Faced with overload: a need to find focus by Tony Schwartz What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, before you even brush your teeth? Is it checking the e-mail that’s flooded into your inbox overnight? Does the pull feel increasingly irresistible, even Pavlovian? Do you get so immersed in…
I recently came across “10 guideposts for wholehearted living” in the book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Dr. Brené Brown. Brown researches connection and has found that the people who have the courage to be imperfect end up with love, connection and…
We are often asked about which meditation exercises we recommend. One meditation that has been studied and found to be of benefit is Loving Kindness meditation. A world renowned positive psychology researcher named Barbara Fredrickson found that practicing loving-kindness meditation resulted in small daily increases in nine positive emotions – amusement, awe, contentment, gratitude, hope,…
A book we recently came across that is available free online is Explain Pain. It may be useful for anyone who has struggled with chronic pain. It has easy to read sections on the physiology of pain and busts some common misunderstandings, with a good section on management of pain. Also remember that mindfulness within…
The term “Positive psychology” was coined in 1998 by the then president of the American Psychological association, Professor Martin Seligman. He identified 3 areas to study: positive emotion, basically the study of happiness (how we feel; joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love.), positive traits (strengths,…
Mindfulness means paying attention to life in a particular way: -Just as it is, -On purpose, -In the present moment, -Without judgement. (Jon Kabat-Zin) Another definition of mindfulness is “learning to be in control of your mind, instead of letting your mind be in control of you.” Mindfulness is about experiencing the world in the…
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) gets it name from one of its core messages: accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life. The aim of ACT is to maximise human potential for a rich, full and meaningful life. ACT (which is pronounced as the word…
What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)? Cognitive behaviour therapy is about changing the way you feel by changing the way you think. It is based on scientific research goal oriented practical effective present focussed for people suffering from one to a number of problems It involves identifying and addressing the behaviors and thinking patterns that cause and maintain…
I recently read a book called “Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath. I think it has such a good central idea that I thought I would share it. One of the main ideas of the book is that knowledge is not enough to change behaviour. In their words “we have all encountered crazy shrinks, obese…