If you are anything like me, the end of the year often feels like a limp toward the finish line. However, many times I start off the year with a view to regulating my schedule, to making sure to keep checking in with myself, and to ensuring that I keep a close eye on my mental health, the wheels always seem to come off at the end.

That being said, the more we look in on ourselves, how we live and how we approach challenges, the more we get used to practising self-awareness. The more we learn about ourselves. Perhaps one day I will arrive in December in a calm and orderly manner. The only way that is going to happen is to keep trying. To keep recommitting to a new page. A fresh start. And so, I embark upon my new year mental clear-out… again.

1.     What Negatives Do I Need to Let Go Of?

Last year, I hung onto a job I wanted but didn’t get for about six months. It dragged me down, personally and professionally for far too long. I wish I had let it go in the new year. I wish I had taken the time to appreciate that it was only serving to hold me back. Are there any grievances or disappointments that are no longer serving you living in your head? Ready to get rid of them yet?

2.     Which Habits Aren’t Working for Me?

Do you recognise any habits that are ultimately doing you an injustice? I know I do. My big one for this year is the ease with which I slip into procrastination. This leads to me doing work that should, for example, take me two days, but takes me three. I have to find a way to optimise my time, and not waste it with both scrolling and the anxiety of having wasted it at all. I’m still working on an answer, but the first step is knowing the question.

3.     Relationships

I’m not in the habit of ‘ditching’ people. However, I certainly like to reflect on how the people I spend time with make me feel, and whether I agree with the way they make me feel. My social time is limited, and there are people I neglected last year. I like to try and prioritise those people who make me feel good, but also those to whom I can bring positive impact.

4.     How is my Media Consumption Affecting Me?

I listen, watch and interact with various forms of media. Music, podcasts, movies, T.V. games and books, I like them all. However, when I look back on what I consumed last year, it is very clear to me what was good for me and what wasn’t. I need a fresh look at my media habits. I have to find a way of scrolling less and reading more. Although the short-term benefits of social media are undoubtedly there, I would be so much better nourished by hours spent with a book I like. And I do like books! I also listened to a lot of news and politics last year. I like to be informed, but actually, focusing intently on the woes of the world too much didn’t do my mental health any good. Less political punditry this year, I think!

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 Starting Fresh: Clearing Out the Self in January appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Christmas is intense. A complete bubble of never-ending social and geographical movements. A crash course through most of the people you know and love. Then new year comes. A time of joy, renewal and reflection. The part of the year when you concoct all kinds of grand plans about how you are going to do better, what projects you are going to take on, and which parts of the world you are going to conquer.

But after these highs, come the crashing lows of reality kicking back in. That isn’t to say that the usual pattern of life is dull, it simply isn’t the same as living in the glittering bubble of late December, where you can forget your troubles and get happy.

Even though I try not to get over-ambitious at the start of the year (it always ends in a handful of supposed failures), I still manage to get carried away with my wishes for the year ahead. So, in order to stifle my disappointment, and in the spirit of new year self-care, I am trying a few things to make sure I don’t set myself up for a rocky 2025!

1.     Don’t Go Too Hard to Soon

My new year goes like this, typically. I act as well as write. So, I will come off my Christmas acting job around a week into January, feel behind, leap straight back into writing, project planning and stressing about what has been neglected over Christmas, fall into my old habits and inevitably burn out by the beginning of February. I don’t take a moment to think. No planning time. No low pressure, ‘ease into the year’ period. So, I have given myself a week and a very short to-do list. I am taking a week in January to look properly at my habits, work planning and personal needs before trying to work those things out at the same time as juggling one hundred other things.

2.     Rest

‘I’ve just had a break and a rest. It was Christmas,’ you might think. The thing is, for most of us, Christmas is not restful. Arguably, it is even less restful than normal life. It is wonderful, sure, but it also drains social energy. It requires your brain and emotions to work overtime. Your body takes on many more calories than usual and might leave you feeling sluggish… like you need to nap for a week. So, what I’m saying is… maybe nap for a week. Or at least a day or two. Don’t pack those weekends out in January… maybe take the odd Saturday to do nothing.

