How would you respond to the following two statements?

Statement 1:

Dr. Siegel Daniel made a great point about the connection and how to manage the mind, brain, and relationship. When we understand our feelings, we can understand the feelings of others. Being fully present and living the present moment defines Mindfulness. Leading mindfulness researcher John Teasdale says Mindfulness is a habit; the more one does, the more likely one is to be in that mode with less and less effort... It's a skill that can be learned. It's accessing something we already have. Mindfulness isn't difficult. What's difficult is to remember to be mindful." So, Mindfulness isn't tricky; the hard part is remembering to do it. Similarly, Psychologists describe the neuroscience of Mindfulness as a computer network built from five hundred trillion transistors, each representing a 'BIT' of information depending on whether it is on or off.

Neuroscience explains how and why we think and feel; what we know about the brain puts the power to change in our hands. Applying neuroscience through leadership coaching and facilitation opens the door to the mind and body relationship and the need to train and develop our mental ability like we build our physical. The actual function of our minds remains the most fascinating mystery. The mindful leader integrates neurosciencewith mindfulness practice - empowering leaders to improve their well-beingand enhance their leadership impact on others. A conscious leader recognizes the challenges of self-management and team leadership and will be ready to provide the opportunity to learn and practice mindfulness in ways readily integrated into everyday life. Mindfulness and managing emotions at work help employees to regulate and manage their feelings better; it helps with calmer minds and a better work environment, thereby assisting a leader in focus. The mindful leader integrates neurosciencewith mindfulness practice - empowering leaders to improve their well-beingand enhance their leadership impact on others.

Statement 2:

More and more frequently I find myself hearing the terms emotional intelligence and mindfulness. Up until recently I've never really paid much attention and blew them off as the latest and greatest "buzzwords" in leadership speak, almost as if someone had read a book, learned something new and wanted to throw words or phrases around; or as an executive used new terms that everyone felt the need to replicate. Well, my ignorance was off base and resulted in me asking the correct questions regarding the subject and becoming educated in it later than I could have.

This week, not only did this topic come up between me and my general manager about a subordinate manager and his development of his soft skills but its something that we're finding several others are having issues applying to maximize their effectiveness as leaders. Leadership Global states that leaders who are distracted and stressed often have issues controlling their emotions which can often result in ineffective communication and missed opportunities. Another point mentioned is that we, unlike other animals, have the ability to self-reflect and attempt to regulate our thoughts and emotions through a logical thought process. Assuming this is noticed early enough, and our cortisol levels aren't too elevated due to stress, we can take a step back, assess our situation - desired purpose, end state, etc - and attempt to modify ourselves to the situation with a higher level of understanding and mindfulness.

Having self-awareness and the ability to recognize and regulate our emotions, in any position, is a critical factor in being an effective member of a team, and arguably society. This allows us to better understand ourselves and others which ultimately results in better, more positive, communication and effectiveness