try a little mindfulness…… and build it into your life/work…… dave bertin voices scotland...
TRANSCRIPT
Try a little mindfulness……and build it into your life/work……
Dave Bertin
Voices Scotland Trainer & CBT Therapist
Today – the plan.....
What is Mindfulness? theory and taster
What is it useful for? risks?
Using it for yourself Practice session
Remember as a child playing....
Total absorption in what you were doing Lost in time In the moment
One definition is.....
Mindfulness is paying attention, deliberately, in the present moment without being judgemental.
Jon Kabbat-Zinn
So what’s it all about……?
A place of stillness in the middle of a frantic world
No one can run fast enough to escape their own worries
Anxiety levels now are 3 to 4 times higher than they were in the 1950s
Fundamentally a learnt habit – not a forgone conclusion!
So what’s it all about……?
How often do we feel that we are overwhelmed with inputs/thoughts/stuff to do?
We tend to fill our senses with “noise” This “noise” causes us information
overload, inefficiency and therefore stress
A taster.......
To give you a sense of what Mindfulness is.......
The problem with this..............
The past
The future
This moment
Why bother?
No time No point Can’t do it Too busy Can’t slow down It’s the worlds fault So why bother?
Finding your motivation...
What is it that is the most important reason in my life for doing this?
What can I say to myself to encourage me to stick at it?
Remember this is a new skill – it takes time to master it
Practical steps to making it happen.....
Be mindful of what you are doing Focus on one thing at a time Do it and then focus on the outcome You will get things done so don’t worry Ignoring a feeling or emotion just makes it
worse – so make it your decision to focus on it
The importance of choices
Make clear choices Don’t just do things you have to do Do things you want to do Make it your choice to face the tricky stuff Don’t wait for it to pop up and jump you Commit random acts of kindness
Think about what you do each day....
Things we do either nourish us or deplete us Nourishing things make us feel energised,
relaxed, stimulated, good, positive .......... Depleting things make us feel tired, stressed,
negative, defeatist, grumpy, overwhelmed ........ We all see these activities in our own way
Consider each one of your daily activities: Does doing this make you feel “nourished” or is
it “depleting”?
So what to do...
Increase the nourishing ones Decrease the depleting ones Change the way you see them
Look for something positive in the depleting ones – consider “process” and “outcome”
Make it your choice to do the depleting ones Thing about when you do each type and decide
on the order that suits you Start and end your day (or ideally chunks of
your day) with nourishing activity
Basic principles
Don’t judge yourself, your feelings, your emotions
There are just aspects of being human – useful at times – unhelpful at others
Find a focus for your mind that you can follow
Use that to let you take control and time out
Practice, experiment, try, don’t be scared to fail
Seven deadly sins......
Automatic pilot versus conscious choice Analysing versus sensing Striving versus accepting – tricky one?
What’s the worse that could happen?
Seeing thoughts as solid and real versus seeing them as just thoughts
Avoidance versus approaching Mental time travel versus the present moment Depleting versus nourishing activities
Parachute and duvets....
Start the day – 60 seconds of breathing and 60 seconds of “what matters today is ...”
Use breathing spaces to punctuate the day Befriend your feelings – see them, reflect on them,
like them.... Press the pause button when things get tricky Find (and do) nurturing activities Increase your exercise Remember to breath
The process of emotions.....
Our reaction – emotions and
actions
Interpretation and Thoughts
Situation
Feelings versus thoughts
It seems like we feel things automatically Only partly true – such as the startle reflex Generally we interpret things, analyse them, reflect
on them – even if we are not always aware of this This interpretation is more within our control than
we think We tend to have learnt habits of interpretation We can learn new habits!
But can you change the cogs????
YES! An element of doubt is a good thing There’s nothing surer than an uncertainty! Our thoughts (even if not conscious ones) can affect our
actions/feelings/emotions.... Remember:
Situation Interpretation Thoughts Feelings Reaction
NOT: situation – feelings - reaction
Picture this story......
You are on a busy street and see a work colleague in the crowd
You wave and shout hello They do not wave back and turn up a side street What do you:
Feel – emotionally & physically? Think? Do?