Category Archives: Mindfulness

Living the Life of Your Dreams

Posted on by

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life or one devoid of purpose. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking, writes Excellence Reporter in a 2019 article. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

“Life is to be lived and enjoyed in the moment,” says life coach Lamisha Serf-Walls. “Life is too short not to do what you love and when you are living the life your soul intended, you will experience freedom and bliss you never thought possible.”

Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same or settle again.

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

You should never have a life’s purpose or live a life with the primary goal of getting rich and building wealth. Money can only be a tool used to achieve a goal or life’s purpose. It should never be your primary goal or purpose.

Instead, your goal and puri should be to value or serve others, to work towards something you believe in and to live a life that matters. You should be building wealth to serve others, to make the world better in some small way or to solve a problem. “Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night”, states Marian Wright Edelman.

Additionally, let your passion lead you to your purpose. “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose. says Bishop T.D. Jakes  Be candid and honest with yourself about what your passions are. What really lights you up and makes you happy? What would you do if money weren’t a concern and you weren’t afraid? Let your passion lead you to your purpose.

Whether you start writing for fun, volunteer at a shelter, or start a new business, take some action today. Your passion will catapult you forward to more of the same and in no time you will find yourself living the life of your dreams!

According to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German poet, playwright, novelist, and scientist, there are nine requisites for contented and purposeful living:

  1. Health enough to make work and life a pleasure.
  2. Wealth enough to support your needs.
  3. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
  4. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
  5. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
  6. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.
  7. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
  8. Faith enough to make real the things of God.
  9. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.

“Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the exctasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of goals.” Deepak Chopra

References:

  1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/live-your-life_b_6631456
  2. https://www.thegrowthreactor.com/quotes-about-purpose-in-life/
  3. https://excellencereporter.com/2019/06/11/steve-jobs-on-the-wisdom-and-the-purpose-of-life/
  4. https://excellencereporter.com/2021/11/29/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-on-the-wisdom-and-the-purpose-of-life/

Tips to Feel Better – Mindfulness

Posted on by

“Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.” – Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Feeling good means that your body and mind are working at their peak level, and you have a general sense of well-being, says David Rakel, MD, founder and the director of the integrative medicine program at the University of Wisconsin (UW). The vision of the UW’s program is “Inspiring health and wellness in patients, communities, and ourselves”.

Life is short and a precious gift. Thus, it’s critical to enjoy and live fully each day To feel good day after day, Rakel suggests:

Stay focused on the present moment.

“If we can learn to recognize the clutter that our mind is in and learn to be more mindful of the present moment, that can be a tremendous asset to our overall sense of well-being,” Rakel says. The “clutter” that can make you feel bad includes regret about the past and worry that bad things might happen to you.

A practice called mindfulness can help you reduce the clutter by keeping your focus on the present moment. Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.

Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.

To be more mindful, try to:

  • Take in the colors, sounds, and smells that surround you at any given time.
  • Pay attention to your breath moving in and out of your body for a few moments.
  • Let worrisome thoughts flow out of your mind when they pop up, rather than giving them attention and dwelling on them.

Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can bring a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits. Here are some of these benefits according to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, which extend across many different settings.

  • Mindfulness is good for your bodies: A seminal study found that, after just eight weeks of training, practicing mindfulness meditation boosts your immune system’s ability to fight off illness. Practicing mindfulness may also improve sleep quality.
  • Mindfulness is good for your minds: Several studies have found that mindfulness increases positive emotions while reducing negative emotions and stress. Indeed, at least one study suggests it may be as good as antidepressants in fighting depression and preventing relapse.
  • Mindfulness changes our brains: Research has found that it increases density of gray matter in brain regions linked to learning, memory, emotion regulation, and empathy.
  • Mindfulness helps you focus: Studies suggest that mindfulness helps you tune out distractions and improves your memory, attention skills, and decision-making.

In addition to mindfulness, it’s important to try to stay positive and focus on the positive.

The same event can happen to two people, and one views it as a positive and one views it as a negative. So try to see the good side of the things and people around you; it can help you stay free of anxiety and depression, Rakel says.

