It’s fair to say that ‘hustle culture’ is still alive and well. Indeed, it is celebrated. I can see why, especially among the young. It’s an idea that celebrates hard work paying off in a big way. It’s an idea that celebrates a never-ending work ethic. It’s a rebranding of the ‘work-hard, play-hard’ craze that spanned from the 80’s until about ten years ago.

It’s all very well breaking your back to reach a goal, if that’s what you really want. But I would argue (and I don’t think I’m the only one) that this kind of work philosophy is neither sustainable nor healthy. I’m not even sure that it gleans particularly phenomenal results in the majority of cases, but that’s just my theory. You’d have to ask someone more qualified if that is anywhere close to fact!

This attitude leads to burnout. It does not work if you are after work-life balance. It robs you of time spent building friendships, nurturing families, and, quite frankly, enjoying life’s many pleasures. This attitude also ignores that rest and recovery are the same as ‘being lazy’. They are, in fact, essential to resilience, mental wellbeing and productivity. Ultimately, slowing down is the best way to put a rocket booster behind your work output. Here’s more on that…

1.     The Productivity Myth

For years, hustle culture and the behemoth of capitalism have pumped the idea that to ‘do’ constantly is the only road to success and fulfilment. It’s a big part of why, as a culture, we look down on the notion of rest. But, as is becoming more apparent, burnout and mental health issues are a widespread effect to the cause of this idea. It’s why so many of us feel guilty when we slow down. Things are changing, but there is still way to go.

2.     Different Types of Rest

Rest is more than just sleep (although, we should probably all be getting more of that. PUT THAT PHONE DOWN!). rest comes in many forms, it can be physical, emotional, mental, sensory, creative, or spiritual. So, perhaps rest, if physical rest is what you need, looks like a steam room session or a quiet night in watching movies. If emotional rest is what you need, perhaps you just need to have some time to yourself. Mental rest might look like a technology detox for a day. Stop pumping stimulation into your brain for a while and go to the beach! Sensory overload is something I suffer from often. I tend to deal with it by sitting in the park over the road from my house and listening to nothing but the birds and the wind while reading a good book. For creative rest, I look to my hobbies (playing the piano, writing books). For spiritual rest, meditation is pretty popular. What would suit you best?

3.     Signs You’re Overdue for a Rest Reset

The signs that you need a break are usually pretty clear. That said, we can be good at ignoring them… I know I am! Are you more irritable and short-tempered than usual? Are you disconnecting from situations (drifting off in meetings, not concentrating on where you are going, making silly mistakes)? Do you struggle to remember things and to string ideas together?

4.     Rest as an Act of Self-Respect

If you struggle to rest, you may need to engineer a shift in mindset. Rest isn’t indulgence, it’s self-preservation. Going on and on without rest is like running a super marathon without fuelling yourself along the way. It’s like running 100 miles without water or food… eventually, you will shut down. Rest is sustenance. It is essential for long-lasting resilience and mental wellbeing.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Rest Is Not Laziness: Reframing Our Relationship with Recovery appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Silence is golden. It heals. It allows the brain to filter noise, solve problems unconsciously, and refocus the mind and one’s energy. Silence is something that I try to find silence every day, because, not only is it pleasant not to have anything pressing on the senses, is a valuable tool.

You may think that in order to find silence, you need a total lack of noise. I would argue that this is not entirely true. I view useful silence as finding a moment in which your brain is not focusing on any new information. The background noise and motion of the world can be closed out and become nothing but the screensaver for your period of mental solitude. You can find meditative silence anywhere in the world. Here are the places I like to find them…

1.     Home No Phone Zone

We often reiterate this because try as we might, phones are always a distraction. Of course they are! They are designed to engage. As wonderful as it is to have the world in the palm of your hand, it does mean that the time our brains used to have to themselves before phones were this mesmerising, is all but gone. The natural quiet time we used to enjoy is no more. Unless, of course, you have a no-phone zone in the house. This might mean a no phones in the bedroom rule. Or maybe just no phones after a certain time in the evening. Whatever your sanction, make sure it works for you.

