Recently, I have been suffering from high anxiety, stress, overwhelm and a general lack of resilience. Resilience, unfortunately, is not something that is retained without conscious effort. This is true with me, for sure. No matter how good my ability to pick myself up and stay in motion at some points in my life, it all gets forgotten when my brain gets too crowded.

Ironically, for someone who writes about the mindful lifestyle every month, I am remarkably bad at putting this knowledge sometimes. Meditation is something I know a fair bit about but I often forget that it exists as a resilience tool. It is useful for so many issues. Not only this, but it is a remarkably simple thing to access if a simple tool is what I need at a certain moment.

Here are some examples of how everyday mediation has helped me in recent months…

1.     Keeping Calm with My Kids

Parenting is stressful. It is hard. If you are a parent, you will likely feel the same way (unless you are some kind of miraculous super parent!) My wife and I are right in it at the moment. I work from home, and in that home, we house a four-year-old and a six-month-old. We are in the heavy graft years. Needless to say, we are tired, dealing with growing people who are constantly developing, and short of temper.

When my four-year-old will not listen, get dressed, eat his supposedly favourite dinner, leave for school or stop jumping on his brother, it takes all the will I can muster not to scream at him. However, what has really helped recently is returning to my breath. If I have enough reflective energy in a potentially explosive moment, I close my eyes, take five deep and conscious breaths, and return to the situation. Sure, I’m rarely 100% calm when I’m back in the room, but I certainly have much more patience for it than I did mere seconds earlier.

2.     Juggling Jobs

I’m a freelance writer, right? This means working for several clients at a time. Also, each client requires writing in a different style or voice, and they tend to have vastly varied opinions as to what is good and what is not (my work, by nature, is subjective to the consumer). Therefore, code-switching is a daily practice for me, and weeks with a lot of different projects can become incredibly overwhelming. The people-pleasing part of my personality can also take a massive hit in these situations. Just sitting where I am sitting (often with rainfall or ocean waves plugged into my ears), and observing my surroundings (its sights, smells, details) is a fantastic way of pulling away from those worries. This meditation often leaves me a little less stressed and more clear-headed when diving back into those workplace expectations.

3.     Domestic Worries

My flat needs fixing. My kitchen needs decorating. I need more work. The kids need new shoes. My mum’s coming to stay tomorrow, and we have no clean sheets. The bins need taking out. We need to move house. The emergency service light has come on in the car. I haven’t put that shelf up yet. We don’t have any more cat litter. What am I going to wear to that wedding? Who’s going to take the kids when we are at said wedding?

There’s so much to think about, sent there. Things big. Things small. Things that all need to be addressed, but in what order? When will I have time to simply do nothing?

Essentially, the best way to take all of these things is to slow down, make a priority list, and do them one at a time. Even though I feel as if I have not time, I try to set aside a time at the beginning of the week to lay out a plan (that time usually involves coffee and toast). Also, when I am taking on the tasks, I do my best to focus only on the moment and the task in question, and not to worry about any of the other things on that list!

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 Meditation Has Helped Combat My Resilience Issues appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

It is very well known that failure is the best tool for growth. This is a belief held in every walk of life, both professional and personal. However, nobody ever harps on about what you can learn from success. It is possible that this is because the failure/growth idea is partly designed to make us feel as though all is not lost when we fall. However, it is also because success aligns with one having done everything right.

That said, even success can be achieved via a few mistakes, so lessons can be learnt there. But also, there is plenty to grow from when goals are hit.

1.      Success is Something You Can Achieve

Coming out on top makes us feel good. If you have been working against the odds for some time, and this win has come after a string of failures, then absorb the lesson that success is possible. If you keep going, eventually the tide will break. Success after a long slog also teaches us that our patience and resilience are worth investing in, as it will eventually lead to positive outcomes. 

2.      You Know What Works

When you have a big success, don’t just throw it in the ‘win pile’ without giving it a little examination. Overall success through it may have been, what specifically worked really well on this occasion? Did you take a risk and do something differently that paid off? Would you take exactly the same risk again or is there still room for even more improvement? What learned lessons did you implement going into this situation and were they proven to be valuable?