And, there is a strong connection between psychological health and longevity. In fact, optimism, purpose, and happiness have all been tied to living longer, suggesting you may want to cultivate these attributes in your life.

“How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience, and therefore, the quality of our lives.” – Sam Harris

Make a spiritual connection.

Rakel defines this as spending time on “that which gives your life meaning and purpose.”This could be your religious beliefs, enjoying nature, or sharing moments with loved ones. “If we get up in the morning excited about something that gives us meaning and self-purpose, our bodies do all they can to heal,” he says.

Be around people.

Having a good support network of family, friends, coworkers, and other people who care about you can help you stay healthier, feel less stressed, and even live a longer life. Spend time with these people regularly, and work to keep your relationships with them strong.

Bottomline, by being mindful, you can train yourself to live in the present moment to handle life’s challenges with a clear mind to help you feel better and live your best life.

Focus on good health and emotional well-being.

“Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you– in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.” – Jan Chozen Bays

Healthy aging

If you want to live a long, healthy life as you age, it’s important to keep physically healthy by eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep.

People with significantly higher than average life satisfaction, positive feelings, purpose in life, or optimism at age 50 lived an average of five to eight additional years. “Achieving high levels of these aspects of well-being have really important impacts on people living longer and healthier lives,” says researcher Jennifer Boylan, University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study. “Their presence is worth focusing on more than it has been.”

References:

  1. https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/more-energy
  2. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition#why-practice-mindfulness
  3. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_keys_to_wellbeing_that_may_help_you_live_longer

Purpose

Posted on by

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs

Purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world, according to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The goals that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change and improve the lives of other people. “If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily”, says author Jack Canfield

Purpose is not a destination, but a life’s journey, a mindset and a practice. It’s accessible at any age and at any income level, if we’re “willing to explore what matters to us and what kind of person we want to be—and act to become that person”. Filmmaker and author Drew Scott Pearlman writes: “Your purpose must be particular to you. This is the road less traveled. Your purpose cannot be someone else’s path, not your family’s path nor your friends’ path.”

Individuals with a sense of purpose report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction—which seems associated with better health, wealth and emotional well-being outcomes. For many people, it was good and beneficial to have a purpose or a goal, no matter what it was.

Additionally, the physical health benefits of a sense of purpose are well-documented. For example, a Harvard’s School of Public Health study found that people who report higher levels of purpose at one point in time have objectively better physical agility four years later than those who report less purpose.

Moreover, researchers suggest that people take better care of themselves when they feel like they have something to live for. Having a purpose also seems to be associated with lower stress levels, which contributes to better health and emotional well-being. And, according to Helen Keller, “True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

Additionally, people with a more “prosocial” purpose—one aimed at helping others—experienced greater personal growth, integrity, and health later in adulthood. This result was echoed by a 2019 study by Anne Colby and colleagues at Stanford University. They surveyed almost 1,200 Americans in their midlife about their well-being and what goals were important to them. The researchers found significantly better physical health and higher emotional well-being among people who were involved in pursuing beyond-the-self goals, compared to those who were pursuing other types of goals. In other words, engaging in prosocial goals had more positive impact on physical health and emotional well-being than engaging in non-prosocial goals.

A sense of purpose appears to suggest that humans “can cooperate and accomplish big things together”. Research suggests that team leaders can effectively boost the productivity, work experience and well-being of their team members by helping them connect to a task-related higher purpose. The 2013 Core Beliefs and Culture Survey revealed that 91 percent of respondents who believe that their company has a strong sense of purpose also say it has a history of strong financial performance.

“Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself.” Oprah Winfrey

Purpose also helps both individuals and the species to survive and thrive. Purpose often grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination—a community.

youtu.be/_7wnkUP-Q4E

According to research by Kendall Cotton Bronk, a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont Graduate University, finding one’s purpose requires four key components:

  1. Dedicated commitment,
  2. Personal meaningfulness,
  3. Goal directedness, and
  4. A vision larger than one’s self.

Often, finding our purpose involves a combination of finding meaning in the experiences we’ve had, while assessing our values, skills, and hopes for a better world. It means taking time for personal reflection while imagining our ideal future. “Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself’,” says Oprah Winfrey

A sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions means that we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful and abundant lives.