2.     Walk Wherever You Are

Walks aren’t just for the countryside; you can pretty much walk anywhere. If a situation is making you feel overwhelmed or anxious, removing yourself from that situation and taking yourself outside, where you can focus on different surroundings and let your mind untangle, is always helpful. Going for a walk is a classic because it works.

3.     Stop Content Scrolling

Do you ever find yourself scrolling through your TV apps, looking for something to distract you for the evening? If you have nothing to watch, why not give your brain a break and do something more relaxing. Watching TV engages a lot of our brains, keeping us mentally wired throughout. Something calming, like taking a bath or talking to your partner will give you much more mental calm than just watching some nonsense TV show just to fill the time.

4.     One Task at a Time

Focusing on a single task is a great way to eradicate extra noise. For me, cooking is a very good way of getting mental clarity. If I need full mental quiet, I might cook something that I know how to cook inside out… and so requires little complex thought. Focus on the details of the task… the senses that it engages. Engross yourself to come out of it feeling much more balanced. Other great activities include reading, cleaning or tidying, painting and gardening.

5.     Indoor Public Spaces

There are so many serene and calming buildings out there that you can just walk into. If you are out and about, having a rough day, and need a moment to get your head together, why not pop into a public building or a shop to gather yourself. My favourite clam locations include, if you are in London, the National Gallery, the National Theatre and ST. Clement Danes Church. However, if I am not in London, the most calming place I can think of to be in, and most places have one, is a bookshop.

6.     Headphones, No Tunes

Sometimes I don’t want to listen to music, but I often do listen to it to cover the bustle and noise of the morning commute. However, I have found that simply plugging in my headphones and listening to nothing allows me to sit in my own little world and find a bit of peace.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Everyday Ways to Find Silence appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

The world moves and changes fast. More than ever, older people can get left behind, not because humans are intrinsically unable to adapt as they get older, but because many of us do not foster that part of our brain that practices learning when we get to adulthood.

Not only is continuing to learn as an adult nourishing, but it is also great for our personal and professional resilience. Resilience can mean many things, and keeping the ability to adapt to unknown situations is one of them.

Having a brain that still knows how to learn helps one to remain relevant, as well as connected to the world. Here are a few thoughts on how to keep ticking over in that regard…

1.     Pick Up A Pastime

The idea of a new hobby can seem overwhelming. There’s this idea that hobbies aren’t worth it unless you go for it all the way and spend loads of your time doing it. But hobbies needn’t be life-swallowing projects or stressful. My wife, over lockdown, decided to learn how to decorate cookies. It is something that she learned gradually. It is something that she found claiming. It is also something that she doesn’t do very often now, and she has managed not to judge herself for it. It’s a small new skill that she sometimes returns to and is always very happy when she does. It has brought her joy and it kept her mind active in a period of mental stagnation.

2.     Learning Something New About Something Old

If you are not in need of a new skill but want to engage the learning part of your brain, try to look for ways to advance the skillsets you already have. I often do this with cooking. I am an enthusiastic good cook and will often try to add a new skill to my arsenal. For example, I once spent six months working on how to make bread. I once decided to learn how to fillet a fish and joint a chicken. They were not such big exercises that they took up a lot of my time, but extremely satisfying, nonetheless.

3.     Into the Unknown

I always used to wonder why my parents took us to the same place on holiday every year. ‘Why not try somewhere new?’, I would think. ‘This is boring!’. But, as an adult, I totally get it. You go on holiday somewhere; you work out where everything is and acclimatise to the status quo… you have a lovely time. Then, next year, you think, ‘I could go somewhere new. But why would I, now that I have a stress-free option that I know I like?’

