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The Power Of A Mindful Moment

Nobody needs to tell you this. Life is one big, endless cycle of activity. From the moment we wake up (but not wanting to rise) until we get some shut-eye at night (wishing we’d gone to bed earlier) it’s simply about being busy, busy, busy. How we handle this “busyness” determines how we get to be truly effective in our personal and professional life and how we get to feel in physical and emotional terms. Are we going ballistic because we’re stressed out? Have we lost our drive because we’re tired? Of course some pressure is good for the body. The batch of stress hormones that come along with it jacks up our performance, energizes us and pushes us to head back for the salt mines. The cortisol number in our bodies goes up as high as ten times more creating that sense of enthusiasm we all need to keep us going. That’s the good news. The bad news is that when too much stress starts hitting our brain, we run the risk of being a mad hatter. So, What Do We Do? Enter: Mindful Moments Mindful moments can serve as a helpful tool to assist us in managing our busyness, tone done mental fatigue and regain focus and normal level stress. What’s A Mindful Moment? Mindful moment is that stand-still pause where you consciously connect with a keen awareness of the present moment. It’s the here-and-now time fraction, where instead of letting your mind roam forward to future thoughts or allowing worries to bring you back to what happened during the yesteryears, you simply touch base with Now…this moment. Because breathing is the human function readily available to just about anybody who is pretty familiar and well adapted to the art of regular breathing, a mindful moment is about focusing on it. No matter what position you’re in, sitting or standing, a mindful moment allows you to concentrate on the inhaling and exhaling of your breath. As you do so, you’ll notice your tension starting to go down. You start to feel less antsy and become calmer. And you get this sense of control of handling any emotions being generated. So, When Should You Try These Mindful Moments? When you think seriously that your potential reaction to a given scenario may go haywire and you envision results as not serving you best, go try a mindful moment. Some of the most typical situations you might encounter include the following: When you start getting edgy and irritated waiting in line at the coffee shop, in a government bureau or a bank. When you get this pins-and-needles feeling and dread for that important job interview. When you feel sick as you see a surge of 500 emails into your inbox. When you oversleep, the traffic is a nightmare and the you’re-running-out-of-gas orange light is flashing in your face. To be sure you’ll run into other situations similar to these as you go through the routine of everyday life. When you begin to get that walking-on- eggs tense feeling, go for that mindful moment. It helps.

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Flourishing at work… a necessity? or a luxury?

Awareness, Positive Psychology / My Holland / Productivity, Wellbeing

When it comes to Positive Psychology, you might here the word ‘flourishing’ used a lot. It is basically the opposite of ‘languishing.’ In other words, to flourish is to live the opposite of a life that feels hollow and empty; it measures the overall wellbeing of your lifestyle and is an important part of happiness. Unfortunately, in today’s society, many of us are simply going through the motions of life and not flourishing. A recent study ‘Flourising in New Zealand workers’ (Hone, L. C., Jarden, A., Duncan, S., & Schofield, G. M. (2015) found that 25% of people in New Zealand are flourishing and there are many pathways in which people can flourish. While the study looked at the work environment, it can also relate to other parts of our lives – hobbies, socialising, family time etc. Some of the factors examined in the study as things to make people flourish, include: Expressing genuine appreciation. We all like to receive a compliment we feel we deserve for hard work. According to this study, workers who felt highly appreciated felt 29 times more likely to flourish than those who felt least appreciated. It’s not all about receiving praise and appreciation either. Giving appreciating can also boost our wellbeing and help us flourish. Never assume that your employees or co-workers know how you feel – express to them why you value them and practice strength appreciation (naming the strengths someone has and how they use them well). Know your strengths In the New Zealand study, workers who were highly aware of their strengths were nine times more likely to flourish than those who were not aware of their strengths. It can be difficult to take the time to think about your strengths and value them – sometimes you can feel a little arrogant to admit to them. But you shouldn’t! We are always so quick to criticise ourselves, so try applying this to admitting what you are good at instead. If you have trouble – ask your friends and family what they think your character strengths are. Just being aware of them, can help boost your wellbeing. Use your character strengths often Now that you know what your strengths are – use them and use them regularly every day! In the study, workers who reported using their strengths a lot were 18 times more likely to flourish than those who reported that they use their strengths the least. Each morning, pick a strength and set out to use it. This will act as a reminder for you. When you do this often, it will become natural. Note how your confidence boosts and you begin to flourish. As a result, employers and colleagues will value and appreciate you more and you begin to live and work to your full potential. Some other pathways to flourishing include financial security, good physical health, work-life balance, job satisfaction and volunteering. While 25% of people in New Zealand workplaces were flourishing, according to this study, that leaves 75% who are not. Simply by learning what factors can help us flourish is the first step to improving our wellbeing, in the workplace and at home. Reference Hone, L. C., Jarden, A., Duncan, S., & Schofield, G. M. (2015). Flourishing in New Zealand workers: Associations with lifestyle behaviors, physical health, psychosocial, and work-related indicators. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(9), 973-983.

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Mindfulness and productivity. What is the Link?

Awareness, Mindfulness, Productivity / My Holland

Mindfulness and Productivity Mindfulness is the buzzword of the moment, but while we might be aware that we ought to be practising it, do we really understand the benefits? How can mindfulness help us? This article outlines just a few ways in which mindfulness – the act of focused awareness on the present moment – can help us become more focused and productive in our everyday work and social lives. Prevents distraction We have all been there … sat at our desks typing away on a report or flicking through emails, while also pondering what to have for tea or scheduling when you can fit in a visit to the gym or who will pick the kids up from their sport club tonight. Distraction is the number one barrier to productivity. Our mind often wanders and worries about a number of things at the same time. We live in a society where we are connected to so many sources of information, often leading to information overload. But to focus, mindfulness can help us work on one task at a time with all of our energy and undivided attention and get the task done before moving on to the next. Reduces stress Mindfulness is a great stress reducer and it is proven that stress is detrimental to work productivity. Sometimes our mind exaggerates issues in our lives so that they suddenly seem bigger than they are and begin to spiral out of control. Before we know it, we are paralysed by this stress and negative thinking. Stress is detrimental to productivity. While a small amount of the ‘fight or flight’ mentality and the cortisol hormone can help boost short term alertness, it is not a long term solution.

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Awareness

The Power Of A Mindful Moment

Flourishing at work… a necessity? or a luxury?

Mindfulness and productivity. What is the Link?

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