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Nietzsche

References:

  1. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition
  2. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition#why-find-purpose
  3. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/purpose/definition#how-to-cultivate-purpose
  4. https://www.thegrowthreactor.com/quotes-about-purpose-in-life/

Seven Steps to Success: John C. Maxwell

Posted on by

“Attitude is the first quality that marks the successful man. If he has a positive attitude and is a positive thinker, who likes challenges and difficult situations, then he has half his success achieved.” John C. Maxwell

Although there is not a perfect formula to be successful, everyone has the capability to become successful. Success is a journey that you create for yourself if you strongly desire it and act on it. And, success can be learned and attained by you and everyone else. One ‘tried and true’ way to learn about becoming successful is to study the success of other people.

And that is what John C. Maxwell* has done. After over nearly fifty years of knowing successful people and studying the subject, John C. Maxwell has taught millions the principles of success and has embraced the following definition of success:

Success is…

  • Knowing your purpose in life,
  • Growing to reach your maximum potential, and
  • Sowing seeds that benefit others.

By this definition, success is a journey rather than a destination. No matter how long you live or what you decide to do in life, you will never exhaust your capacity to grow toward your potential, nor will you run out of opportunities to help others.

Additionally, Maxwell has developed a process of seven steps for success that are available to you and anyone else who desires to study and pursues the journey of success:

1. Make a commitment to grow daily.

“Success is… knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” John C. Maxwell

Success comes from growing, not from achieving, acquiring or advancing. If you commit to growing each day, you will soon start noticing positive results in your life. Every action that you take towards growing will bring you closer to success, it doesn’t matter how small your action is or how slow you go as long as you keep going. As the poet Robert Browning said, “Why stay on earth except to grow?”

2. Value the process more than events.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” John C. Maxwell

If your goal is to go to the next level in life, then strive for continuous improvement. Events in life are temporary, they teach you how to make better decisions. However, it is the process of change and growth that have lasting value. Choose to embrace the process and learn from both, the process and the event.

3. Don’t wait for inspiration.

“If you start today to do the right thing, you are already a success even if it doesn’t show yet.” John C. Maxwell

People who advance far in life find ways to motivate themselves and live the best they can regardless of how they feel. At times, they even have to push themselves to do something. Successful people persevere. Basketball great Jerry West said, “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.”

4. Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” John C. Maxwell

There are two paths to follow: “You can play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. You choose whether you will first want to pay or play. Regardless of the path you choose to take, life will always demand a payment. If you choose “to pay first,” you will be more pleased with your results and enjoy greater and sweeter rewards

5. Dream big.

“Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.” John C. Maxwell

If you’re going to dream, dare to dream big. Dreaming small may keep you from discovering what you’re truly made of. Robert J. Kriegel and Louis Patler, authors of If Ain’t Broke, Brake It, assert, “We don’t have a clue as to what people’s limits are. All the tests, stopwatches, and finish lines in the world can’t measure human potential. When someone is pursuing their dream, they’ll go far beyond what seems to be their limitations. The potential that exists within us is limitless and largely untapped. When you think of limits, you create them.”

6. Plan your priorities.

“To Stay Focused in Life: You can’t know everyone. You can’t do everything. You can’t go everywhere. We have to pick and choose between good and a little bit better.” John C. Maxwell

Successful people have many things common and one of of them is that they have mastered the art of how to effectively manage their time. More than anything, they have organized themselves. Henry Kaiser, founder of Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Permanente Health Care, says, “Every minute spent in planning will save you two in execution. Time cannot be retrieved, so live every moment the best you can.

7. Give up to go up.

“One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.” John C. Maxwell

Everything that has value comes as a result of making sacrifices. Life will present you with countless opportunities to trade something you value for something else. Keep your eyes open to identify those opportunities and once you do, make sure that what you decide to trade will be a trade up, not down.

