Thoughts or feelings are just a mental activity and not reality.. do you agree?
I personally felt burnt out (after moving 3 countries in 5 years), demands from work, travel, lack of sleep, bad eating habits (I was 10kg heavier than I am now), and other habit loops. ..- Can you relate?
I’d tried meditating and other things🧘♀️ here and there, but never really was consistent.
However as burnt out as I felt, I never wanted to recognize that this is what I felt (even though I felt quite bad)
As I started to study how the brain works, how emotions are made, how habits are formed I experienced an Aha moment. (That’s also why I am so passionate about Behavioral Science and how it can help people and organizations)
And hence how I started this post, thoughts and feelings are just a mental activity and not reality, which means that you can build new ones, that are grounded on kindness and curiosity.
You can CAN change, you can make new concepts…. But….
It takes practice, consistent practice every single day, small moments throughout the day to build a habit of mindfulness.
What do I do today:
-I do yoga (even if it’s just 10 mins) -I meditate (body scans, loving kindness, grounding exercises) -I note (a technique to keep yourself in the moment) -I changed how I eat (lost 10kg) -I exercise regularly (even if it’s a short session) -I write out new concepts for things I experience, so my brain has more to draw from - example - I’m not anxious, i’m just at an amusement park and that feeling is butterflies in the stomach… -I reframe - from I’m anxious to i’m excited -I smile and take 4 deep breaths and reward myself for it -And a few more.
All this builds new relationships in my brain and a new habit of mindfulness and new rewards.
Do I slip up and sometimes fall back into old habits, of course… but I am now aware of it.
As I have learnt… you have to work out your brain as much as your body. (Or even more)
Which means all the practices above, I will continue to do every single day!
Do I feel “normal” now that I do all this - not burnt out, anxious….not entirely, but do I see progress every single day… absolutely! 😀😀😀
I spent years of not taking care of myself, I am ok to know that it will take time for my brain to break old habits.
With that story….
If you are looking for a great book to help you understand the brain, how it works and how you can practice mindfulness, then Mindsight by Daniel Siegel is a great read.
The first part of the book explains how our brains work, the second part has some great case studies.
Hope it helps some of you to find mindfulness in this very complex world we have created and live in and for which our brain is not yet 100% caught up to.
#burnout #mindfulness #workculture #behavioralscience #servicedesign #productinnovation #digitaltransformation