3.     Reset the Space

It’s a bit sad to remove the Christmassyness from your space. All the colour and light of the festive season has to be packed back into those boxes that will live in the loft until December comes around again. But the home underneath needn’t be sad. The removal of decorations is a chance to reset your space for a new purpose. The purpose of calm, mindfulness, and renewal. As you are taking down your decorations, take the chance to throw a few things out, clean all the surfaces, set your bits and pieces straight, hey, and maybe even move a few things around to make the space feel fresh and new. Embrace the transition.

4.     Eat Mindfully… Eventually

Indulgence over December always leads to underindulgence immediately after, for some people. It’s insane to go from chocolate, cheese and wine for every meal to carrots only seven days a week. It’s not fun. It’s not sustainable. And it will almost certainly make you sad. Transition your eating. Don’t go cold turkey (a fitting expression). Sure, make sure you are back planning meals, eating in a more balanced way and maybe not bloating yourself three times a day. But don’t try and pull the Christmas eating habits out from under your feet… life is too short for this kind of penance! Sometimes, self-care looks like cake.

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 January Self-Care: Post-Christmas Reset appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Christmas, if yours is anything like mine, is chaos. It’s joyful, of course. But there’s always a lot going on. I, being an actor, am often engaged in some kind of Christmas show throughout December. I also have to cram in the wider family stuff, spend time with my wife and kids, decorate the tree, deal with gifts and stockings, ferry all of us around to various houses full of various people that we love… and the list goes on.

Like I said, it’s all fun and games. Sure. But there is very little time for personal peace. No time, really, to be mindful of oneself and find time to reflect. Or even for your brain to have a bit of quiet. That is why I am always looking for the odd slice of time to give my brain and body a rest. If you are someone who struggles to find this too, perhaps my thoughts on finding pockets of festive peace will be helpful to you in some way!

1.     A Moment Outside

Nobody really wants to go outside at Christmas, right? It’s cold. Often wet. Being England, it might well be a bit grey. But the beauty of stepping outside is the silence. The sound of a world where everyone has huddled inside for the day. There is something extra peaceful about silence in a place where silence rarely visits, and if you can bear to pop out for a walk, or even (as I do) a walk around the garden with a nice drink, do.

2.     Cook

I always offer to cook. I find cooking quite peaceful. If cooking at Christmas stresses you out, maybe don’t do this. But if you are the opposite, offering to cook on Christmas day might be just the ticket. I love nothing better than wandering around the kitchen, checking on pots and pans, chopping a few things, and listening to music with a glass of wine on the go. For me, it’s an exercise in living in the moment, and all other worries tend to fall to the side for a while.

3.     Living Room Book Club

This happens less than is used to. Mostly because there are young children in the family now. There used to be a slot of time allotted in the day where we would all sit in the living room and read our new books. All sitting in a comfortable silence disappearing into an exciting new world. If you can master the un-awkward silence, without expectation of one another or judgment, you’ll have found something strangely special.

4.     The Early Morning

It depends on where I am, and who with. But I either get up before everyone else, make a really nice coffee, and sit in the living room in the crisp, still morning silence for a while. Or, if the very small people among us have risen with the sun, I shall be the one to offer to leave the madness of stockings and make the hot drinks. I’ll take my time over boiling the kettle and pulling out the biscuits, and just enjoy the reality that this is a moment in which I do not need to rush.

5.     Nap

I used to feel like a nap was cheating. Or like it was rude to take one. Or that I’d be missing out if i disappeared for a little while. I no longer feel that way. A mid-Christmas nap is perfect. It gives you time away from the madness. It gives you a change to reset and recharge. It is a mindful way to ensure that you have energy throughout the day, as opposed to spending half of it lagging and not getting the best out of time with your loved ones.

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 Find Peaceful Pockets for Christmas Mindfulness appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Sleep is important. Not only is it fantastic (I love sleep), but it really does impact your resilience throughout the day if your night has been rough.

Many of us have pretty sub-par sleep habits (I know I do). Phones in bed, late night eating, inconsistent bedtimes. These are just a few of mine! The thing is, a great sleep routine can totally transform your productivity, engagement, ability to create and overall resilience. Improving one’s sleep can actually be done quite simply, with just a few changes. Here are a few to experiment with…

1.     Move More

The body sleeps best when it is tired. If you are struggling to sleep, it may be because you have not burnt all of the day’s fuel. Upping your activity levels will help you sleep, as your body will crave rest and repair time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you now need to start running 10km every day to make sure your body is knackered (although, this won’t do you any harm!). Maybe walk some of the way to work, do half an hour of chores in the evening, or add a little yoga to your bedtime routine.