In conclusion, “success is a journey” isn’t just a matter of words and ideas, it’s a matter of actions. It’s in you to act on what makes you achieve your success every day. Know that what may mean success to you may not mean success to others, and vice versa–and this is completely fine. Success implies diversity of thoughts, habits, behaviors, values, and attitudes.

“If you make it your discipline to do a little bit of growing every day, in just a few years you will be amazed by your transformation.” John C. Maxwell

References:

  1. https://www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/what-i-believe-about-success/
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seven-steps-success-john-c-maxwell-ivette-k-caballero

* John C. Maxwell is an International Leadership Expert, Speaker, #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 26 million books in fifty languages. As the founder of The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, he has trained more than 6 million leaders. Dr. Maxwell speaks each year to Fortune 500 companies, presidents of nations, and many of the world’s top business leaders. For more information about him visit JohnMaxwell.com.

Albert Einstein Best Quotes

Posted on by

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, a German-born physicist, has been widely regarded as one of the greatest minds and physicists of all time. In December 1932, he emigrated to the United States, renouncing his German citizenship after Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany.

In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to theoretical physics and discovery of the photoelectric effect.

Einstein was best known for developing the theory of relativity and the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, often dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”.

During his life, he made many sayings about science, education, religion and life that continue to resonate today:

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

“Logic will get you from A to Z, imagination will get you everywhere.”

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.”

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”

Einstein’s words have inspired generations around the world to live life fully, and in a more positive, self aware and rewarding manner.

References:

  1. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/remembering-albert-einstein-inspirational-quotes-of-the-nobel-laureate-on-143rd-birth-anniversary/ar-AAV19qr
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Habits and System Building

Posted on by

“Your system is the collection of daily habits.” James Clear

Behaviors and Beliefs are a two way Street, says James Clear, author of “Atomic Habit”. Effectively, the way you act influences what you believe about yourself; what you believe about yourself influences the actions you take and the manner in which you behave. But, you should let the behavior lead the way, explains Clear.

Every action you take on a daily basis is a vote regarding the person you are currently and want to become in the future. Everyday you’re casting votes to become the person you see yourself. Habits matter because they reenforce the person you want to become.

Build a system.

You want to focus on developing a process / building a system or achieving a goal or outcome. You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fail to the level of your system. Building the system — the way you prepare — that executes on achieving your goals is what is important. The system is what gets you closer to your destination. Ask yourself what you’re optimizing for?

Your goal is your desired outcome. Your system is the collection of daily habits you follow. Your system is your collection of daily habits you follow. Your current daily habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results. Over a long period of time, your life bends towards your system, or collection of habits.

The purpose of habits:

Habits are the autopilot mode that your brain goes into when completing repetitive tasks, according to James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”. For example, driving to work, the first time you do it, it may be confusing and stressful but after a few weeks your mind is just going through the motions, explains Clear.

Not having a grasp on your habits means not having control of your life and outcomes…consider:

  1. No financial habits = living pay check to paycheck.
  2. No healthy food and exercise habits = lacking energy and good health.

Without good habits, you will always be behind the curve. Success in your life and finances depends on the effectiveness of your habits and systems.

  • Your system for reading might be to read at least 1 page before bed every night.
  • Your system for exercising might be to do at least 5 minutes of bodyweight exercise every morning.
  • Your system for healthy eating might be to eat at least 1 apple every day for lunch.
  • Habits are the “compound interest”of self-improvement.

The bigger your systems, the bigger your results. Systems are the vehicles that are going to take you to your goals—your goals are simply the destination. Effectively, you don’t rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.

If you want to change the world and do big things, the actions you’re doing every day, your habits, are what are going to get you there. That’s where the things happens.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals.  You fall to the level of your systems.”James Clear

Showing up each day and making one small choice or trying to do something in a slightly better way, and then watching that compound and multiply over time. In life, changes may seem relatively small and insignificant on a daily basis, but over 10 or 20 or 30 years, small choices and changes can make meaningful difference.

What starts out small and seems relatively insignificant, grows and accumulates into something bigger.

Your mindsets and your systems can set us up for success. It is important to understand the importance of consistency when it comes to forming habits that last.

“Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years”, says Clear. “We all deal with setbacks, but in the long run, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. With better habits, anything is possible.”

Small incremental changes can end in massive results. Small improvements day by day will result in a huge compounding effect, says Clear.

References:

  1. https://movemequotes.com/beyond-the-quote-8/
  2. https://brenebrown.com/podcast/atomic-habits-part-1-of-2/
  3. https://theherstonproject.com/2020/11/atomic-habits-summary/

Prioritize Your Happiness

Posted on by

Prioritize. Spend on the things and on the activities that make you the happiest.

Most people spend their lives sacrificing their own happiness either because of career pursuits or chasing riches. You fail to realize how important it is to value your own happiness and taking care of yourself.

As a result, you unconsciously stumble into a busy and fast paced lifestyle. And, there never seems to be enough time to do the important things you really want, like exercising, hanging out with friends, or attending a wealth seminar. Yet, with so much already on your plate, how can you fit it all in?

In Work Less, Live More (Nolo Press, 2007), Bob Clyatt argues that you can make time for fun stuff. The secret, he says, is prioritizing:

“Imagine you have an empty jar, a collection of a few large rocks, and several handfuls of gravel. Your task is to put all the large and small rocks into the jar. One approach would be to pile all the gravel first, but doing so would leave room for only one or two of the large rocks; you wouldn’t get everything to fit. Switch your approach and put the large rocks in first, and you’ll find that the gravel will all fit nicely around the empty space. If a bit of gravel doesn’t fit at the end, you’ve not lost much.

Let too many little things take priority, and there never seems to be time for the big things. Consider the Big Rocks to be really important things you want to accomplish in life, the things that define you. Get the big things in first, work on the right projects and priorities, and let the little stuff fit in around the edges. Let your Big Rocks be non-negotiable priorities in your weekly calendar—and learn to say “no” when other things begin to intrude. Then fit those other things in where you can.

So if exercising makes you happy, schedule your exercise—and then fit the rest of your life around them. Don’t ignore your obligations, but make the stuff you have to do fit around the stuff you want to do, not the other way around.”

What you buy matters too in making you happy. You are happier when you use your money to buy experiences rather than things and when you use your money to help others. So the next time you are feeling down, buy a trip to the spa or donate to a charity.

Thus, your happiness lies in things that you love to so. Therefore, it is important to find time to do all the activities that bring joy to your life. You must prioritize taking time out of your day to spend time on your favorite activities and hobbies that makes you feel refreshed and content.

Bottomline, each day is a new opportunity for you to choose to live a life filled with purpose and happiness. You must consciously and intentionally prioritize to be happy on a daily basis. Otherwise, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut for months or even years.

“Putting yourself first is not selfish. Quite the opposite. You must put your happiness and health first before you can be of use to anyone else.” ~Simon Sinek

References:

  1. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/your-money-the/9780596809430/ch01.html
  2. https://www.beingguru.com/2019/04/prioritize-your-happiness/

Building Resilience

Posted on by

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

The author of “Healthy Brain, Happy Life” and “Good Anxiety” explains how to harness the power of anxiety into unexpected gifts.

We are living in the age of anxiety. There are about 40 million Americans— or 18% of the population—suffering from clinical anxiety disorders today.

Anxiety is a situation that often makes you feel as if you are locked into an endless cycle of stress, uncertainty, and worry. But, there are ways to leverage your anxiety to help you solve problems and fortify your wellbeing, explains Dr. Wendy Suzuki, PhD, a neuroscientist and professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. Thus, instead of seeing anxiety strictly as a problem or curse to dread, you recognize it as the unique gift that it is.

Dr. Suzuki has discovered a paradigm-shifting truth about anxiety: yes, it is uncomfortable, but it is also essential for your survival. In fact, anxiety is a key component of your ability to live optimally. Every emotion you experience has an evolutionary purpose, and anxiety is designed to draw your attention to vulnerability. If you simply approach it as something to avoid, get rid of, or dampen, you actually miss an opportunity to improve your life. Listening to your anxieties from a place of curiosity, and without fear or worry, can actually guide you onto a path that leads to inner peace and joy.

