What Questions Do You Have About Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the hot topic right now and for a good reason. Because it has been shown to have a massive range of benefits.

What if I told you, one thing could improve your physical, mental and emotional health? Well, mindfulness does all of that!

“Mindfulness can help people of any age. That’s because we become what we think.” – Goldie Hawn

It doesn’t matter if you want to practice mindfulness to help you live a more positive life or to deal better with stress, you’re likely to have lots of questions.

Here are some answers to the most common questions people have about mindfulness:

How do I do it?

The short answer is that you can practice mindfulness and meditation in a way that suits you best. Some people enjoy traditional meditation, sitting in silence on a cushion.

Other people use guided meditations on their smartphones or computers. It’s essential to integrate mindfulness into your everyday activities, taking the time to be genuinely aware of the present moment.

You can even practice mindful walking. The best way to practice mindfulness is the way that feels right to you.

How do I breathe properly?

You may feel like you should force your breath into some pattern or control it in some way, such as trying to slow it down. But that’s not necessary.

“Mindfulness means making decisions about how you are directing your attention and not letting trivial distractions like the ping of an incoming email demand your attention.” – David Brett-Williams

It’s best just to feel and experience your breath. As you find yourself beginning to relax, your breathing will naturally slow down and regulate on its own.

We can be overly self-critical, avoid judging yourself for not doing it ‘right.’ Don’t try to control or channel your breath, just keep observing and allowing. Merely let the breath breathe you.

How do I stop my mind wandering?

That is my struggle, so when you find a way, let me know! It is only natural for your mind to get distracted or to wander. Our mind thinks. That’s just what it does.

Even highly-experienced mindfulness practitioners have wandering minds! Everyone does!

“It takes a little bit of mindfulness and a little bit of attention to others to be a good listener, which helps cultivate emotional nurturing and engagement.” – Deepak Chopra

Most of us spend our days brooding over the past or worrying about the future. We don’t often stay in the present, but it is the way to inner peace and calm.

Always be kind to yourself and don’t judge your mind for falling back into familiar patterns of thinking.

Slowly bring your attention back to the present and use your breath to keep bringing your attention back to focus on the here and now.

How do I find the time for mindfulness?

This one’s easy! You don’t have to set aside a particular time to bring mindfulness into your life. In fact, you can enhance your formal meditation time by integrating mindfulness practice wherever you are.

“Mindfulness has helped me succeed in almost every dimension of my life. By stopping regularly to look inward and become aware of my mental state, I stay connected to the source of my actions and thoughts and can guide them with considerably more intention.” – Dustin Moskovitz

You can use these prompts throughout the day to return your attention to the present moment and take some deep conscious breaths:

• In the shower
• During your daily commute
• When you are waiting for an elevator, or for a meeting to start
• Before you start your car
• While you’re booting up your computer or opening your inbox
• While you’re waiting for your coffee
• Before answering the phone

Take advantage of all these ‘lost moments’ in your day to turn them into mindful moments!

6 Outstanding Benefits To Getting Organised

Getting organised is a great idea. And not just because Mom said so. And in this post, I will introduce some of the many benefits of being in control and developing a clutter-free lifestyle.

Less stress

When organised you are automatically less stressed. Think about it, you know where your keys, wallet, important papers, phone charger and phone are.

No frantic search for your car keys as you stress about leaving late because you couldn’t find them. And then the anxious drive as you try to make up time.

“I’m very organised these days, and I keep my life in my handbag, like most women.” – Britt Ekland

Similarly, if you complete your reports on time and your project plan is up to date, there’s no need to worry about those spur of the moment requests for project updates or meetings.

You handle it in your stride because all your work is up to date.

More time

Keeping up-to-date and planning your time means you can allocate time for everything in your life. And that includes your downtime.

Being organised means, you won’t get sidetracked by not being able to find important items. So no more panic as I stated earlier. Also, you will be punctual and more productive. That’s a WIN all around.

Ready for the unexpected

You are prepared for last-minute requests and deadlines. When you are distracted by the mental cloud of untidiness, you are never entirely sure where things stand.

“The way I meditate is by being organised. I can get real Zen if I go home and tidy the front room.” – Anthony Joshua

And that holds true for everything from planning your children’s birthday parties to that massive project at work you are overseeing. You know, that one that could make or break your career.