2.     Consistency

Whatever your techniques and habits around getting a good night’s sleep are, or end up being, consistency is the key. The body and the mind, although adaptable, do not build up resilience well with a randomly fluctuating routine. Try to go to bed and get up at around the same time every day so that your body learns to function on a finite amount of sleep every night, and so that it learns when to expect and to prepare for rest.

3. Screen Time Management

Focusing on a screen is a great way to keep your brain wide awake! Watching TV or scrolling through your socials immediately before bed will not put your brain in an ideal state for sleep. Try to avoid screens for at least an hour before bed, so that your brain activity can start winding down and preparing you for sleep.

4. Evening Treats

It may seem like a given, but try not to put sugar or caffeine into your system late at night, as they are stimulants and will play a part in stopping you from sleeping. Caffeine avoidance is fairly straightforward; don’t drink tea, coffee, energy drinks or caffeinated soft drinks late in the evening. Sugar can be a little more elusive. Of course, sweets, chocolate and ice cream are blatantly packed with sugar. However, you might also want to avoid fruit, cereal, flavoured yoghurts and pre-made smoothies if you are particularly sugar-sensitive.

5. Big Eating

Digestion uses up a lot of energy. If you are still digesting when you go to bed, your body may not be in a fir state to drift off. Therefore, it is best to avoid large meals or eating late at night. Try and keep your dinner time in the early evenings and keep snacking to a minimum.

6. Pre-Morning Prep

‘Switching the brain off’, so to speak, is often a hurdle to getting off to sleep. How many times has your head hit the pillow with thoughts and concerns still thundering through your brain? To avoid this, it helps to ensure you have as little on your mind as possible. Preparing for what you have coming up in the morning is really helpful for this. Before you go to bed, consider laying out tomorrow’s clothes, pre-preparing breakfast, packing your bag, making a to-do list, doing the washing up or tidying up.

7. A Gentle Voice

There are many great apps out there that offer stories and guided meditations to help adults get off to sleep. These work so well as they pull the mind away from the many darting thoughts bouncing around in your head; effectively helping to focus the mind and close down the various whirring bits of your brain.

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 7 Tips for Quality Sleep appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

 I don’t know about you, but sometimes, even though we are all entitled to a day off for the sake of our wellbeing, I often feel guilty about it. The reason for this is that I might easily spend the day doing nothing (by which I mean watching TV, playing computer games, sleeping, scrolling, or reading), which, as an adult, I am allowed to do, but reach the end of the day feeling annoyed that I have ‘wasted it’. Any of this sound familiar?

It’s great to have downtime and to switch off, but sometimes our lives could do with some attending to. There are always bits of, what I call, ‘life admin’ to sort out. If on a day off, I manage to deal with some of these, move my life forward, and enjoy some chill-out time, I consider it to have been a free day well spent. Here are some of the ways I make that happen…

1.     Schedule

I know it sounds a bit ‘work-like’ to talk about a schedule on a day off but making a quick plan for your day will ensure you don’t let any time go by unused. Our wellbeing depends not only on rest time but also purpose and moving forward, so a plan to get all of those things into the day will serve you well.

2.     Get Those Little Jobs Done

For the ‘productivity’ portion of your productive day off, don’t feel that you have to tackle enormous projects. Have a think about all the little things that need doing around your home that you keep forgetting to complete. I do not doubt that there are at least a good handful of five-to-ten-minute jobs that need seeing to in your life that never seem to get done.

As an example of what I mean, consider my wife, who had a day off recently. She decided to break up every one hour of downtime with a job that took no more than fifteen minutes. During these fifteen-minute productivity periods, she watered all of the houseplants, changed some lightbulbs, deep cleaned the toilet, cleared up some cluttered windowsills and paired down her wardrobe.

3.     Start The Day When You Get Up

Days off often mean a lie-in, which is wonderful. However, a lie-in can linger, and once you have gotten up and had a lazy morning, you can end up in the afternoon before you know it, without having done anything. Every get to the middle of the day and feel like that time has disappeared without you knowing?

Have a lie in. Sure. But cap it. Set a reasonable time to wake up, get up, and ready yourself for the day. Then crack on!