Drawing on her own struggles and based on cutting-edge research, Dr. Suzuki has developed strategies for managing unwarranted anxiety and exercises you can do to build your resiliency and mental strength. The exercises include:

Visualize positive outcomes

At the beginning or at the end of each day, think through all those uncertain situations currently in your life — both big and small. Now take each of those and visualize the most optimistic and amazing outcome to the situation. Not just the “okay” outcome, but the best possible one you could imagine.

This process of visualizing “the most optimistic and amazing outcome” should build the muscle of expecting the positive outcome and might even open up ideas for what more you might do to create that outcome of your dreams.

Turn anxiety into progress

Our brain’s plasticity is what enables us to be resilient during challenging times — to learn how to calm down, reassess situations, reframe our thoughts and make smarter decisions.

Reach out

Asking for help, staying connected to friends and family, and actively nurturing supportive, encouraging relationships not only enables you to keep anxiety at bay, but also shores up the sense that you’re not alone.

The belief and feeling that you are surrounded by people who care about you is crucial during times of enormous stress — when you need to fall back on your own resilience in order to persevere and maintain your well-being.

When we are suffering from loss or other forms of distress, it’s natural to withdraw. Yet you also have the power to push yourself into the loving embrace of those who can help take care of you.

Practice positive self-tweeting

Lin-Manual Miranda sends out tweets at the beginning and end of each day. The tweets are essentially upbeat little messages that are funny, singsongy and generally delightful.

If you watch him, you’ll see an inherently resilient, mentally strong and optimistic person.

For you to be that resilient, productive and creative, it’s essential to come up with positive reminders. You don’t necessarily need to share them. The idea is to boost yourself up at the beginning and at the end of the day.

This can be difficult for those who automatically beat themselves up. Instead, think about what your biggest supporter in life — a spouse, partner, sibling, friend, mentor or parent — would tell you, and then tweet, remind or say it to yourself.

Although popular science continues to suggests that persistent, low-level anxiety is detrimental to your health, performance, and wellbeing, but if you could learn how to harness the brain activation underlying your anxiety and make it work for you, you could turn anxiety into superpower, says Dr. Suzuki.

Her research and her own experience demonstrate that this paradigm shift from bad to good anxiety can accelerate focus and productivity, boosts performance, lead to happiness, create compassion, and foster more creativity.

Twenty-five positive quotes and reminders to build resilience:

  1. You’re awesome, Bro.
  2. You can do all things through Christ which strengthens you!
  3. Believe in yourself; have faith in your abilities!
  4. Everyday, in every way, you’re getting better and better, dude!
  5. “Great minds discuss ideas.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  6. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier
  7. “Be patient with yourself.” Stephen Covey
  8. “People will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
  9. “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu
  10. “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” Andrew Carnegie
  11. “Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley
  12. “Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha
  13. “The secret of health for both mind and body…is to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddha
  14. “Happiness…is appreciating what you have.”
  15. “We make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
  16. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty.” Charles Dickens
  17. “He is a wise man who rejoices for the things which he has.” Epictetus
  18. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.” Oprah Winfrey
  19. “Open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift–today.” Steve Maraboli
  20. “This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it.”
  21. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” Brené Brown
  22. “Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” T. Harv Eker
  23. “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin
  24. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.” Thomas Jefferson
  25. “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs–even though checkered by failure–than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

References:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/31/do-these-exercises-every-day-to-build-resilience-and-mental-strength-says-neuroscientist.html
  2. https://www.wendysuzuki.com
  3. https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/top-350-inspiring-motivational-quotes-to-tweet-and-share.html

Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise

Posted on by

“The key to a happy life . . . is a healthy brain.” Wendy Suzuki

Exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain, says neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki, professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University.

Dr. Suzuki discovered through research and self examination that there is a biological connection between exercise, mindfulness, and action. With exercise, she believes that your body feels more alive and your brain actually performs better.  And, Dr. Suzuki states that “you can make yourself smarter. Exercising is one of the most transformative things you can do to improve cognitive abilities, such as learning, thinking, memory, focus and reasoning — all of which can help you become smarter and live longer.”