Also, every success tends to be made up of hits and misses (more hits, of course). Even though you came out on top this time, still pay attention to what didn’t work so well, and think about how those things can be improved upon next time.

3.      You Are Less Cautious

Getting good results also helps our confidence a great deal. It makes us more courageous about risk and bold decisions going forward. If you did something very left field last time and it paid off, you are much more likely to do it again. This, in turn, is a great catalyst for growth (in yourself and for the business you work for) and leads to bolder more innovative ideas.

4.      A New Foundation

Big successes are a cumulative result of the sum of smaller successes. Every success is a new foundation for fresh successes to be built on top. Use your newfound knowledge and resources to inform your new risks and to build on what you have already built.

5.      Conceding Failure with More Ease

Now, back to the smaller components of big victories. If you win, and you feel great, you will likely be in a much better mental place, and therefore more open to accepting and building on the failures within your success. Take this opportunity to really take on those less successful elements and use the confidence and positive energy you have acquired in that moment to work out how to set them right.

6.      Learning from the Success of Others

You need not focus solely on your own work. Indeed, if you look to other people’s triumphs, you will have even more information and inspiration going into your next project. Collaboration and communication are always a great way to broaden your thinking. So, when your colleague scores big, show interest. ‘How did you do it?’, ‘What did you learn?’, ‘Do you have any advice for me on my next project?’.

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 Never Mind Failure… What Does Success Teach Us? appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

New habits are easy to start. I know. I started one just a few weeks ago. “No TV or computer games from Mondays to Wednesdays!” I declared. It went really well for a week. Then I had a crummy day, I played my game for a bit, I had fallen off the wagon, and I’ve yet to get back on. Sound familiar?

Yes, habits. Easy to think of. Easy to start. Hard to follow through on.

Look, it’s normal. As adults, new habits are hard to solidify. I have managed to make some habits stick as an adult, but they have taken conscious focus and effort. So, if you are looking to nail the process of absorbing a new habit, here are a few tips that might help…

1.     One Month

Habits are not formed overnight. They are not formed over a few days. For something to really bed in, you need to give it at least a few weeks. Well, let’s allow time for mistakes and falling off the wagon. Let’s call it a month! Giving yourself a month to create a new habit is a much more realistic goal than a few days. Also, by committing to this conscious time frame, you are giving yourself a structure to work in, which is always more efficient than freefalling for an undisclosed amount of time.

2.     Be Consistent and Specific

Create a timetable and be consistent. If your goal is something like, “I should eat less chocolate,” you will probably fail. It is too vague, and you are giving yourself permission to break the habit when you feel like it. This is a slippery slope. The rule should be, “I will only eat chocolate once a week. On Saturday evening.” Keep to this, and do not compromise.

3.     Don’t Leave a Hole

If your new habit removes something from your life, there will be a hole. Make sure that you fill that hole with something else. A good example is social media. Perhaps you have decided to stay off social media during the week. You will crave entertainment now. So, replace it with something. Games, writing, reading, running, whatever you like. But don’t leave that hole, because left unfilled, you will find yourself drawn back towards the old habit you are trying to break.

4.     Get Back on The Wagon

You will probably fall back into the old habit along the way. Many people fall into the trap of using any failure to throw in the towel. Don’t. if you fail at the new habit one day, just start again the next day. Forget the failure, pick yourself up, and keep aiming for the goal.

5.     Know What Knocks You Off Course

What triggers you to go back to your old habit? It is a good idea to think about the causes and the temptations that get in the way when trying to break your old habit. Knowing these, and making a conscious decision to avoid them will really help to keep you on course.

6.     Accept Its Difficulties

Embedding new habits into your life is not easy, and you should know and accept this before trying to make the habit happen. Accepting the difficulties before you start will help you to focus throughout the period of making the new habit stick, and less likely to be put off when you stumble.

7.     Be Kind to Yourself

We can all be guilty of beating ourselves up from time to time, I think. Don’t let the struggle get you down. Also remember that not everybody is the same, and what you find easy, somebody else might find difficult, and visa versa. Be kind to yourself and know that you have what it takes.