4.     Set A Time Not A Completion Goal

Although it’s good to have a well-spent day off and to achieve useful things, try not to pressure yourself. When deciding what to tackle, try not to think of your list as a set of goals that must be reached. Instead, work through the list in the time you have allotted for productive tasks and get as far as you can in that allotted time. At the end of the day, you should be saying, “great. I was solidly productive for two hours today,” not, “oh no. I didn’t reach the end of my list.”

5.     Remember It’s A Day Off

But listen, however you spend your day off, whether it is full of busyness and task completion, or whether it is all spent on the sofa in your pyjamas, remember this… rest is not something you should feel guilty about. Our wellbeing depends on adequate rest, recreation, and regeneration. If you really need a day of doing nothing, then don’t beat yourself up for taking it.

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 Can A Day Off Be Productive and Restful? appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Doubt. We have all had that feeling once or twice at least! Doubt is one of those things that, although unpleasant, is necessary for many ways. It is necessary for success, it is necessary for learning, it is necessary for self-awareness and emotional intelligence. However, too much doubt can send us into spirals of panic. It is the thing that helps us to get into our heads too much and to get in our own way. Indeed, too much can even land us in states of depression. If you arrive at a moment that sees doubt overwhelming you and taking control, perhaps try one or two of these techniques in order to tame it or quash it all together!

1.     Comparison Kills Self Worth

We all compare ourselves to others. It happens all the time and all too easily, even if you are aware of it. Sometimes, it can’t be helped! I wish my house was as nice as that, I can’t believe they got that promotion and not me… and so on!

There will always be someone out there who you perceive as being better, or happier, or more accomplished than you. Comparison is rarely useful as it serves either to make you feel worse than you aren’t where you would like to be right now, or it inflates your ego against the apparent shortcomings of someone who is not doing as well as you. Neither is particularly healthy. So, try to just set your sights on ‘you’. Focus on your goals and your achievements, as everybody’s journey is important and personal.

2.     One Thing at A Time

Doubt often comes to us in times of great importance. Often it is to do with a task, situation, or event that we fear we might not be up to. In these intimidating times, it works well to break down the situation and simply perform it one small moment at a time… without focusing too much on the big goal at the end. Small hurdles are less intimidating than their sum… before you know it, you’ll have reached and cleared the hurdle with relative ease.

3.     Stop Them at The Door

The problem with nuggets of doubt is that many tend to come at you at once. If you let one doubtful thought get to you, that thought often flows onto another, and another, until they very easily and very swiftly begin to a snowball of negativity. This downward spiral is no good to anyone. So, as soon as you feel the cloud of doubt looming over you, simply say ‘stop’! Address your doubt and turn it around. No, not today thank you! This will help to break up the thought patterns that get you stuck in a gloomy rut and help you to move in a more positive direction.

4.     Be Prepared

If your doubt is coming from concern that you may not be up to a task, that you may not be ready, then the solution is clear… get ready! I have found, from time to time, that I tend to put off preparation for a situation through fear of failure. I am avoiding facing it. This is useless. Prepare. It may mean facing up to some uncomfortable truths and emotions, but ultimately it will see you being more successful in the end.

5.     Talk to Somebody

Self-doubt, more often than not, is something that remains in our own heads. When our doubts are subject to nobody’s perspective but our own, it is easy to spiral and to convince ourselves that we aren’t good enough. To alleviate doubt and avoid this emotional storm… confide in someone. By sharing we often find that, when these thoughts leave our mouth, they seem to have less relevance and power than the mind had given them. Add to that the kindness and perspective of a trusted friend, and you have a much healthier process for dealing with your doubt.

6.     Remember

It does well to reflect. Those things about yourself which you tend to doubt are rare anomalies, the same things will niggle at you time and time again. So, when you feel it coming, sometimes it does well to remember. First of all, to remember a time when you felt this way, and how it was not a pleasing or useful state in which to get yourself. Then remember what it is you did last time to lift the funk. This will help in that moment, but also teach you how to trigger resilience in yourself.

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 Doubt: How to Get Out of Your Own Way appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

 Self-awareness, I find, is something that other people often find uncomfortable. I don’t know what it is about it, but others often find my moments of self-awareness to be me ‘being down on myself’ or rather, self-critical, and in those moments where I own my successes I am being ‘overconfident’.