There is a lot to be said for visiting places that we are familiar with. It’s much less stressful and doesn’t require us to learn anything new. That being said, sometimes it is good to be somewhere new. It forces you to engage the learning part of your brain. Sure, it could be a new holiday destination. But maybe it’s as simple as trying a new coffee place from time to time, or going to a new supermarket and having to work out where they keep the cheese.

You don’t always have to ruffle the feathers of your routine like this, but it helps to do it on occasion.

4.     Become Conscious of Your Optimal Learning Style

Seeing out things to learn also helps you to work out what learning processes are the most effective for you personally. When taking on a learning process, try to consciously engage with how you are learning, and question whether it is working for you. The skill itself might not be that difficult, it might be the way you are going about learning it.

5.     Break Down Your New Skills

If a new skill you have to learn is overwhelming you, break it down into smaller components. The idea mastering of a many-faceted skill can feel like too much, especially if you haven’t learnt anything new in a while. Consciously break the skill down into components and concentrate on mastering each component in isolation. Try to concentrate on laying each brick, not on building the house.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post How to Keep Your Brain ‘Learning Fit’ appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Expanding your skills has always been a part of career progression. However, one might argue, that for the sake of one’s resilience and wellbeing in today’s world of work, this is more important than ever. Indeed, it is a good idea to not only skill up in your current area, but to consider how you might diversify what skills you have, outside of the traditional sphere of your industry.

It is also worth saying that yes, skill building may be necessary for your professional life, but it also has a number of personal benefits. In the coming paragraphs, I’ll be highlighting how it can benefit both parts of you life…

1.     Creativity Unleashed

It is easy to arrive at adulthood and convince yourself that your brain works in a certain way and that there are no other angles from which you can look at things or solve problems. In fact, what many people find, is that when they learn something new, even if it is something they are learning for pleasure or to invest in their personal wellbeing, is that teaches their brain to come at problems from different directions, enabling them to think both more broadly and more creatively. This happens most dramatically when the person in question takes on a new skill that is completely out of their normal spheres of interest.

2.     Personal Pride and Worth

It is easy to get stuck in a rut. Often, people convince themselves that they are fine where they are. They do so for so long that when the question of taking a risk, learning something new, or leaping a hurdle to move up in the workplace comes along, their low self-esteem tells them that it’s too scary, or that they do not have the capacity to do it. This is where one really needs to take a deep breath, ignore the voices, and leap into something new. The sense of worth and achievement we get from gaining new skills is enormous. When we are children, we feel this all the time, and it feels amazing. But it doesn’t happen so often as adults, and we forget this feeling. The feeling of achievement. The feeling of worth. Regular learning opportunities will ensure that you feel this sense of achievement much more often.

3.     Money

Of course, when it comes to the workplace, financial gain is always a good incentive to learn and diversify your skills. However, even if getting promoted or financially rewarded is not your goal when perusing new avenues, you would be surprised how often these innocently obtained skills make you a more desirable employee.

4.     Opportunity

As alluded to in the previous paragraph, new skills often open unexpected doors. I am a freelancer, and have often been taken on for a job that required a specific skillset. During the said job, it would be discovered that I can also provide other services, which has led to me being employed by the same people again, but in a different role, making use of those different skills. Learning always pays off.

5.     New Relationships

We don’t meet as many new people when we grow up. If you work in a single workplace, you will probably not be used to encountering fresh faces and new opinions on a regular basis. Learning environments put us among new people on a regular basis, making our exposure to different backgrounds and ideas broader. This is an important and underrated consequence of perusing new skills; the broadening of horizons, and the unexpected new connections that we make. Meeting, and connecting with, new people are skills. Skills that are very valuable throughout many workplaces and industries.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Reasons to Add to Your Workplace Skills appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

 Gifts are a big part of Christmas tradition. But gone are the days when most people give or receive a single token gift. It’s a sliding scale, but in many families, the chunk of Christmas dedicated to gifts is now enormous and can be extremely stressful. It can make the festive season quite damaging for your wellbeing.

