Unhappy at work? Try Mindfulness
Studies increasingly show the benefits of integrating simple mindfulness ideas into working routines, but people are still unclear about how that can be done. This study has also shown that being in a happy and welcoming atmosphere is the most important aspect in peoples' lives, with 40% of them saying that their work environment is more significant than financial benefits such as pay and a pensions.
How to Be Strong
Jon Kabat-Zinn says “If you are truly strong there is little need to emphasize it to yourself or to others."This applies to prowess or achievement in many areas of our lives. Sometimes we have to be able to do some self-promotion, but mostly we don’t. Unless you are deliberately trying to sell yourself – at a job interview or promoting a business for example – remember that less is more. Kabat-Zinn finishes the paragraph by saying: “What looks like weakness is actually where your strength lies." (p. 66) Ref: Kabat-Zinn, J., ...
Acting the Goat Might be Good Advice
Goats may be stubborn, but they are also wise. Recent research has shown that they really can learn from each other. That's not the point of this post, though.
The Joy of Not Knowing
Being comfortable with not knowing things is liberating. Conversely, having to know, and worse, needing to be right, is debilitating and time-consuming. Most things are unknowable and 'facts' can quickly dissolve when we rely on them. Life is better when we are comfortable with not knowing, but then, I could be wrong.
Learning to Be Comfortable With Uncertainty
Learning to be a bit more comfortable with uncertainty is probably something that would benefit us all. Learning greater tolerance for uncertainty is not difficult, but developing anything new in ourselves it needs commitment and regular practice.
How to Care for a Depression Sufferer
Please share this brilliant and incisive video (watch it first though). It's loaded with practical advice and should be seen by as many people as possible (employers and schools please note). This is a useful resource for helping managers and others understand how to approach and support somebody suffering with depression (as 20% of us do!). Produced by writer and illustrator Matthew Johnstone, in collaboration with WHO, it is the follow up to I had a Black Dog, which I re-posted in February.
Feel Better and Do More, Start Small
In these pressured times how to get more done and enjoy it more seems like a tall order, but it is entirely possible. Being able to function well in times of high demand depends on our levels of resilience. Start today by doing one simple thing.
Free Mindfulness Download
Mindfulness is developed through daily living. Any practice which helps to calm the inner thoughts, silence our inner voice, and focus on the present moment can be used to develop mindfulness. Here are the first steps.
When is the Right Time for Therapy?
"There's no time like the present" is one answer, and it may be good advice in some situations, but perhaps not with therapy. It is generally considered to work best when someone seeks therapy, of their own free will; it is much harder to engage with anything when someone else thinks it would be a good idea. But there's another argument too. And that one is not just about therapy.
