PWS Bulletin #3 Time for a fresh start?
Juliet Adams
Using neuro & behavioural science to enhance performance & unlock potential. Personalised development for busy leaders. Consultancy & Training design for organisations. L&D Expert | Coach | Mentor | Author
Welcome to my bi-weekly invitation to pause and reflect on the way you work.?
This is not the newsletter that I had planned to write. I had just finished writing Newsletter 3 when a Facebook notification popped up.? I normally ignore these notifications, but I am glad I did not. I discovered that a friend, Professor Jeremy Hunter had lost his home in the LA fires.
On the 9th January he wrote on Facebook “It’s all gone. Like so many of our neighbors, it’s all gone.” In a daze, I logged onto linked in for more information and read in his post “Along with many others, our home burned to the ground.”?
If you read my last newsletter you may think that I am writing about the same thing again. I am and I am not. There are parallels and there are differences in the two real life stories.
Jeremy posted online the pictures above and wrote “So my son is standing there staring at the remains of what used to be his home…containing so many memories, manga and Legos…when he shouts out with a gleam in his eye, “Fresh Start!”
He later posted this picture and wrote “The only thing from our house to survive absolutely unscathed was this little Buddha statue. …. This little statue reminds me that deep down your mind is a clear and vast place no matter what is happening.”
In the many comments below I read messages of support including:
“What a powerful reminder of the impermanence of all things. May the karma of your good works and generosity as an educator come back to you a hundredfold in this time of need. And may you remain safe and in excellent health as you start fresh.”
“I am inspired by the perspective, and it serves a good reminder of the tools you taught me during my MBA at Drucker. As always, I appreciate you for living out your teachings and am humbled at your capacity to take concepts and theory towards practical application.”
Jeremy is wise and smart.? He is a pioneer, and one of the few business gurus I who really does live his teachings.
I met Jeremy at the 2014 Mindfulness at work conference [i] that I arranged at Cranfield University with Dr Jutta Tobias. Jeremy, a professor at the Drucker Business School [ii] was pioneering mindfulness training for leaders at a time when mindfulness was not in the mainstream. Since 2010 I had been educating, informing and promoting the use of mindfulness in the workplace.? Most of this work was unpaid and although it had real purpose and meaning in my life, at times I felt as if I had ‘MUG’ tattooed on my forehead. Jeremy asked me what I did and why. He listened patiently to me as I waffled on and babbled. When I finally shut up, he paused for a short time and looked me in the eye.? In a few words he summarised what I had been unable to articulate.?
Suddenly it all made sense. Things clicked into place for me. ?I understood my role in the world. ?Jeremy inciteful words have shaped my life and helped me to become the person and am today.? I would not be advocating Productivity Without Sacrifice[iii] as a new approach without his words to me that day.? ??
When the unthinkable happens its an opportunity for a fresh start. A new chapter in your life.
Whatever happens in your life, as Jeremy says: “deep down your mind is a clear and vast place no matter what is happening”.? Mindfulness training helps us to access this clear and vast place whenever we need it.?
We might need it after a difficult exchange with a colleague. We might need it when our proposal isn’t accepted at work, or we might need it when our house burns down, and it feels as if we have lost everything.? Going to this place allows us to gain perspective, to see the bigger picture. It enables us to make a fresh start.
We can make a fresh start at any moment in our day. The past is the history.? We never know for sure what the future will hold. But we always have this moment, the present moment, a chance for a fresh start.
I wonder where this ‘fresh start’ will take Jeremy and his family?? I’m not sure if Jeremy knows yet.? It’s too early. If I know anything about Jeremy, to new and greater things I am sure, but there is a tough road ahead. My thoughts are with him.
When the worst happens, we always have a choice, even when we think we have none.? Its easy to become overwhelmed by emotions and respond on autopilot. At times like this its important to know that we all carry within us an innate inner wisdom.? Accessing it can be the issue.? Techniques like mindfulness help us to do this.
What does this mean for us as busy working professionals?
We are all born mindful, but we can lose the ability to tap into our own inner wisdom as we grow up. Ten minutes of mindfulness practice each day for 6 weeks or more is enough to start structurally changing your brain for the better[i].? One minute is enough to get you started.
Experiment with adding a little mindfulness to your day and see what happens.? It may feel hard at first but with a little time and patience you will start to experience the benefits.
This article outlines seven simple a number of ways to practice mindfulness in one minute. https://psychcentral.com/health/minute-mindfulness-exercises
Try this:
Pick your two exercises from the seven listed on the link above. Try one today and one tomorrow.? After each exercise very briefly reflect on how you felt before and how you felt after.
If you have ten minutes to spare you might like to try a 10 minute guided mindfulness exercise from my MindfulnessAWT course?designed specifically for busy working people. If you are new to mindfulness, I recommend exercises 1,2 or 3.
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Remember:?
If you become distracted or get disturbed its ok. Simply kindly and gently redirect your focus back to whatever you were focusing on before.? Doing this will help you to re-wire your brain so you get back on track more quickly in future when your mind wanders.? Don’t beat yourself up if it isn’t easy at first. Treat each moment as a new beginning.? In the immortal words of Jon Kabat Zinn, credited with introducing mindfulness to the western world, ??
“You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it”.
Events
Before I sign off, a few people emailed me to ask for details of events I am running.? Most of my work is one to one or run within companies, But I have a few open events planned:
? May 11th Mini retreat focusing on turning your dreams into reality. Contact me if you would like details
? May 17th & 17th Mindfulness at work teachers 2 day retreat. This retreat is for you if you:
An ??? outline of the retreat can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gkDFfRJ5 A few places are still available: PWS subscribers who are mindfulness teachers will receive a free copy of The Business Case for Mindfulness. If this is for you, please click this link, or contact me for further info. If you would like to book a place:
? Online 1 hour workshop: The neuroscience of purpose ￡15. Contact me for details and dates
? Online workshop: An introduction to the Productivity Without Sacrifice approach to working ￡15. Contact me for details and dates.
Finally... Mindful Leadership for Dummies 60% discount for Subscribers
Tantor have just published an e-book version of my book and for a limited time are offering a 60% discount for PWS subscribers ?
Juliet
Juliet Adams Chartered Fellow CIPD, MSc Training and Performance
#ProductivityWithoutSacrifice
[i] https://www.hultef.com/en/insights/research-thought-leadership/the-mindful-leader/ ?cited in Making the business case for mindfulness https://www.aheadforwork.com/product-page/business-case
[iii]Productivity without Sacrifice (PWS helps organisations and their people to become more productive and effective at what they do whilst still maintaining wellbeing and balance in their lives.
PWS focusses on three areas:
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FCIPD - Director of HR & Organisation Development at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
1 个月Thanks Juliet. Great, thought-provoking article. That photo of Buddha will haunt me too. but we all need to remember his quote, that "deep down your mind is a clear and vast place no matter what is happening.” Love it.