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 Fostering Commitment to a New Habit appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Winter, especially the part of the season that falls after December, can be tough. Not much is going on socially, the whole year stretches sometimes intimidatingly ahead of you, and, of course, it’s cold out.

One thing in our favour is that we’ve gotten pretty good at coping when trapped indoors with not much going on over the last few years. That being said… Winter will always come with its unique brand of ‘the glums’. So, here are a few ideas to help you get through the coldest and greyest of Winter days…

1.     Don’t Avoid the Outdoors

Winter, especially on those days that are bitterly cold, dripping wet or blowing a gale, makes us want to stay indoors. To curl up and hibernate. This is an excellent idea. For resilience in the Winter, burying yourself in comfort and warmth is of utmost importance. However, it does not do well to ignore the outdoors entirely.

Fresh air and daylight are more of a rarity in the winter months. Although the anticipation of going outside is not the most fun, getting out and appreciating the outside world will do wonders for your mood and resilience. And if you don’t like it, well, at least you have your nice warm home to look forward to at the end of your walk.

2.     Comfort Food

The beginning of the year is a great time to set some goals. However, if one of your goals is to eat ‘better’, and you are making efforts to get back on top of your diet, Winter can be a tough time to do it. Yes, your body benefits from vibrant and nutritious food, but sometimes your body and your emotions would most benefit from whatever food makes you feel content.

Of course, control is important. But don’t deny yourself all the time. Whether it’s a stew, some chips, a pie, a cake, a pizza or a steaming bowl of pasta… comfort yourself with your happy food.

3.     Make Plans

 As mentioned a little while ago, the beginning of the year can be a bit barren socially. It is easier to find drive and resilience when there are enjoyable activities on the horizon. So, make some plans. Even if those plans are months away, get some dates in the diary to see your favourite people.

4.     Seize the Opportunity to Sort Your Home Out

 If you are the sort of person that gets down when you are not actively doing something, then the inactivity of hunkering down in the Winter is probably helping to fuel your blues.

A day often feels like a good day if we have accomplished something productive. So, use Winter to get a few things in order at home. Jobs big and small… unless you sorted your entire home out in lockdown of course!

Some home sorting activities might include; deep cleaning your kitchen, sorting through your wardrobe and having a purge, painting rooms that are looking a bit tired, dealing with paperwork, hanging pictures, rearranging furniture or ‘sorting’ cupboards.

5.     Don’t Bully Yourself Over Inactivity

 On the other hand, you should not make yourself feel guilty for not being active or productive. Winter can be hard. Don’t add pressure on top of yourself for not having completed your ‘to do’ list today. If you need to be still and have some time to yourself… if that is what your body is asking for… then you should take it.

6.     Call Someone

 If you are feeling lonely but don’t want to go out in the cold, chances are that there are plenty of other people out there feeling exactly the same way. We are in an age where we don’t really do phone calls anymore. That being said, I found myself scheduling quite a few catch-ups over the phone during the last few years.

Arrange a time to call, make yourself a lovely drink, and pass an hour or two checking in with an old friend. We may think phone calls ‘old fashioned, but the fact that we can speak to anyone in the world in real-time is still quite miraculous in the grand scheme of the history of man! Be old fashioned. Pick up the phone.

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 Resilience: Coping with the Winter Blues appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

– Elizabeth Edwards

Resilience requires constant attention. Unfortunately, it is not something that you can just learn one day, and that’s it, you are resilient forever and always! I don’t know about you, but with things that require consistent effort, no matter how low level that effort is, you eventually stray from the path, or become complacent. This is a phenomenon I have found within many areas of my life, from keeping an eye on what I’m eating, to my mental health, from having a consistent exercise schedule to finding quality time for my marriage. All of these things require a realignment of vigilance and focus from time to time.