It is quite British, perhaps, to be afraid of being honest, constructive, and conscious around your own behaviours. It is this that makes people say things like, ‘Hey. Don’t be so down on yourself. You are good at that thing, really.’ My reaction to that is to remind them that I am not beating myself up, I am merely attempting to be present and conscious with myself. It is OK to have moments of failure, for these are opportunities for growth. It is when we try and paper over the cracks and ignore those moments when we stumble which lead to bigger failures down the line.

Somewhere where people really struggle to be self-aware is in their emotional behaviour; what their signs of emotional decline are, for example. Or what triggers certain reactions. Or what parts of your emotional self you need to keep an eye on.

Emotional intelligence of the self also helps you to recognise emotional journeys in other people, and therefore a more conscious colleague or leader.

Why should you be more conscious of your emotional self?

1.     Preventative Damage Control

We all have things that set us off, and we all have reactions and behaviours that we would rather not display. For me, I pride myself on having patience, but sometimes my fuse becomes shorter than I would like because I didn’t pay attention to my triggers. Be present with yourself and try to learn what it is that sets you off. If you do this, then you will be able to learn how to quash and calm these behaviours before they even happen.

2.     Lessons Learnt

If you begin to be more conscious of how your emotions feel and what triggers them, you are in a much better position to manage yourself. You are much less likely to fall victim to emotional outbreaks and much more able to support your productivity by taking appropriate measures for you. With me, for example, I know that if I get frustrated with a task, I get anxious. What is best for me is to take hourly brain breaks, this helps me to get out of my head and not to dwell on work-related anxiety.

3.     Empathising With Others

If you are more in touch with emotions in general, you are in a better position to empathise with and support others if they are going through a rough patch. You will also be able to recognise when colleagues are spiralling… even if they have not noticed themselves. Advice and guidance are much easier to find within yourself if you have personal experience.

4.     Avoid Emotional Build Up

If tough emotions are not managed and addressed on a regular basis, they tend to fester and explode at some point. This is (still) particularly common with men. When this happens, your emotions are much harder to unravel, as it is often tricky to find the source of a problem when many events and emotions are piled on top of it. Regular emotional maintenance is key.

How do you become self-aware in this way?

1.     Examine Your Triggers

Next time you find yourself in a bit of an emotional pickle, take some time, once the pickle has passed, to ask yourself what happened. What set you off? How did it feel? Were there any emotional symptoms leading up to the emotions? Are there any preventative measures you can take to stop this from happening again?

2.     Don’t Judge Yourself

Understand that humans and their emotions are very complex. If you do have an embarrassing emotional moment, or if you are struggling to perform due to an emotion-based reason, be kind to yourself. There is no shame in admitting struggle or emotional outburst. This happens to us all, and to judge yourself for it is to hold yourself to an impossible standard. Try to be conscious and honest about your emotions, without judgement. Pragmatism is the way.

3.     Look For Lessons

Always be learning about yourself. You are ever-changing, and you will never have yourself fully figured out. Make peace with this and make a habit of the endeavour to continue to learn about how you process and develop emotionally.

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 Self-Awareness: Knowing Your Emotional Self appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Creativity, some belief, is the reserve of the creative industries. However, creativity is required to thrive and grow in any business. Creativity not only helps you to solve problems, but regular practice will gift you with the skills to think further and further outside the proverbial ‘box’ and to encounter brand new and innovative advances and solutions.

Creativity also helps to prevent you from getting stuck in a rut. It is important to your personal wellbeing and resilience to feel like your brain is developing, and to ensure that every workday does not end up feeling monotonous… the same!

Having creative skills always adds value, but fostering it takes conscious practice. Here are a few everyday exercises you might like to employ to build up your capacity for creativity…

1. Draw Something with No Judgement

 This is a lovely little daily activity. Simply put aside 10 minutes in your day, treat yourself to a drawing pad and a new pen (or pencil, or crayon… whatever you like) and draw something. Pick an object, a coffee cup, a tree, a car, a ceiling fan, whatever… and just draw it. Do not allow yourself to erase anything or to judge whether it is good or bad… free yourself from criticism and just go for it.

2. Learn to Draw Something Really Well

 On the other hand, you may wish to try this. I have often taken on a little project like this. I once decided I was going to get really good a drawing hands. I have a whole sketchbook full of hands. I spent a summer getting good at drawing them. It was very freeing and satisfying to consciously engage in a creative project that was not overwhelming in any way, nor was it for display or accolade, it was just there to cater to a need for daily creativity.