So, I put it to you… could you do a Christmas without gifts? A big change for some, yes, but what are actually the benefits of gifting? What is its real value? Are the positives of gift giving more numerous than the negatives? Is it all worth the stress and hours spent sifting through deals online or getting caught up with the herd at your nearest shopping centre

What might a gift-free Christmas do for you?

1.     ‘Stuff’ is great, but it is not love

Love can be expressed in many ways. Of course, if you know someone well enough to buy them the perfect present, one that will reflect your relationship with them, then yes, a show of love and connection gift-giving may well be. However, this pressure to show love and knowledge through gift-giving can also be quite uncomfortable. The increasingly commercial world in which we live has many of us convinced that, at Christmas, presents are the best way to show affection to others. This is not true. The giving of your time, energy, effort and attention can be just as much a show of love.

2.      Stress and Expectation

A few years ago now, my wife and I were beginning to find the whole ‘gift debacle’ around Christmas, just a bit too much. We were attempting to trump the gifts we had given everyone the year before. The thing is, this ‘must be better than last year’ attitude was leading towards every member of our extended family going home with a lot of expensive rubbish that they neither asked for nor really had a use for. Not only could we not afford to buy everyone gifts that they didn’t really want, but we also didn’t want to be given a load of stuff we’d feel guilty about not using.

We realised that our Christmas was being drowned by expectation and that our wellbeing was being pummelled a little. And so, since then, we have had a gift-free Christmas. We bought no gifts, we received no gifts, and we loved it. The first year we did it was the least stressful, most mindful December either of us could remember having.

3.     The Money

Financial wellbeing is, unsurprisingly, quite a significant worry this year. Gift buying can get expensive. There is so much pressure on all of us to spend, spend, spend in December. By agreeing not to spend a huge amount of cash on one another you are not only saving money yourself, but being mindful of the emotional and financial stress it may have on other members of your family and friendship groups.

4.     What is Christmas Really About?

This decision really helped us to focus on and enjoy the other elements of Christmas celebrations; connection, togetherness… food! There are no children in our family currently, which we have recognised as an opportunity to use the time of year as a time of rest. The year is long, and without the madness and flurry of gift-giving Christmas has become much calmer and more chilled out.

5.      New Traditions

The space in your Christmas Day usually reserved for present opening can now be used for something else. In my family, for example, we each bring an obscure board game to teach to the room. Perhaps you could start a new, communal tradition? This could be anything from a walk around the neighbourhood to finishing a jigsaw, a biscuit decorating contest to a movie screening.

Christmas is about so much more than stuff. It was quite a dramatic move to remove presents from our Christmas. Ultimately, we found it a liberating, and much more relaxed experience than it ever had been before. If you have been feeling overwhelmed by the festive season in recent years, I can recommend this most freeing of alterations.

 By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Why A Gift-Free Christmas Could Be The Greatest Gift of All! appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Summer has been hailed as the headliner for all seasons for many a year. We all love the summer! Sure, the other seasons have many virtues, but nothing beats the brightness, the positivity, the outdoor connections, the joy in the warm breeze that comes with the Summer months.

So, if you are feeling down, despite the lovely weather… let us remind you what is so wonderful about the here and now, and what you can appreciate and enjoy this Summer season should your mood require a lift!

1. Hot Weather, Cold Swimming Pool

You know, when you’ve been out in the sun for a bit? And it was really fun for a while, but now you’ve been a bit too hot for just a bit too long? Well, there is nothing that rectifies this situation better than a plunge into a wonderfully cool swimming pool. The coolness of the water swoops over your body, and as you look up the sunlight twinkles at you from above the water. Then you climb out, return to your deckchair, and the sun dries your skin and your costume in mere minutes. A joy.

2. Long Cool Drinks

When you are hot and bothered, or a little parched from the summer heat, nothing beats a long cold drink. I don’t even mean anything fancy necessarily. Honestly, there are times when ice-cold water tastes like the most phenomenal drink in the world. That being said, an ice-cold beer, or a chilled cocktail, the condensation gently sliding down the glass, is a real treat when it is hot.