Resilience, after what we have been through, and with the shift back to a more ‘normal’ way of living, is more important than ever. But what is resilience? And how do we go about building it within ourselves? You may already know. You may not, Or perhaps you used to know but could do with a refresher. Here are a few basic steps and tips to help you in doing just that…

1.     You Cannot Stop Change

When a dream or a way of living falls away, it can be hard, distressing, painful. Change is part of life, and over lamenting the loss of something, or resisting a change that you have no way of controlling means that you take focus and energy away from the things that you can. Of course, we should give some weight to circumstances that alter and take time to process them. But to linger on them only fuels a spiral into negative thoughts and unhelpful energy.

2.     Create and Nurture Relationships

Don’t take any relationship for granted. Even relationships family members and very old friends, who it would take a lot of bad blood to lose, need to be nurtured and cherished. Keeping trust and connection alive means that a support network will always be there when you need it. Being able to support others is also a huge part of feeling sustained and purposeful.

3.     Be Decisive

Making decisions in a timely manner is a great way to stay on top. When we ponder and procrastinate, it is often because we fear getting things wrong. By accepting that sometimes things go wrong, and that is OK, you will be able to make decisions more quickly and to hold situations more lightly. Also remember, that failure is learning, and learning is another fantastic contributor to personal resilience.

Decisiveness also avoids the feeling that you have wasted time sitting on a fence.

4.     Search for Learning 

Seek out opportunities to earn and grow. This is a good mantra in both your personal and professional life. As a freelancer, I work on many short jobs throughout the year. When I consider a job, I ask myself four things…

• Is the workload worth the money?
• Will I enjoy it?
• Will it progress my career?
• What will I learn?

I need a ‘yes’ for at least two of these. But the question that arguably holds the most weight is usually the latter. Opportunities for learning are always of value because knowledge of your field, and of yourself, can only boost your confidence if you just remember to use those lessons to your advantage.

5.     Like Yourself

Be kind to yourself. If you are feeling down about an aspect of your personality or skillset, make sure to remind yourself of what you think is great about you. We all have our flaws, but humans tend to focus on them over the things that make us great. Always try to remember what you love about yourself.

6.     Exercise

It’s an old tip, but one worth remembering. Exercise needn’t be an intense hour-long gym session five days a week. You can get helpful endorphins just as easily from taking a walk every day, doing a bit of housework (tidying also makes you feel productive, which lifts the mood) or taking ten minutes in the morning to have a good stretch.

7.     Do Things You Love Without Judging Yourself

 It is a societal issue that many of us feel a little guilty about doing things we enjoy. This can be because we live in a time where work is still king, or it might be because society says the stuff you are into is not the ‘right thing to be into’. Resilience relies on you being happy. So, do what makes you happy and free yourself from the potential judgement of others, but, more importantly, from your own self-judgment. Order the pizza. Watch the movie. Have a night out. Wear the dress.

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 Personal Resilience 101 appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

As much as most of us love the Summer heat, it isn’t always as pleasant if you have to work through it. sitting in the park in the sunlight at the weekend in your shorts and t-shirt with a few friends a cold box full of cold drinks is one thing… but sitting behind a laptop trying to think straight or going about a very physical day of work is quite another when the heat is turned p to 11.

Resilience is key to a healthy work-life, and relentless days of heat can make that resilience harder to find. So, if you are struggling in the summer heat whilst at work, you may find that one or two of these reminders and tips might help you to hold some resilience together!

1. Dress For Low Stress

It might be that your workplace has a strict dress code. However, if there is more flexibility in what you can wear, make sure you wear clothing that is not only comfortable but also professional. I know that, early in the pandemic, I worked in pyjamas, essentially. This was all very well, but I was much more productive when I dressed properly. So, even if you do head in shorts and a t-shirt, make sure that you dress with purpose and productivity in mind.

2. Hydration

It sounds obvious, but I know from personal experience that it is really easy to forget to drink water. So, if you don’t already, get yourself a decent water bottle, and keep in close proximity at all times. If you need encouragement to drink more water, why not stick a little fruit inside it. My personal favourite is watermelon and mint.

3. Snack

The heat drains much more energy from us than we might realise, so it is important to keep energy up if your resilience is to last the day. Fruit is ideal as it is cool, often crunchy and vibrant, and gives your body a natural sugar kick that should boost you into your next task.