3. Music and Musings

Put on an album. It might be your favourite album; it might be an album that is brand new to you. Listen to it from start to finish, and jot down any thoughts that float into your head as you are doing it… however odd they may or may not be!

4. Sleep On a Problem

If there is something you are trying to solve, and you just can’t seem to crack it, why not release yourself from the tension and frustration this creates, and leave it to your subconscious creativity? I often find that if I sleep on a problem and get up in good time the next day (as opposed to staying up late getting stressed) my subconscious creativity solves the issue for me and allows me to complete the task in half the time, and with half the stress, that it would have done the night before,

5. Kids Toys

If you have kids, you will likely have some kind of construction toy lying around. Blocks of some sort. In my case, it is Mega Blocks, in your case, it might be Lego, or Meccano… maybe Playmobil! Whatever it is, build something. Don’t build with anything in mind, just go block by block, piece by piece and see what you end up with. It is a clear way to engage in developing creativity, which helps to build big ideas from the ground upwards. It is also calming and good for well-being.

6. Change an Ingredient

Next time you are cooking… putting together a tied and tested family perhaps, why not swap out an ingredient. Trust your instincts. Have a play around. See what happens!

7. Photos On Your Way Home 

Next time you walk home, take a different route. Look around and notice new things. Maybe even take a few photos to commemorate the occasion. Like many in lockdown, I visited many local roads and parks that I had not visited before, and had a lovely time discovering pretty houses I didn’t know were there. 

8. Consume Media Consciously

Yes, media is something we use to switch off, to entertain us. But media is so much more than that, we can take ideas from it and use it to inform the way we think in a creative sense. Did a character in your show just deal with a similar issue to the one you are dealing with at work? How did they get around it? Could their approach ensure yours? Maybe yes, and maybe no. But now, at least, you are thinking about your problem from a different angle!

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 8 Ways to Practice Everyday Creativity appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

The mantra has an odd reputation in the modern world. Although some people swear by them, it is fair to say that the majority of people have probably never spared them a thought. There will be those who think mantra’s are weird or hippy, others who may even think they are stupid. This is interesting because, although the traditional mantra is an old idea, pretty much everyone uses them. Everyone has their own mantra; their own guiding phrases and ideas.

What is A Mantra?

The mantra is simply this; a saying or idea that you can focus on in moments that require patience, compassion, love, restraint, insight… and a whole host of other virtues and emotions. Mantras are our cornerstones. They are values that we build our behaviours and personalities around; they remind us of who we are or help us to be mindful of who we are striving to be. You may have one guiding mantra that you come to regularly, or you may have many. Your mantras might come from traditional scriptures, TV shows, the sayings of friends and relatives or even a reminder of something that once came out of your own mouth. Indeed my own mantras vary from “Listen, don’t just hear”, an old saying about conscious interaction, to “Don’t miss it until it’s over”, something that came from my own mouth when a friend was lamenting that a part of their life was due to finish in the near future.

Mantras offer us a simple and inspirational way to live a more mindful and conscious life. Here are a few that are perfect for modern life…

1. “One Day At A Time”

This is perhaps, at the moment, one of the most important mantras in my life. The world is an overwhelming place right now. I have a life that is filled with moving parts, and it is all too easy to feel overwhelmed about the multitude of things coming up on the ‘to-do’ list of my life. However, “One Day At A Time” helps me to live in the moment; to focus on what is happening today. This not only prevents me from feeling overwhelmed, but also allows me to focus on the tasks and events of the day, making them more fruitful and enjoyable.

2. “Everything Ends”

In times of hurt or difficulty, it always good to remind yourself that everything ends eventually. It might be hard right now, but this time tomorrow, next week, or next year, it will be a distant memory and you will either be laughing about it or have forgotten it completely.

3. “Disagree Agreeably”

I think it is fair to say that most people don’t like conflict all that much. However, sometimes we have to hash things out with others, or to challenge choices and opinions. In times such as these, remember not to make differences of opinion personal. Just because you disagree with someone, it does not mean the end of your relationship. Indeed, no two people are the same. Be kind and mindful in conflict. Debate, don’t argue; disagree agreeably.

4. “Remember the Lesson, Not The Mistake”

Humans have a habit of getting hung up on the negative. Ninety-nine great things may happen today, but for some reason we are great at focusing on the one bad thing that happened. We do not learn by winning all the time, it is though our mistakes that we grow. So, when you mess up, be grateful and mindful of the lesson that came from it, and know that we all make mistakes.

