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The Weekly Minute - Through A Different Lens

3/27/2017

Instructions for "Through a Different Lens":

If you are facing a challenge or dilemma this week, pay attention to your thoughts about it.
If you find you are in a cycle of thinking and thinking, but not reaching any solutions, try to view it from another lens.
Think about someone you admire, and try to view your situation through their eyes. What would they say about it? What would they do about it?
If you find it hard to imagine what someone might think, ask them!

How we analyse and think about things is a product of who we are, and our life experiences. This means that the range of solutions we can come up with when faced with challenges can be limited to what we already know.
Attempting to adopt another person's point of view can help loosen up our thinking, and broaden the range of solutions we can access.
Talking to one, or several other people can give us ideas we may not think of on our own. One word from a different viewpoint may well trigger the solution you need!

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. - Albert Einstein

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The Weekly Minute - Change the Channel

3/20/2017

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Instructions for "Change the Channel":

Take a minute's break from what you're doing.
Tune in to your current thoughts — Are they happy? Sad? Contented? Anxious?
Imagine your thoughts are programmes on the TV. If your thoughts are getting you down, or keeping you stuck, pick up your imaginary remote control and switch the channel to something that raises your spirits.
Remember to use your imaginary remote when you find yourself focusing on negative thoughts or feelings.

Congratulations! You have just begun to create some new neural pathways for yourself.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change itself. Neural pathways are formed in the brain by repetition of thoughts and feelings, much like paths are formed in grass when it gets walked over and over. Pathways can be negative or positive, and choosing to tread positive pathways can lead to a decrease in negative pathways which may be stealing the joy from your life.

“Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.”
― Santiago Ramón y Cajal

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The Weekly Minute - 3 Little Things

3/13/2017

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Instructions for 3 little things.
(You'll need a pen and paper)

When you're getting ready for bed tonight, take a minute to check in.
Review your day and find 3 ways you made yourself proud. (Did you let someone out in traffic? Did you buy a friend a coffee? Did you keep your cool when things got hairy at work?) No matter how big or small they seem, find 3 things.
Write them down, the act of committing them to paper will help you remember them.
If, in the process of the review, negative things come to mind, try to extend a little self-compassion to yourself. - No-one's perfect!

We can spend a lot of time judging ourselves, and being critical of what we see. This can be helpful for self-improvement, but too much of it can be harmful, and it just doesn't give a realistic view of who we are. Many of us tend to see the worst in ourselves, and it's good practice to correct that balance and see the good as well. You might find you're better than you think!

"...we’re sometimes in danger of falling prey to an excessive version of self-criticism — what we might call self-flagellation: a rather dangerous state, which just ushers in depression and underperformance. We might simply lose the will to get out of bed.
For those moments, we need a corrective — we need to carve out time for an emotional state of which many of us are profoundly suspicious: self-compassion." -Alain de Botton

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The Weekly Minute - Check Mate

3/6/2017

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Instructions for "Check Mate":

Stop what you're doing, close your eyes, and take a couple of belly breaths to get into the present.
Bring your attention to any thoughts or feelings as they come and go.
Imagine these thoughts and feelings as chess pieces moving across a board.
It can be tempting to begin to place your thoughts and feelings on opposing sides, with 'good' thoughts and feelings versus the 'bad' ones.
Instead of this, become the chess board, and simply observe the thoughts and feelings move around, come and go.
After a minute (or longer if you like), come back to the room, and resume your day.

What you just did was gain distance from, and control over, your thoughts and feelings, and reduce their ability to influence your mood. You are the chess board on which your thoughts and feelings move, and when you take this position of observer, you become less entangled in the drama and tumult in your head.
If you notice yourself feeling stressed or sad, ask yourself if you are busy chasing chess pieces, or are you observing from the viewpoint of the board.

"As the board, you can see all the pieces, you can hold them, you are in intimate contact with them, and you can watch the war being played out in your consciousness, but it doesn't matter. It takes no effort." - Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson

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The Weekly Minute - Through A Different Lens

The Weekly Minute - Change the Channel

The Weekly Minute - 3 Little Things

The Weekly Minute - Check Mate

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