3. Everything Looks Better in The Sun

I think that everything looks better in the sun. I live in the city, and cities can feel pretty miserable and oppressive when the weather is rotten. However, as soon as the sun comes out, the light bouncing off every building, the atmosphere on the streets much more jovial, the whole place transforms. People and places just seem happier in the sun.

4. Green

There is much more green in the world. Spring brings blossom, Summer brings leaves. I live on a tree flanked street that is spindly and barren in the winter months. Then the summer comes around, and the trees become abundant with greenery and fruit. Nature is at its most inviting, most energetic, and most vibrant during the Summertime.

5. Light Evenings

I don’t know about you, but there is a part of my brain which declares the day over as soon as the sun goes down. The Summer means evenings that are light until late, which makes for a much more productive ‘me’. It also tends to mean that I am in my homeless, being more inclined to spend time outdoors later into the day.

6. The Ease of Going Outdoors

Not only do we want to be outdoors more often in the Summer, but it is also so much easier to get outdoors. There’s much less admin. Cut to December, and you need layers! Coats, hats, jumpers, and gloves… also an umbrella, just in case, or a change of socks in case you get soaked. None of that is a problem if it’s warm and sunny. No extra layers required! Indeed, sometimes, if I’m just popping over the road to the common, I don’t even bother with shoes!

7. New Possibilities

At the time of writing, this post will make its way out into the world at a time when the pandemic restrictions are due to be removed very soon. This Summer will be unlike any Summer before or since, because it, hopefully, is going to be the time when everybody finally gets to continue with their lives as before (kind of). For some people, it will be the beginning of a brand-new chapter and the opening of a door to a land of fresh opportunity. So, if this Summer is that for you, cherish it, appreciate it, and remember the significance of the freedom that this Summer is due to allow us once again.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post The Best Feelings of Summer appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Some habits are good some are bad. Yet still, the word ‘habit’ seems to most commonly be perceived as a negative thing. However, good habits can save you. Good habits, nurtured and introduced with care and consideration into your daily routines, are often the very things that keep you afloat and help your overall wellbeing to blossom.

Now, more than ever, is the time to bring new habits into your life. We are in a time when reaching out to find help is a little more difficult than it used to be, and so it is wise to do our absolute best to help ourselves as much as we can.

These simple habits help to contribute to building a foundation of resilience and ongoing wellbeing for yourself. A foundation from which you can grow a lifestyle of consciousness, mindfulness, and productivity.

1. Consistent Sleeping Hours

The whole ‘everybody must get eight hours a night’ thing is now quite an antiquated way of thinking. We are all different, and all benefit from varying amounts of sleep. For example, I know that I function best on seven hours of sleep, as a minimum. However, my mother-in-law only requires five hours, and is one of the most vibrant and functional adults I have ever seen!

One of the best ways to keep your wellbeing buoyant is to have routine. The body responds well when it knows what is coming and is less enthused when its rhythm is interrupted or shaken about. Instead of worrying about how much sleep you are getting, try instead to keep your sleeping hours consistent every day. This is a huge help in terms of regulating your body and ensures that you are not left fatigues or unable to sleep because you have not burnt off enough energy.

2. A Structured Weekday Morning

Getting your morning off to a good start often sets you up to have a more positive and energised day. If you wake up late, rush breakfast, or have to bolt out of the door without being fully ready to leave for work, then it can take a while to settle. Create a calm and energising routine for your morning, taking time to properly wake up and fuel yourself, both nutritionally and mentally, for the day ahead.

3. Scheduled ‘Screen Free’ Time

As no doubt you know, our screens are a big pull on our attention. But screen time is often not enriching, indeed, we can often become frustrated with the amount of time we waste scrolling and swiping. Screens also make it harder for our brains to rest. So, schedule some screen free time. Put your phone in the other room, turn the TV of and go for a walk. Give your brain some space and time to refresh and refocus.