Better health

Being organised is demonstrably good for our health. And that is not just me saying that but research backs it up.

Lower stress levels translate to lower blood pressure and less body inflammation. And there are other knock-on benefits to your health.

Your immune system, which we rely on to fight disease and infection, is stronger, and you’re less likely to be at risk of depression.

And many people find they set up a positive feedback loop that spills over into other areas of their lives. Better organisation habits lead to better exercise, nutrition, and sleep habits.

Nothing feels overwhelming

When we feel overwhelmed we struggle with getting started. The task in front of us seems too massive to tackle.

“If you are disciplined, it shows you are organised.” – Virender Sehwag

Having your life running smoothly, means you’re calmer and in a better position mentally to deal with things. You can look at your to-do list without any panic because you know you can do it.

You have a sense of confidence that you can tackle your to-do list task-by-task without feeling overwhelmed.

More energy

Putting effort into planning and organising your life gives you more energy. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. Apologies, that last sentence might appear in a song somewhere.

When your mind obsesses about all the stuff that you have you burn a lot of energy. The act of being stressed is fatiguing. When your mind isn’t obsessing about all the stuff you have to do your stress levels are drastically reduced.

Think about it, you have a plan, and you are in control, then you know you can get it all done. When your ideas, paper, and tasks are in order, you can see a way through. Life is no longer a chaotic roller coaster ride.

“It’s about maintaining balance. Plan better and be organised. I chose to be a working optometrist, athlete and father. Why should I compromise?” – David Brett-Williams

Finally, when you are organised you send out massive signals about how trustworthy and reliable you are.

When you are on time, follow through on your commitments and are ready for whatever comes at you, you project an image of professionalism and responsibility.

You will get more respect from your colleagues and your family, and in the eyes of your employer, you will look promotion-ready.

Let me know how your organising is going.

16 Lessons From David Brett-Williams On Resilience

Mentor and renowned professional speaker “David Brett-Williams” is a beacon of inspiration. He travels the world training some of the top CEO’s and executives on how to become an effective leader.

David Brett-Williams’ quotes and lessons are floating all over social media channels and motivational videos.

Here are the Top 16 Inspirational Lessons Quotes and lessons by David Brett-Williams on resilience.

1.  Success is the result of pursuing who you need to become.

Success would be easy if there was a checklist of things you must do to be successful. Thed reality is that you have to fundamentally change who you are to live at that more successful higher level. Going through the motions is not enough.

You must make that shift from doing to being . So that what you do becomes a reflection of who you are, and who you’re becoming. Once you’ve experienced this change, success will be natural.

Be, then do, then have.

2.  The key to massive success is failure. Your goal should be to out-fail your competition.

Most of us think that the key to success is avoiding failure but in reality the opposite is true. The origibal quote by Tom Watson of IBM fame goes like this, “The key to success is massive failure. Your goal is to out-fail your competition. Whoever can fail the most, the fastest and the biggest, wins.”

The increase in size, speed and volume of your failures also increases the size, speed and volume of your success. On surveying big-time CEOs of their top five defining moments responsible for their great successes, inevitably, great failures are on their lists.

Failure is exhilirating because it offers the greatest opportunity to tweak, iterate and improve. So get out there and be a failure. More of it, bigger and faster.

3.  A great mind rises above misfortune.

Our life is the sequence of mental and physical experiences that make up our existence. Ideally, the majority of these experiences are good, but some are bad. How we handle these experiences, the good and the bad, will determine the level of happiness and joy in our lives. Our attitude always determines our altitude.

4.  If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.

As long as you set your mind to it, nothing is impossible. At times it may feel hard or even hopeless. And it may even seem impossible to keep holding on.

At those times you need to remind yourself of how badly you want it. I have said it before, life is challenging, it’s hard, and sometimes seems impossible.

Thoughts can get into our heads and convince us to give in. Instead, make the best out of the opportunities and the moments that you have.

Changing the goal rather than the plan is easy. To give in because it is too hard to achieve.

Prove the world wrong, do whatever it takes to achieve your original goal. Develop a different plan to make it, no matter how long it takes to achieve it.

