Mindfulness, Equity, and Inclusion

Fresh Ideas from Us

Mindful self-awareness is an essential skill for building an equitable and inclusive organization. It’s the ongoing personal practice of noticing what you’re thinking and feeling as it’s happening. And from there, you can make space to understand, investigate, or explore alternatives to your default thought patterns.

Looking for a place to start? Sit or stand still for 10 minutes without distraction or stimulation. Notice your thoughts. Notice your physical sensations. Notice your emotions. See what happens. Be kind to yourself.

 (Note: If a practice like this is an overwhelmingly difficult experience for you, don’t do it and focus on mental health support that a professional might help you with.)

A lot of what we think is rooted in our social conditioning—ideas about race, gender, class, power, value, and safety, to name a few. Nurturing your inclusive and equitable leadership requires you to notice habitual thought patterns (and their associated emotions) that might get in your way.

Equity work has a way of sparking strong emotions in most of us. And this makes sense—because it often taps into things that are very important to us: belonging, identity, fairness, and self-worth for example. Having meaningful conversations about diversity, equity, or inclusion can feel scary, challenging, annoying, activating, upsetting, and a whole range of other emotions depending on who you are and what your life experience is. The more you practice noticing and naming those feelings for yourself, the more curious you can get about your reactions. And this leads to deeper clarity about the best ways to respond—especially when another person is sitting across from you in conversation.

Quote from Somebody Else

“Racism is a heart disease. How we think and respond is at the core of racial suffering and racial healing. If we cannot think clearly and respond wisely, we will continue to damage the world’s heart.”

― Ruth King, Mindful of Race: Understanding and Transforming Habits of Harm

Probing Question

What emotions commonly arise for you when you’re having a meaningful DEI conversation?