4. Take A Moment

You may need more breaks when it is hot. Be aware of this and don’t be proud about ‘powering through’. If anything, breaks make you more resilient and more productive. There is no use trying to set your brain to a task if is blocking you. Take a moment, find a cool and quiet space away from your activity, hydrate, and give your brain a chance to settle and reset. I guarantee that whatever it is that you are working on at the time will click along at a much easier rate than it did before when you return.

5. Manage Your Personal Expectations

Working when it is hot can be really hard. You might be able to work at the rate that you always do, so be aware and comfortable with the fact that you might not manage this on a really hot day. Pushing yourself too far will essentially do more bad than good, so pace yourself and try not to hold yourself to your usual standard if you are having a tough day. It’s ok to have a tough day.

6. Avoid Midday Work

If at all possible, and this goes doubly for anybody who works outside, avoid working during the hottest part of the day. This, generally speaking, is midday, when the sun is highest in the sky. There is a good reason why some countries traditionally take a nap during the middle of the day! So, if you are lucky enough to be able to select your own working hours, you may find that you get more done when you work earlier in the morning and/or later in the evening.

7. Ways To Cool a Room Down

Maybe you already do these things, maybe you don’t. But, here are a few sure-fire ways to get the temperature of your workspace down a bit!

Close the blinds.

As much as it is lovely and uplifting to have the sunlight blaring through your window, or to have a lovely Summery scene to cast your eye over during moments of thought, sunlight and windows can a very warm room make. So, as much as possible, close those blinds and draw those curtains in order to minimise the glare from the glorious sun.

Buy a fan.

Fans are not pricey and really are an absolute joy when you are overheating. I feel like I don’t need to overstate this one too much… indeed, this is what fans are built for! All I’m saying is, if you don’t have one, I’m pretty sure you won’t regret going out and buying one.

Switch off surplus technology.

We often forget how much technology is running in our homes and workplaces. Computers, printers, photocopiers… anything like this, all produce heat. Mix that with body heat and the heat from the actual weather, then you end up with a very sweaty room. So, if you can, ensure that any tech that is not currently being used is switched off. P.S… this is also ecologically responsible, so… double-positive there!

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 Workday Resilience When the Heat is Draining You appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Stress can be exacerbated by the approach of the individual. Although there is not much we can do about stressful situations appearing in our lives, there is something we can do about the way we view and deal with stressful situations.

Stress can, of course, be reduced by eliminating stressful elements of your life were possible. But adopting a mindful, conscious and, although it sounds odd, positive approach to stress and resilience is essential to maintaining an ongoing sense of wellbeing that weathers times both good and not so good.

With a few moments’ reflection, and an adjustment in outlook, you may discover that it isn’t that you need to do less. Perhaps all you needed was to think in different way, or view things from a slightly different angle.

1. Is Your Work/Life Balance, Well, Balanced?

The feeling of being stressed can comes to us on occasions where there is, on closer observation, not much to be stressed about. This often happens when we are overstretched and have not carved out time for our brains to relax and recharge. If you are feeling overly tense or worried at any time, force yourself to stop for a few moments and evaluate. Ask yourself, ‘Am I stressing about things that are worth stressing about? Am I stressed simply because I am tired?’ and if you come to the conclusion that tiredness and burnout is making your stress worse, perhaps consider whether the ‘work’ side of the work/life scale may be a little heavier than it should be.

2. Do You Let Work Worries Seep Into your Leisure Time?

One of the hardest things about the work culture of some of our industries, and the fact that we now have access to emails, messages and phone calls 24 hours a day, is that it can be tricky to draw a solid line under your workday. As someone from works from home and sets my own hours, I know how easy it is to extend that workday, or to be thinking about work once I am supposed to have stopped.

In the last few months, I have installed a new rule. I completely sign off from any work-related contact past a certain time of day, and I always take the weekend off. I have advised clients of this as well. Therefore, if I am contacted by a client out of hours, I do not feel obliged to reply to them until my ‘workday’ begins again. This has had a huge positive impact on my stress levels across the board.