5. “No Disclaimers, No Excuses”

This is about taking responsibility for yourself. We must have the power to own our shortcomings and mistakes as much as our triumphs and qualities. This doesn’t not mean ‘be down on yourself’, it just means, when you blunder, don’t make excuses. Take your power. Own your mistakes, and be confident that you will learn from them and move forward.

6. “Don’t Miss It Until It’s Over”

As I said earlier, a friend of mine was once sad that something was soon to end; but it had not ended yet. We must suck up joy whenever we find ourselves in armament with it. By being sad before the joy has passed, you rob yourself of the opportunity to revel in it to the fullest. Miss moments when they are gone and not before.

7. “I Am Enough”

We all beat ourselves up for our apparent shortcomings. They say that nobody is perfect, but I fancy that the opposite is true. Everyone is exactly who they are supposed to be, and everyone has beauty both inside and out. You are always enough and never let anyone tell you otherwise. Your uniqueness is just as important and beautiful as anybody else’s.

By Chris Thomson

Following on from “I Am Enough”, this great article from our archive teaches us how to be mindful about not comparing ourselves to others: How to Avoid Comparing Yourself to Others

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 7 Simple Mantras to Live By appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Empathy is a pillar of conscious communication. Yes, some people are naturally more empathetic than others, but it is not confined to the realms of natural ability. Empathy can be learned and developed by anyone with the will to do so.

Having empathy is so much more than simply caring for another. Expressing empathy and understanding is the key to building relationships, supporting friends and colleagues, trust, healing and even productivity. A work, or indeed home environment where people feel safe to express their worries and woes is a place that encourages healthy wellbeing and support systems.

Even if you are empathetic as a person, which I consider myself to be so, there are still times when you will fall short of this. Being generally empathetic is different to being consciously empathetic. Choosing to be constructively caring and open in a focused and conscious way is very important, and generally quite easy to do. Here are some examples of how to manifest empathy in a focused way…

1. Listen with Intent

Often we hear but don’t listen. One of the most important things when demonstrating conscious empathy is to listen really well. This means to listen without letting your mind wander to what you feel your response should be. How often do we drift off half way through somebody else’s sentence because we are now waiting for an opportunity to jump in with our opinions?

Also, when you listen with intent, you are showing the other person that you are fully investing your attention with them. And when you reply, do not be afraid of taking a moment to gather your thoughts in order to respond carefully and usefully.

2. Consider More Than Their Words

Look for other forms of communication. This is especially important with vulnerable people, or with people you do not know so well. What does their body language say? Do they seem to feel comfortable talking to you? If they don’t spear to be so, is there something you can do to help? Offering a drink or a seat, for example. Try and notice the whole person, not just the content of their words.

3. Other People’s Shoes

Sometimes one of the most difficult things about empathy is not agreeing fully with the views or decisions of the other person. Sometimes your opposition is unavoidable, but in many cases, putting yourself in their shoes helps you to understand their plight a little better. Always try your best to see where they are coming from.

4. Invitation

Invite the other person in. This can be done through the simplest of gestures; a smile. A smile says, ‘you are safe’, ‘I am comfortable with this situation’ and ‘you can trust me’. Do not underestimate the power of a smile and an open face. Appearing to be relaxed and understanding is also a simple way to gain trust and offer a safe space for the other person to get something off their chest, without judgement.

5. Advise Without Instructing

If somebody comes to you asking for guidance, it is easy to simplify your answer; ‘why don’t you just do this?’ It is important, when advising with empathy, not to judge and not to deal in absolutes. To be empathetic we can sympathise with others, and tell them what we think might be a helpful path. But the most empowering and useful path to set them on is one that they come to themselves. Do your best to guide them to a place where they find the answers based on their own decision making and their unique experience.

6. You Don’t Have to Fix It!

If someone needs to offload on you, very often, that is all that they need. Do not feel that you must always have the answer for them, because you may not have it. Indeed, always needing to fix things may lead to you giving poor advice. Just be there for them without feeling the need to close the case!

By Chris Thomson

Going to someone to offload in a time of stress is a great way to avoid burnout. Here are a few other tips on how to avoid such a thing: Workplace Resilience: How to Avoid Burnout

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 Conscious Ways to Develop Empathy appeared first on The Conscious Professional.