Maximum Balance - Mind

Meditations You Can Use

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:51:59 -0400

Developing a meditation practice always seems to be a challenge for my clients. Everyone wants (or believes) they should meditate, but after a short period of time, most give up. It seems impossible to quiet "the monkey mind" - the mind that keeps moving from thought to thought like a monkey swinging from one tree branch to another. I have to confess, it's been a real challenge for me as well. While I aspire to be one of those enlightened monks who seem to be able quiet their mind (and breath) while at the same time handle repeated blows to the back with a bamboo stick, it just doesn't happen. However I have found that even taking five minutes in the morning to just follow my breath with no other agenda, can really make a difference in my attitude throughout the entire day.

Lessons from the Square Watermelon

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:36:59 -0400

5 Lessons from the Square Watermelon

You may have seen the press last week on the new square watermelon that is making it's debut in Japan. It's a fascinating story about ingenuity and in this case, how "thinking inside the box" can help you see things in a different way and enable you to explore some new solutions to life's problems. I found a great summary of the story on a web blog -

6 Tips for Dealing with Anger

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:00:50 -0400

Anger!

We’ve all felt it at various times and from both sides of the equation – giver and receiver alike!

According to the American Psychological Association, “anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion”.

It’s when we don’t control our anger and when it quite possibly turns destructive, that we experience problems in all aspects of our life. The worst part, is often the increasing feeling of “being out of control” as our anger gets the best of us. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems—problems at work, in your personal relationships, and in the overall quality of your life. And it can make you feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion.

Normal is a Very Big Playing Field

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:45:17 -0400

A quick reflection on the whole idea of "normal".

I'm working with a client whose organization provides housing services for thousands of homeless people in the City of San Francisco. As we met today for the first time to discuss some team development work for her director staff, I had a chance to walk with her through her "hood" as she called it. It struck me how we are surrounded by so many people that lead very different lives than us and who we don't often even take notice of most of the time. While the homeless people we saw were in many respects different than my client, she didn't see them as "not normal". They were just the people her organization helps on a daily basis.

Everyday Retreats

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:12:21 -0400

Everday Retreats

To go on a retreat usually conjures up images of remote, sometimes exotic, locations for anywhere from a weekend to a month. When we can’t afford the time away, or the cost, we can still derive some of the benefit by finding ways in our everyday lives to retreat and renew. Here are just a few ideas:

Use It and Get More of It

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:03:50 -0400

Use It and Get More of It!

I just attended a conference on Brain Health Across the Lifespan. You’ve heard the old adage “use it or lose it”. Well when it comes to keeping your brain healthy, it’s really “use it and get more of it”. The field of neuroscience is shattering the age old myth that once you hit your late teens, you’ve got about as many brain cells as you will ever have. Remember when you were warned that “drinking” was going to kill all of those brain cells and you’d never get them back? While it’s true that excess alcohol consumption doesn’t do your brain cells any favors, but you actually can create new brain cells and even improve your memory and cognition with age.

Detox Your Body

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:24:19 -0400

Did you know?

• The US spends more per person on health care than any other country, yet ranks 37th for overall quality (WHO Survey, 2000, USA Today, June 21, 2000)

• In America alone, 2.9 billion prescriptions are written per year. Many of these drugs treat symptoms and don't resolve the actual cause.

Create Your Own Top 10 For Your Life

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:20:25 -0500

They’re everywhere, these Top 10 lists, filling our desire for bite-sized, digestible morsels of learning or humor. They give us tips on housework or investment practices, satire on current events or political issues, and ideas for consideration on personal growth.

With this Top 10, however, you are the writer. Use these Top 10 lists (and any others you may create) to remind yourself of what’s good and shining about you and your life. Use them to become more aware of what you know and what you can do to affect your world. Use them to reconnect with your dreams, to remember what you want deep inside. Enjoy!

Got Gratitude?

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:36:54 -0500

Got Gratitude?

I just got back from Sedona Arizona where I presented at the first annual Positive Psychology Forum. It was an enlightening and powerful event. Positive psychology is an emerging science that is basically the study of what is going “right” and why “it’s good to feel good”. Sounds refreshing doesn’t it? Certainly more fun than studying Freud!

10 Brain Fitness New Year's Resolutions

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:05:04 -0500

10 Brain Fitness New Years Resolutions

by Alvaro Fernadez, President and co-founder of SharpBrains (www.sharpbrains.com)

You have survived the 2007 shopping and eating season. Congratulations! Now it's time to shift gears and focus on 2008...whether you write down some New Year resolutions or contemplate some things that you want to let go of from last year and set intentions and goals for this year - as is a friend's tradition on the winter solstice.

Training Your Brain to be Happier

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:13:26 -0500

Train Your Brain to Be Happier

Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer at Harvard University. He currently teaches the largest course at Harvard on "Positive Psychology" and is author of the book “Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment”.

Dr. Ben-Shahar suggests that "the question should not be whether you are happy but what you can do to become happier". While this may sound quite straight forward, the idea of positive psychology is a relatively new concept in psychology circles. A recent post on Sharp Brains (www.sharpbrains.com) does a great job of explaining some of the key concepts of how Dr. Ben-Shahar believes you can become happier.

Self-Confidence in 2008

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:29:26 -0500

Give yourself the gift of Self-Confidence for 2008

Written by Donna Fedor

Self confidence is something only you can give yourself.

Think of it like a special gift that you can give yourself. If there is one promise that you want to promise yourself in 2008, it is that you will do whatever it takes to give yourself this gift.

Two Ears, One Mouth

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:35:56 -0500

Two Ears, One Mouth

I learned this adage from a great consultant I know who advises this approach when coaching clients. It seems like a good idea and of course easy to understand. After all, we don’t have to look further than the mirror to see that perhaps we were designed to listen more than to speak. I guess it’s just that when we’re born, we find out that a good pair of lungs and a cry for help brings a rapid response. Then we’re hooked, even as we develop a bit more sophistication in our ability to communicate!

Practicing Emotional Intelligence During the Holidays

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:12:25 -0500

The holidays are upon us. Yikes. I've barely just taken off my Halloween costume. As I was thinking about what I might write about for this weeks article, I ran across an article written by a colleague and friend, Josh Freedman. Josh is the founder and COO of 6Seconds Emotional Intelligence.

Maximum Balance - Mind

Meditations You Can Use

Lessons from the Square Watermelon

6 Tips for Dealing with Anger

Normal is a Very Big Playing Field

Everyday Retreats

Use It and Get More of It

Detox Your Body

Create Your Own Top 10 For Your Life

Got Gratitude?

10 Brain Fitness New Year's Resolutions

Training Your Brain to be Happier

Top 10 Year-End Review Questions

Self-Confidence in 2008

Two Ears, One Mouth

Practicing Emotional Intelligence During the Holidays