3. Is Comparing Yourself to Others Helping You?

It will be no news to anybody that the age of social media has bought with it an age of comparison. During lockdown I have seen friends and colleagues talk about amazing things that they have achieved both in their personal lives and their work lives. It is so easy to convince yourself that you are not doing as well as others.

First of all, comparison is the enemy of self-worth. Be mindful that you are your own person. Your barometer of success should be set only against yourself, what your goals are, and what you know makes you happy. Secondly, any time you feel like this, take a look at what you’ve achieved yourself. For me, when I feel like I am ‘not achieving much during this global pandemic’ (which sounds pretty silly) I remind myself that I have sustained a freelance career throughout this turbulent year and managed to help raise a baby. If you think about what you have achieved recently, you are bound to recognise that you are getting along just fine!

4. What Does Your Job Actually Mean To You?

What is the function of your work? Is it your passion? Is it a means to an end? How much does it actually matter to you? I’ll use myself and my wife as an example. I love my job. And when I get stressed about my job, I know it is because I deeply care about it. However, my wife does not feel strongly about her work. It is means to an end, in order to support the other things in life that she does love. She used to bring stress home with her until she asked herself ‘why am I bringing this pressure home with me?’. Once she realised that the stress she was allowing herself to feel was not worth it for a job she didn’t love, she found it much easier to leave her tension and worry at the door.

By Chris Thomson

Check out this great post from our archives, written by Neil, all about the relationship between resilience, mindfulness and stress… The Zen of Stress

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 Changing Your Thinking to Reduce Stress appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Look, we all feel stressed from time to time. It’s OK to feel stressed from time to time. Its normal. However, high stress is not something that should become a constant. Although a little of it can help at times, in order to reach a deadline, or achieve a goal that is important to you, it is not healthy for it to be a daily occurrence.

The odd thing about stress is that we often don’t see it. Sometimes, it is only when we are on the other side of a stressful time that we can look back and say, ‘Wow. I was really stressed just then, wasn’t I?’

In order to look after our wellbeing, and become resilient individuals, it is important to be conscious of how we are feeling. Spending time reflecting on the self and searching your mind and body for stress is valuable conscious practice. To prevent yourself from getting over stressed, here are some of the questions you might want to ask yourself on a regular basis.

1. How Are You Sleeping?

One of the tell-tale signs of over stress is regularly experiencing a bad night’s sleep. We’ve all been there. Everyone has experienced nigh time tossing and turning, trying desperately to switch off the noise in their heads. If you can’t put your unrestful rest down to anything (late night coffee, sleepless children or bedtime screen time), then perhaps you need to look at how to take your stress levels down a bit.

2. Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

Knowing that you are feeling overwhelmed is sometimes hard to see. This is due to the fact that feeling overwhelmed comes from you having to many thoughts, concerns, and pressures swimming round in your head, all fighting for priority. Adding to that the clarity and brain space to required work out if you are overwhelmed or not can sometimes seem impossible. So, if you are stressing out over the amount of unchecked boxes on your to-do list, perhaps its time to take a thing or two off your plate.

3. How Is your Focus?

Over stress often leads to a lack of focus and motivation. Its not that you don’t want to focus or feel motivated, its that you neither have the emotional or physical energy to care as much as you would like. Fatigue is a common symptom of over stress and can seep into all areas of your life.

4. How Is Your Fuse?

If you are feeling irrationally angry or are noticing that you are being a little short with other people than usual, then perhaps you should examine your overall stress levels. Again, this is something that we don’t always see. Often only become aware of when somebody else brings it up. This is another reason that regular self-observation is of huge benefit.

5. Are You Feeling Down?

Anxiety and depression come to us for a variety of reasons, and stress is certainly one of them. Therefore, if you are feeling down and can’t quite work out why, it may help to focus your energy on destressing your life.

6. Are You Doing Your Job Properly?

I once found, at a time of extreme stress, that my anxiety and lack of focus eventually led to me not doing my job very well. I thought that I was doing fine, and that I was still doing a passable job despite how down I was feeling. However, my bad performance was brought up by a superior, and it turned out that I had been falling short. This led to me ultimately dealing with my stress. But I could have avoided this situation had I recognised and tackled it much earlier.

