Whether on Facebook, LinkedIn, X or Instagram, animal health pros often mention meditation. More than a million people viewed this article about how meditation can inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives. The idea behind mindfulness seems simple—the practice takes patience.” Source: Mindful. Link. The author shares five reasons to meditate: … [Read more...]
The power of one act of kindness
Long checkout lines, two kids and a full cart . . . the lady in front of me saw I had only two items, my dog on a leash and cash in hand. Smiling, she offered to let me go ahead of her, wishing me a good day. Researchers who synthesized results from 88 experimental studies suggest our acts of kindness and generosity, online or offline, can have meaningful ripple effects in … [Read more...]
The science of gratitude
Whether you hope to boost your mood and mental health, protect your physical health or improve your personal relationships, a rich body of social science research has found that gratitude offers important benefits. Research shows gratitude isn’t just a pleasant feeling. Being grateful can also support greater health, happiness, and wisdom in ourselves and our … [Read more...]
Modeling fierce self-compassion
Some people worry that self-compassion will make them soft, but it gives us incredible power, writes Kristin Neff in an excerpt from her book, Fierce Self-Compassion. The book shares how women can harness kindness to speak up, claim their power and thrive. Neff shares three elements of self-compassion, self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness, that each have an … [Read more...]
Listening without getting defensive
Hearing is physiological. Listening is psychological. We listen to acquire knowledge and receive information. But it is easy to get distracted. One of the main distractions is how we respond to something we hear. Are we triggered? Are we half-listening while preparing to talk about our agenda? Or are we listening on autopilot? Jennifer Wolkin says we need to practice … [Read more...]
Mind tricks keep us addicted to our phones (includes video)
Zip, whoosh, boink, Ta-dah, ding! Add red dots, alert boxes and brightly colored notices and our cell phones tinker with the habit-forming parts of our brains to keep us coming back to them. Nicole Bayes-Fleming explains how those trigger-action-reward systems are integrated in persuasive design to be habit-forming. The average person spends a combined total of one … [Read more...]
3 tips to start your day right
Since we turned our clocks back over the weekend, these tips may help the chronological confusion for some of us. The first few minutes of waking up can set the tone for the rest of the day. Adding mindful habits to the start of the day can help you to feel more in sync with the sunrise. Source: Mindful, November 6, 2017: Elisha Goldstein shares 3 mindful actions to start … [Read more...]
Phone addiction has a dark side (includes video)
Philosopher Alain de Botton challenges the “lazy brain” argument about our relationship with our phones and how we rely on them. Instead, he proposes we use them as a tool for self-avoidance and have a genuinely unhealthy, addictive relationship with them. Source: Mindful, November 3, 2017. To say we are addicted to our phones is not merely to point out that we use them a … [Read more...]
Self-talk is worth understanding
The responses to information about managing ourselves, teams and relationships continue to top the list of most-read posts at AHD. Bob Stahl explains how paying attention to your internal dialogue can free you from you self-doubt and help you become familiar with your own personal brand of autopilot. Source: Mindful, September 12, 2016. When you begin to bring mindfulness … [Read more...]
Beat the afternoon slump
We often reach for caffeine to get through a mid-afternoon slowdown most of us experience. This afternoon slump is a real, biological phenomenon. It’s a sign your internal clock—fluctuations in energy and body temperature regulated by our circadian rhythms—is running on time. Here are five ways to bounce back. We would add one more: 6) Hydrate with water. Source: Mindful, … [Read more...]