5.  You will not always win. Some days, you will taste defeat but there is always tomorrow.

We all want to win, to succeed, but to win every time is not possible. Some days things don’t go the way we planned. Some days we experience the agony of defeat.

Every situation in our lives is temporary. When it is good, make sure you take time to enjoy it. And when it isn’t so good, realise that it will not last forever.

Tomorrow is a new day, and there are always better days are on the way.

6.  Difficult doesn’t mean that it is impossible, it means that you have to dig a bit deeper and work harder.

There are lots of people out there that are good at what they do. Some of them are even in the elite class.

There also exists a select few that are entirely unstoppable.

They are in their own world. The ones that are unstoppable don’t compete with anyone but themselves. You never know what they will do  next, only that you will be forced to respond.

Even though they don’t compete with you, they make you compete with them. Are you unstoppable?

7.  To see the beauty of the stars, there must be darkness.

As human beings, we have to go through the darkness to see the beauty. Much like we must endure the darkness to look at the stars in the night sky.

Life throws obstacles at us that make us feel like giving up, but the truth is that we are much stronger than we realise. Even when it feels like all hope is lost, look through the darkness and find the stars.

8.  Wisdom comes from experience, and a lot of experience comes from bad judgement.

Of all the personal qualties that we prize, wisdom is high on the list. But it is difficult quality to define. What does it take to be wise?

Two things, experiences and reflection. When you get out there and tackle new endeavours you gain experience.

Most of us will rarely reflect when we are successful. But we reflect when we fail, when we make a bad judgement. Get out there and experience life fully.

9.  Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.

I have probably said it a thousand times. We will all fail at one time or another. But realise that the opportunity to fail is worth something, if the flop doesn’t mean you stop.

You will get another opportunity to succeed as long as you persist. Success has disappointment built into it, and disappointment is inherent in all success.

10.  Sometimes we are tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.

There are times when we want to give up. And the more times we fail to do something, the more we want to give up. That would be the easy way out.

To walk away, to throw in the towel, to mutter a few unrepeatable discouraging words, and then go and bury our heads somewhere.

That would be too easy. And that is exactly the reason why we should not do it.

If we fail to do something, then try again. Try something else. Ask for advice.

Life will continue to be a challenge. But in overcoming the challenges, then we can smile even wider when we succeed.

11.  The most successful person in the room tends to be the one who has failed the most. Go fail better.

It’s actually okay to fail. After all everybody has failed, although some refuse to admit it. Failure is inevitable.

The success stories of people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, and Walt Disney, to name just a few were produced by failure. So chill, when you fail, you are in incredible company.

12.  In life, you have to accept that you will get knocked down. Choosing to get back up and move forward is up to you.

The German philosopher Nietzsche famously said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” The school of hard knocks builds resilience, but only if we choose to get back up and give it another attempt.

Most of us have an intense fear of failure. And that inhibit us from attempting new things. Sadly, some will never take the first step to achieve their dreams.

Accept that you could fail. The power to rise again rests with you. You only fail when you stop getting back up.

13.  To see the beauty of the stars there must be darkness.

As human beings, we have to go through the darkness to see the beauty. Much like we must endure the darkness to look at the stars in the night sky.

Life throws obstacles at us that make us feel like giving up, but the truth is that we are much stronger than we realise. Even when it feels like all hope is lost, look through the darkness and find the stars.

14.  The flowers in your life are a reminder why the rains are necessary.

The beauty in our lives is more about the rain than the flowers. It is about where you look and what you choose to focus on. What you let go of and what you allow.

Even a wet and cloudy morning can be beautiful, if only we know where to look. Let’s make a choice about our perspective and accept imperfection. Our lives need both the rains and the flowers in equal measure.

15.  Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.

Persistence alters our perception of failure and can prompt us to achieve the extraordinary. It allows you to improve. And that improvement generates better results.

Life is not an easy road, it is rough and bumpy with many obstacles. You need to overcome these obstacles everyday in your life. And with the power of persistence you will succeed. Persistence is an amazing quality that promotes success in all of us.

16.  Success is the inevitable consequence of consistent disciplines applied over time.

Consistency is the key ingredient in success. But most people do not seem to know the power that lies in consistency.

When you’re passionate about something, there’s that initial excitement that keeps you going for a while. When that initial motivation wears off things can get rough.

