Most people would be pretty pleased with themselves if they managed to finish one animated short every few ye

4 simple & effective ways to conquer your fears
Fear seems to be a constant companion for every human being. We quickly learn to fear physical pain and almost as quickly, we start to be afraid of social pain: loneliness, ostracism or banishment. However, 95% of our fears are not sensible. We fear them for the sake of […]

Why inclusive leaders care about mental health and stress at work.
Inclusive leadership is recognized as a robust approach to successfully managing teams, and increasingly senior leaders are asking for practical ways to build this into their leadership training. But let’s strip away the jargon, what exactly do we mean by being an inclusive leader? An inclusive leader is responsible for managing a team and with a specific emphasis on creating a culture where team members feel they […]

5 reliable ways you can move outside your comfort zone
After 20 years as an investigative agent, I found myself in a comfort zone. Safely ensconced in familiar territory, I balked when asked to be the spokesperson for the FBI in Northern California. It sounded like fun and even a little glamorous because I would be interviewed by local and national news media. So why did I hesitate when offered the job? I would move from being the senior agent on my squad, where I knew everything about my job, to a new situation where I knew absolutely nothing. None of my former skills as an investigator prepared me to handle probing questions from reporters. Over the years, I’d worked counterintelligence, espionage and terrorism cases. But the only time I felt truly terrified was in front of a live TV camera. The FBI needed someone who could come across as witty, credible and polished. I’m the type of person who comes up with the best retorts about 20 minutes after the question is asked. I needed to learn how to think quicker on my feet. I had to learn the ropes from the bottom up. I was tempted to feel humiliated by my lack of experience; instead, I felt humbled […]

Three Mindfulness Exercises That Take Just Ten Seconds
This is a meditation that focuses on the auditory aspect of walking. I do it all the time, because apparently I’m a weirdo! The next time you’re walking anywhere – inside or out – notice sounds. Notice the rise and […]

Why Mindfulness Is the Ultimate Habit for Success
There are habits you can develop that impact nearly every aspect of your personal and professional success. Running is a great example, because people who run regularly see powerful benefits, like having more energy, thinking more clearly and getting sick less often. I am a runner and a huge proponent of running, but I realize that for many people, regular running will never become part of their lives. It’s a habit that requires a lot of effort, sweat and sometimes even pain. Fortunately there is another habit that impacts nearly every aspect of your success, as well. This habit requires about as much effort as remembering to look both ways before you cross the road and definitely doesn’t require sweating. In fact, it doesn’t even require you to add anything to your schedule. It’s the habit of being mindful. Mindfulness is often described as sitting still, breathing deeply and paying attention to your breath. Although that certainly can be a mindfulness practice, being mindful is simpler and can offer a wider array of benefits. Being mindful is a shift from “being our thinking”—being that blabbering voice in our heads—to being aware of our thinking. This subtle inner shift allows us […]

Here’s why we shouldn’t lie about taking mental health days
One morning in September, Sarah Billington told her manager she had to go home for the day because she was feeling sick. But she didn’t have an upset stomach like she let on — she was on the verge of a breakdown. The author and editor had been struggling with anxiety well before that moment, but according to her candid op-ed in the Huffington Post, she knew in that instant that powering through was no longer a viable option. So she played the sick card and took the day off. “I went home, removing myself from the situation that was making me spiral with anxiety and giving myself a chance to regroup, to curl up in bed for an afternoon and overcome the panic and negative self-talk.” Billington writes. Billington opens up in her story about facing an unsettling matter in her personal life while juggling a slew of stressful tasks at a previous job. She’d had conversations with her then-manager about taking time to prioritize her mental health, but when it came time to request time off, her boss was less than understanding. “She found it inappropriate and unacceptable,” Billington writes. “[I ended up] feeling ashamed and anxious for […]

Job search depression: What it entails and how to get through it
Carlson School of Management at University of Minnesota recently sponsored a study that examines how job loss and the hunt for a new job impact the job-seeker’s mental health and well-being. Perhaps the study’s findings don’t come as a surprise; job seekers often experience an emotional low following the loss of a job, feel better when they begin searching for new opportunities, and then experience another decline in mental health when they haven’t found the right position 10-12 weeks later. This predictable shift in mental health is often referred to as job search depression: the hopeless feeling that settles in when you want or need a new job and can’t seem to land one. What makes everything worse is that the job search process is like an emotional rollercoaster, filled with ups and downs and sudden glimmers of hope only to be followed by disappointment – just check out the typical emotional stages of the job search: While there’s no simple solution to the inevitable ups and downs of a job search, there are some things you can actively do to keep your mind and spirit in good shape no matter what the job hunt throws at you. The first […]

Three Mindfulness Exercises To Try On The Way To Work
Mindfulness exercises can help clear the head and combat stress, so what better time to try them than on the way to (or indeed from) work? Traveling as part of the hordes with a full eight hours ahead of you is one of the most stressful times of the day for many people, so building a few mindfulness techniques into your commute can […]

Mindful Eating Explained
You may be familiar with the concept of “mindfulness” and “mindful eating”, and here’s what it means – and why being more mindful around meals will make a huge difference to how great you look and feel. Mindfulness is simply the practice of paying attention (in a non-judgemental way) to an activity. It’s a very effective method to manage stress: one study found regular mindfulness meditation actually changes the structure of the brain, creating more neural connections, which might protect us from depression and dementia. Ultimately, being more mindful gives you a different perspective on your thoughts and feelings and helps you approach situations in a calmer, more thoughtful way. And being mindful when eating can have a positive impact on your physical and mental health, without requiring too much effort! The Mindfulness Connection When you eat mindfully you pay attention to the appearance, texture and taste of your food, and your body’s hunger signals. It takes time for your brain to register signals from your stomach’s stretch receptors, so mindful eating can prevent overeating by slowing you down and making you more aware of how you’re feeling (regularly overeating can blunt your body’s fullness signals and contribute to weight […]
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