7. Are You Worried?

Uncontrollable worry. Are you always worried? Are you worrying about things that are not under your control? Perhaps you are worrying about hypothetical situations? Take a step back and a deep breath. Is it stress?

What is common when answering all of these questions, is that they are only answerable when we take a moment to reflect on the self. Stress will always be part of life, but over stress can more easily be avoided when we take time to listen to our emotions.

By Chris Thomson

Emotional resilience is part of what helps us to deal with stress. So, you’re in luck? Because last year taught many of us how to be more emotionally resilient! What 2020 Has Taught Us About Emotional Resilience

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 Over Stressed: Listening to Your Emotions 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.

In many ways the last year has felt like it never really happened, because other than being in the middle of a pandemic, not much actually happened! There were no weddings, no social events, no after-work drinks, no holidays, no road-trips, not many family visits and not many leisure activities to enjoy. It is easy to feel like this last year has been wasted time.

But all has not been lost.

It is extreme situations, such as the one we have found ourselves in, that force us to exercise different parts of ourselves. Situations such as this one can be a catalyst for strengthening skills and characteristics we didn’t know you had nor needed.

So, be mindful of your own progress, and ponder on those attributes that you have gained throughout the last twelve months. I am conscious of a few strengths that I think, to varying degrees, we have all acquired during this past year. We are all, at least a little bit, stronger. Would you agree?

1. Emotional Resilience

For many of us, we don’t remember another time when it has been more necessary to soldier on. The fluctuating tide of restrictions, losses, mistakes, and disappointments has made emotional stability harder to come by, and yet we have found a way to keep going. Handling significant emotional blows and finding a way to work through them is a hard skill to learn, and one that can’t be learnt ahead of time. I put to you that our collective emotional resilience is in a much more robust place than it was before the pandemic, and therefore so is our capacity for looking after our wellbeing going forward.

2. Resourcefulness

Problem solving is something we have all had to get to grips with of late. The problems have ranges from the enormous to the everyday. Of course, it is easy to pinpoint significant occasions when one might have solved a large problem; perhaps as regards planning a big event or working out how to operate a business safely. But those everyday problems, like meal planning, ensuring that your household has everything it needs with as few shop visits as possible, childcare, connecting with family and friends; these were problems that were just as significant to solve, and perhaps more important for our resilience and wellbeing.

3. Creativity

Netflix and local walks can only fill up so much time. We have had to get really creative to keep ourselves entertained and to fend of both boredom and madness! We have learnt new things, picked up old hobbies, read books, created online content, started new traditions, and utilised our homes in ways that we had never considered before. People have written books, painted pictures, created banquets and played many, many games. IN years to come, when your grandchildren complain of boredom you will remember what real boredom felt like, and how you dug deep into your creativity and fought it off!

4. Gratitude

It has been said many times, but when this is all over, a hug from a friend will feel like pure magic. We have collectively become aware of many simple, seemingly insignificant, things that we desperately miss now that they are not available to us. It has made us appreciate simplicity, and to value everyday occurrences more highly than before. Personally, I am dreaming of the day that I can buy a coffee on the way to work to drink on the tube, that I don’t have to check my pockets for a mask before I leave the house, and that I can enter a pub and walk up to the bar whenever I feel like it. And on that day, I shall be very grateful indeed!

5. Togetherness and Galvanisation

Extreme shared experiences ultimately bring us all closer together; to make our connections stronger. Although I haven’t seen anyone in person, other than my wife and kids, in many months, I would also say that I feel closer to many of my loved ones than I have ever been. Openness and permission to feel our feelings has become more normalised, and I dearly hope that this trend continues, alongside kindness and compassion for our fellow people.

By Chris Thomson 

Here is a closer look at how the pandemic has made the world’s emotional resolve stronger: What Has 2020 Taught Us About Emotional Resilience?

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 Ways In Which The Last Year Has Made Us All Stronger appeared first on The Conscious Professional.