4. A Conscious Diet

It’s not necessarily about ‘eating better’, but about eating consciously. By which I mean, eat with intention, chose your food mindfully, try not to be passive about what you put in your body. Also, listen to yourself, and nourish yourself according to what your body needs. Feeling motivated and like you could eat lean and high vitamin food today? Great. Do that. Feeling down today, and like you could do with some comfort food? Great. Do that. Don’t deprive your body of the food that is desires, but also try not to go overboard!

5. Exercise

Good old exercise. That old chestnut. Yes indeed, regular exercise is fantastic for your mental health, for your physical health, and for your wellbeing in general. And by exercise, I don’t mean high intensity, hour long sessions (unless that is what you’re into). Like with all of these habits, it’s the routine that makes it valuable. If you go for a brisk walk three ties a week, that is no less beneficial to your wellbeing than six 10k runs a week!

By Chris Thomson

Wellbeing and happiness go hand in hand. One affects the other. That being said, it is not always easy to tell if we are happy. Especially if we do not find the time to reflect on it. How do you feel about your general happiness? Are You Happy?

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post 5 Lifestyle Habits to Boost your Wellbeing appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Even though the end of lockdown is in sight, there is still a little time to got before we can get involved in all the wonderful stuff that is usually available to us out in the real world! This time has challenged many of us in ways we didn’t know we could be challenged, and I don’t know about you, but I have often had to find inventive ways to stay on top of my wellbeing, resilience and need for creative and mindfulness fulfilment.

That being said, there is never a bad time to take up a new, mindfulness focussed hobby. Although the following hobbies are ideal for the strange world in which we currently live, they will offer you just as much when things begin to return to ‘normal’, whatever that may mean.

So, if you need something new to do, something calming and mindful to occupy your time, maybe one of these hobbies will take your fancy!

1. Cooking

I mean, we all have to eat, right? So, I fancy most of you reading this will have put a meal together at least once or twice. However, cooking needn’t be just a chore. In fact, as it is something that most people do every day, you might as well enjoy it.

It is easy to get stuck in a rut with cooking, especially if you haven’t much energy. However, I have found a simple and sustainable way to keep the joy of cooking alive in me, and to mix up my weekly menu. It is as simple as this; cook one new dish a week. I put one day aside per week to try something new, to consciously engage and follow a recipe as opposed to just chucking the same old stuff together. I often find new recipes by picking a favourite ingredient, and just searching for recipes including said ingredient. For example, last week I make paprikash for the first time, as a result of me searching for paprika based recipes.

It was delicious, by the way.

2. Any Form of Exercise

Exercise can sound intimidating if hard physical exertion isn’t really your thing. However, exercise does not have to be intense to have mindful benefits. Any exercise is worth doing. Not only does exercise fire endorphins through your body, but it also offers momentary escapism, focus and a sense of having achieved something. So, sure, go intense, take up running, cycling, or HITT training. But know that regular walks or daily stretching sessions are just as good for your physical and mental wellbeing.

3. Photography

Photography is a great way to look at the world from a different angle. I took photographs on a daily basis for a while, and it taught me that beauty can be found anywhere in the most apparently uninspiring places, and in the most mundane of objects. Your regular local high street might be glorious when the sun hits it just right. You can find beauty in the steam rising from a coffee cup. And peoples faces tell many stories when they are captured in candid moments.

4. ‘Every Day for A Year’ Projects

This year, I have decided to post a ‘Song of the Day’ every day. I am doing this for 365 days. I find this relaxing and mindful for a few reasons, the first of which is that picking a song a day demands that I reflect on why I like the song so much. It helps me to feel gratitude towards the music. The regularity also helps to mark time and to give me structure. I am also already enjoying looking back on my choices and thinking about why I made those choices on the days that I made them.

