If you travel on a train in Japan, you may encounter a conductor talking to himself. He is performing tasks while commenting aloud on each thing he’s doing. He is practicing shisa kanko, which you may also call a form of mindfulness. A study has shown that when asked to perform a simple task, workers typically make 2.38 mistakes per 100 actions. When using shisa kanko, this number reduced to just 0.38 percent—a massive 85 percent drop. The practice illustrates the benefits of focusing. Mindfulness is not so much about sitting in a lotus position with your eyes closed; it’s about moment-to-moment awareness.
The Japanese have a skill that’s now copied around the world
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