The way exercise boosts your brain health includes:

  1. It decreases feelings of anxiety – Studies have shown that every time your move your body, a number of beneficial neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and acetylcholine, gets released into your brain. These substances can decrease feelings of anxiety and depression. And, It only takes between 10 and 30 minutes of daily physical activity to instantly lift your mood.
  2. It improves your focus and concentration – A single workout can help improve your ability to shift and focus attention. This is an immediate benefit that can last for at least two hours after 30 minutes of exercise. Activities that increase your heart rate, such as brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, playing tennis or jumping rope are recommended.
  3. It promotes the growth of new brain cells – One of the most significant benefits of exercise, scientists have found, is that it promotes neurogenesis, or the birth of new brain cells. This is essential to improving cognitive function. Exercise also can improve the health and function of the synapses between neurons in this region, allowing brain cells to better communicate.
  4. It protects your brain from aging and neurodegenerative diseases – Imagine your brain as a muscle: the more workout you put into it, the stronger and bigger it gets. Longitudinal studies in humans suggest that regular exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, both of which are susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. So while exercising won’t completely prevent or cure normal cognitive decline in aging, doing it consistently can help reduce or delay the onset of it.

So, get up and start your brain transformation journey.

Dr. Suzuki encourages people to get active and go to the gym since the science clearly demonstrates how working out boosts your mood and memory — and protects your brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

To get the brain-changing benefits of exercise, you should do at least three to four 30-minute workout sessions a week, explains Dr. Suzuki. You’ll also get the most benefits out of aerobic exercise, which increases the heart rate and pumps more oxygen into the brain.

Essentially, exercise can improve your brain functions today and protect your brain from neurodegenerative diseases as you age.

References:

  1. https://www.wendysuzuki.com
  2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prime-your-gray-cells/201108/happy-brain-happy-life
  3. https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Brain-Happy-Life-Everything/dp/B01LTHXL7Q/ref=nodl_

Mindfulness

Posted on by

The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us, according to the website Mindfulness.com.

Mindfulness encompasses two key ingredients: awareness and acceptance, according to Psychology Today. Awareness is the knowledge and ability to focus attention on one’s inner processes and experiences, such as the experience of the present moment. Acceptance is the ability to observe and accept—rather than judge or avoid—those streams of thought.

Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain.

Mindfulness is a technique of deliberately focusing your attention and not let yourself be distracted by other thoughts constantly running through your head; you clear “noise” from your mind.

Mindfulness is the idea to become more self-aware. You pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in that moment — without purposefully deciding whether they’re good or bad, and without becoming overwhelmed or overly reactive.

In short, you tune in to what you’re feeling and what’s real right now. “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally,” says Kabat-Zinn, creator of the research-backed stress-reduction program Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) . “And then I sometimes add, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”

Mindfulness – Live in the day; Live in the now.

Mindfulness is available to you in every moment, whether through meditations or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it.

Breathe in and out a few times. If your mind wanders, just notice that, accept that your mind has wandered, and refocus on your breathing. That’s a bare bones example of mindfulness. “Mindfulness is really important in times like this,” says Auguste H. Fortin VI, MD, MPH, a Yale Medicine internal medicine specialist who has recommended mindfulness practices to help cope with their illnesses.

Mindfulness is a practice that involves three components:

  • Paying attention to what is happening in the present moment
  • Doing this purposely and deliberately, with resolve
  • Maintaining the attitude that you will stay with your mindfulness experience, whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant

As you spend time practicing mindfulness, you’ll probably find yourself feeling kinder, calmer, and more patient. These shifts in your experience are likely to generate changes in other parts of your life as well.

Mindfulness can help you maximize your enjoyment of life and help you wind down. Its benefits include lowering stress levels, reducing harmful ruminating, and protecting against depression and anxiety. Research even suggests that mindfulness can help people better cope with rejection and social isolation.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”  Lao Tzu

References:

  1. https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/
  2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness
  3. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/mindfulness-covid