5. Cleaning

Hobbies needn’t be, for lack of a better term, ‘frivolous’. They can also be functional. Cleaning gives you satisfying results, as well as helping you to get your blood pumping a little. This endorphin rush and ultimate sense of achievement will help to clear the mind. Try and clean your home for 20 minutes every day. Just a little clean on a daily basis. You’d be surprised how good it makes you feel, and how quickly it will transform the atmosphere in your home.

6. Walking and Map Colouring

To give her daily walks focus and interest, my mother-in-law invented a hobby. She bought a map of her local area and is now trying to walk down every road on said map. She then colours those roads in when she returns from her walk. I think she’s done about 60% of East Oxford now! This has given her more focus and interest, and, best of all, a hobby that enhances an activity that was already part of her daily life.

By Chris Thomson

If boredom is bugging you right now, and hobbies are something you aren’t into, why not try one of these?

5 Tips for Coping with Boredom

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post 6 Mindful Hobbies appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Our lives are defined by relationships. They are defined by the relationships we do have and the ones we don’t. They are defined by the good ones, the bad ones, the close ones, the distant ones, the weird ones, the hard ones, the low and high maintenance ones, the short ones, the passing ones, the passionate ones, the surprising ones, the ‘I just can’t seem to shake you off’ ones, the casual ones, the intense ones, the lifelong ones, the awkward ones, the special ones and the necessary ones. You will look back at that list and likely recognise many of these relationships from your own life.

Every relationship is different. And, from the relationship with your partner right down to the relationship you have with the woman who runs the corner shop, they are all important. Each relationship gives us certain things, and no relationship can really give us everything that we want. For example, I know which friend I would go too if I need some idle chatter and a pint. However, I am conscious of the fact that he is not the same person I would go to if I needed to talk about a sensitive subject or if I needed, say, medical attention!

Although our relationships are complex, nuanced and numerous, they can also, broadly speaking, be separated into a handful of categories. Human connection is one of the essentials when it comes to providing balance and resilience in your life. Everybody should be enjoying all six of these kinds of relationship. Each of these relationships is important, and here is why…

1. Your Romantic Relationships

When we think of relationships, most of us think of our romantic ones first. This relationship is perhaps the most complex, yet the most rewarding. These are often deep, intense relationships that leave you feeling both venerable and safe at the same time. This type of connection is important because of the human need for stability and foundation. A good romantic relationship should make you feel safe and that you have a safe space to return to, as well as presenting you with challenge and an ability to grow. These relationships are also where we learn to compromise, to listen, to work through problems and to love even if you don’t always like. Last of all, we all deserve intimacy, trust and love, and all the best romantic relationships offer these.

2. Your Familial Relationships

Familial relationships. One of the most useful things about these are that they are constant. We are stuck with our family, forever linked, and there is nothing we can do to change that. You go through a lot with family, and this is one of the reasons why you end up so close to family whether you like them or not. Familial relations are forged not just by blood, but by galvanising circumstances; the trials and tribulations of growing up together. Family offers stability and unconditional love, a constant required by us all.

3. Your Friendships

Friendships, certainly close ones, can also be defined as ‘chosen family’. Your friends are the people you gravitate towards, the people that you are consider to be like you in some way. Friendships can serve many purposes, all of which can probably be boiled down to ‘relief’. Friends are the people you lean on and rely on to take some of your cares away, or to allow you to vent tension.

4. Your Professional Relationships

Professional relationships are often not invested in by us, they are perhaps seen as a side effect of working with other people, but a professional relationships that has been consciously worked on by both parties can bring both support and productivity. When in difficult work situations, it is important to have allies and trusted individuals by your side.

5. Your Casual Relationships

Casual relationships, like the ones that you have with a local shopkeeper, your neighbour three doors down or local dog walkers, are opportunities for moments of positivity throughout the day. By offering connection and positivity to these people, even with a nod or quick ‘good morning’, helps to inject their day and your day with positive vibes!

