clearing out my arteries.
I imagine myself hiking, walking, working out, and being very health (which I am of course!)
My clients have affirmations for health, money, family, discipline, integrity, confidence, etc.
6. I continue reading through each of my affirmations and imagine completing or accomplishing each one.
This gives me a sense of direction, satisfaction, and overall well-being.
3 Best Apps for Financial Advisor Meditation
I also use apps on my phone for meditation and getting to sleep.
Who doesn’t have a smart phone these days? We can download apps to do almost anything and apps for mediation are no different. I’ve found many apps over the years and here are my 3 favorites.
#1 Meditation App: Sleep Easily by Shazzie – free version
First of all, I love this app! It’s not just for sleep, it’s also a guided meditation. After listening, I feel so relaxed that I often take a snooze. This is ideal for traveling and being able to get to sleep in unfamiliar locations.
#2 Meditation App: Calm – free and premium
There are guided meditations and sleep stories on this app which have really helped me over the years.
#3 Meditation App: Buddify – $4.99
I really love this app because there are meditations for sleep, stress, traveling, dealing with difficult emotions, and many more. I love how you can customize the wheel and call your meditations anything you like.
7 Meditation Benefits for Financial Advisors
1. Get clear
There’s something magical about meditation in that it clears your mind of all the cobwebs that have been tangling up your neural pathways. Being still and being intentional help you get clear from all the things that have been overloading your mind.
2. Get new ideas
One of the many things I noticed about meditating is that getting clear also allows new ideas to come into your mind. Brilliant ideas on how to be strategic and grow your practice in an intelligent way. It’s almost like you have to be still to allow space for new ideas to form. I’ve had some of the best ideas come to me while meditating and you can too!
3. Improve sleep
If you wake up worrying about the tasks that need to be accomplished in the office, meditation could work well for you. When winding down at night, you could use affirmations as mentioned above or you could use one of the apps to lead you into sleep. Either way, your mind will relax and help you sleep more deeply.
4. Improve self awareness
How self aware are you? What kind of work have you done on YOU? Ever heard of emotional intelligence? Personal development and meditation lead to self awareness and can help you not only become aware of your own self motivations but also the feelings and about the boom in dangerous counterfeit medicines emotions of others. This strengthens the right side of your brain, the emotional and creative part that develops empathy and understanding. This makes you a better financial advisor who cares about your clients!
5. Improve health
Being healthy benefits YOU and your life! Meditation helps with lowering blood pressure and slowing down your thinking. Being healthy helps you to be a good role model for your clients and allows you to impart a sense of calm and stability.
6. Positive mood
Advisors who practice meditation project a positive attitude. Some of my financial advisor clients have even become financial gurus who attract clients who want to work on their money issues, somewhat like financial coaching, but without the financial advice. Behavioral finance often goes hand in hand with financial coaching and positive emotions!
7. Reduce stress and anxiety
Meditation can reduce stress and anxiety and allow you to focus on what you need to do to build your practice. Rather than allowing your monkey mind to take over your thinking, meditation slows you down,
Conclusion:
There are seven meditation benefits for financial advisors that will change your life! What I want for you is to experience calmness and serenity. You can do this with practice however, you may need me as your coach. If so, please request a consultation.