I would prefer not to count the number of projects I’ve started and given up after the initial motivation dries up.

How long does it take to succeed? The universe does not set time limits. Sometimes you run out of steam and have to go through the motions for months before things start picking up.

9 Ways to Be a Better You in 2019

As we reflect on the craziness that was 2018, one thing is clear: We can all do better! Here is your guide to the lessons we learned in 2018, and see how to put them to use in 2019.

1. Less news makes you happier.

We know that our news gets dominated by adverse events. So what about taking a news blackout? Erik Hagerman did just that, to the extreme.

“If you’re going to be successful, you better have a goal, you better find really good people, better understand where all the money’s coming from. And you better measure the living daylights out of it.” – Rick Scott

He avoided all news since the 2016 US election. But, as a result, he says, “I’m emotionally healthier than I’ve ever felt.” Granted his approach may be morally questionable and is afforded by privilege, but it might be healthy to limit our news consumption.

2. Let’s get it on.

Most people would agree that sex is important and we should all try to have it, in entirely consensual ways, of course.

Karin Jones, the author of Modern Loves, shares this, “What surprised me was that these husbands weren’t looking to have more sex. They were looking to have any sex.” And she learned this by having affairs with married men.

“Even if you have a difficult season, you still believe the following year will be better and a good one.” – Fernando Alonso

This is not to suggest that if you don’t have sex, then your partner will cheat, but it confirms what we all know. Sex is a good thing for humans and is a good thing for relationships.

3. Consider cannabidiol.

Things are looking good for cannabidiol or CBD as it is commonly referred to. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a CBD-based drug. And an N.Y.U. School of Medicine researcher called CBD “the most promising drug that has come out for neuropsychiatric diseases in the last 50 years.”

Cannabidiol, which is found in the cannabis plant, may help treat illnesses, including cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson’s, as well as anxiety and insomnia and anxiety.

4. Control your spending.

I love FIRE people. FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. And they are devoted to living frugally and most importantly investing their cost savings.

“You can always be a little bit better.” – Drew Brees

They do this so they can stop working in their 40s or even as young as their 30s. That might be out of reach for many of us, after all, I am 53 as I write this. However, even if you’re not ready to join FIRE and adopt all of their tenets, cutting some spending will always help.

5. Ditch your mobile.

There is more and more information coming out about the harmful effects of screens. But the shocker is that the people responsible for these very gadgets are keeping them far away from their own children.

“Always strive to be a better you for you and for those around you.” – David Brett-Williams

Yes, in Silicon Valley, the headquarters of technology, children are being urged to rediscover board games, card games, and the great outdoors. Maybe that is something we should do, too.

6. Take back your time.

Life gets squeezed by the multitude of requests for your time. You must allow yourself to say no more often to be the keeper of your time. If you don’t say no, you run the risk of burn out.

“The biggest obstacle to people becoming better is that you have to really want to be a good person in order to be a better person, and most people would rather be other things.” – Dennis Prager

When you burn out, you can hate everyone and everything, including your family and friends and the things formerly known as “fun.”

7. Beware of snake oil salespeople.

The world is flooded with so-called wellness gurus (myself included). I believe the pursuit of wellness is more important than ever, but we all need to be aware the shady people peddling their magic elixirs.

“Your life will be no better than the plans you make and the action you take. You are the architect and builder of your own life, fortune, destiny.” – Alfred A. Montapert

Become a critical consumer of information. Let’s be honest, if it sounds too good to be true then chances are it is not true. Focus on the tried-and-tested self-care methods: sleep, exercise and science.

8. Wear what you like.

If you listen to 84-year-old Dorrie Jacobson, you should dress for the sheer joy of it and not be constrained by the dictates of your age. If you would like inspiration check her Instagram account @seniorstylebible.

9. Accept your nocturnal nature.

An increasing number of companies offer jobs that have flexible working hours. It seems the model of success might be shifting from the early risers to the late-night digital nomads.

No more getting to the office before everyone else does? Recent research supports that night owls might not be the train wrecks we were led to believe.

“You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.” – A. A. Milne

It turns out that research suggests night owls take more risks and may even be more intelligent. Hmmm!

Don’t let any of these be you in 2019.