Coaching Videos & Tips - May 9 2018 No. 557
THE ONE SURE ANTIDOTE FOR STRESS
It has an established scientifically validated track record, seoncd to none, in the successful treatment of chronic depression and it is the cornerstone of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy... it is the one sure antidote to stress or, more to the point, it enables you understand, realize and experience... that stress isn't.
Cast your cares, worries, fears and anxieties aside.
For just five minutes (set the timer on your 'phone) sit, close your eyes and notice the sound, rhythm, feel and smell of your own breathing... nothing is more real to you as an individual, nothing is more adept at bringing to your senses in the here and now where all is well.
And if you can't find somewhere where you're comfortable sitting with your eyes closed - or you need an immediate fix - sit somewhere with your eyes open, soft-focused on the middle-distance, and do exactly the same.
Be careful that you look after your state of mind as the day progresses... first thing in the morning is never enough because there are so many potential banana skins that we can slip on during the day, we need to keep ourselves on our toes... minds agile.
Here is my suggested plan of action for the day:
- Start with meditation... if you don't start with it, there's a good chance you simply won't do it at all. And, if you don't start the day with a clear mind, at what point in the day do you intend to try to climb back up the slippery slope of creeping mindlessness?
- Stop after your commute (even, as is the case for some of my clients, if it's only a 5 minute commute) and take a minute or two to calm and clear your mind - a little breathing, a little listening, a little noticing something in your line of vision... it's called coming to your senses
- Stop again mid-morning... repeat the above short exercise
- Give yourself a proper amount of time to eat a proper lunch properly... there are, quite literally, books on mindful eating
- Stop again mid-afternoon... repeat the earlier short exercise
- At the beginning or end of your journey home, take a minute or two to clear your mind for the evening ahead
We'll talk about what to do when the wheels come off... next week!
Some people really do not care.
Spent a couple of days in one of Ireland's leading hotels recently - Full-Irish Breakfast each morning (from which I am only now recovering!) was a treat that you can only give yourself once a year or so.
I've written before about the extent to which hotel guests stock up from the breakfast buffet so that lunch is catered for but, today, I want to focus on one of the waiting staff...
After each table fell vacant, she cleaned the crumbs, bits of food and even a large lump of scrambled egg... by simply swiping everything onto the beautifully-carpeted floor! So that the first thing the next guests at the table did was to slip in a pile of scrambled egg!
It isn't carelessness... it's simply "I really don't give a sh*t!"