6. Your Relationship with The Self

This, really, is the most important relationship in your life. You are the person that you spend most time with, and you will like some parts of yourself and not others. You need to come to terms with who you are, be comfortable with that, and have confidence in who that person is. Sure, you can have all the best friends, lovers and relatives in the world, but only when you invest in your relationship with the self will you becomes truly resilient and happy.

By Chris Thomson

Empathy is essential in any relationship. Here is a great blog from our archives to help you develop yours… Conscious Ways to Develop Empathy

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post 6 Types of Relationship and Why They Are Important appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

I think it is fair to say that the pursuit of happiness is something that unites us all. We all want a life that is comfortable. A life in which we feel ultimately fulfilled, and in which we enjoy a harmony, balance and symbiosis between all aspects of it.

To strive for happiness is a simple idea. However, we know that achieving that perfect balance is no simple thing at all. A human life is ever changing, it many moving parts meaning that you must remain conscious of the structure of your life and constantly adjusting your choices and behaviours in order to maintain overall happiness and wellbeing.

In fact, all though many consider, at least subconsciously, the word ‘happy’ to be the primary colour of positive emotion; the base feeling from which all more nuanced feelings of positivity branch, knowing whether you have obtained it is not always that simple. Have you ever asked yourself if you are happy and realised that you don’t quite know the answer? Do you know what makes you happy? Have you ever taken time to reflect on your happiness at all?

1. You Appreciate Simple Things

Happiness is directly connected to contentment. When you are content, and your mind is at ease, you tend to find the time to notice the little details in your life, and to have the time to appreciate them. Your favourite song comes on, and you enjoy it and sing along. Perhaps you catch the sunset out of the kitchen window when you are washing up, so you turn the tap of and take a moment to look at it. You get excited about eating, taking your favourite route to work or sitting in your most comfortable chair.

2. Small Bumps Don’t Bother You

When we are in a bad mood, or are feeling unhappy overall, little issues tend to wind us up. Being irritable and blowing small issues out of proportion is a sign of bigger things going on with you. However, when you are happy and content, these niggles don’t, well, niggle at you so much. So your house is a little messy. Never mind. So you got caught in the rain. That’s OK, you’ll dry off eventually. So you missed that train. No sweat, there another one coming in two minutes.

3. You Feel Happiness For Other People’s Success

When we think we are not doing well, it is easy to resent the success of others. Sometimes we project our own disappointment in ourselves onto other people, as if displacing the blame for your apparent situation over to them. This is a very human and perfectly common behaviour. When you are in a good place, and feeling happy about your life, this won’t happen. Indeed, you might even be really happy for the success of others, and demonstrably praise them for it!

4. You Enjoy A Range of Fulfilling Relationships

Human beings thrive on nourishing relationships. A happy life usually involves a range of relationships, all different, and all adding to the richness and growth of your continued existence. Think about the relationships that are important to you. If you have a supportive family, a nurturing partner and a range of diverse friendships and working relationships, then you might just be happy!

5. You Know What Activities Make You Happy

Learning to be conscious of the self involves learning about how you react to situations, what triggers you and, perhaps most crucially, what makes you truly happy. Even a contented life has bumps in the road, but if you know how to visit your happy place, then you have a powerful tool, a key to keeping you in a positive place. I know that, if I am feeling down, an hour in the kitchen preparing food will calm me. I also know that exercise, going food shopping, or simply going outside are great ways to clear my head.

6. You Are Able To Reflect On Yourself Without Panic

Being able to look at yourself honestly is important. When we are unhappy, many of us avoid looking at our own actions and behaviours in fear that opening a tin of worms will make an almighty mess. If you are in a place where you are able to self-criticise, and able to actively work on altering your own behaviour and outlook, then you are in a good place.

By Chris Thomson

One of the keys to being happy is to have a variety of fulfilling interests in your life. Hobbies are important, and here’s why… The Importance of Hobbies, and Some to Try!

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Am I Happy? appeared first on The Conscious Professional.