Savor life, don’t devour it without appreciation. In their best-selling business book, “The Republic of Tea: Letters to a Young Zentrepreneur,” authors Mel Ziegler, Sill Rosenzweig, and Patricia Ziegler suggest that we live life “sip by sip” rather than “gulp by gulp,” as most of us do. Mel and Pat Ziegler and entrepreneur Bill Rosenzweig […]
When I was in Bermuda doing research, I had an opportunity to test my anthropological “participant observer” skills while learning how to become an observant member of a primate group without intruding on the lives of the stump-tailed macaques that made up that group. The experience was not without missteps. On one occasion, one of […]
Here is an exercise to determine your own state of mindfulness, and what are your priorities for staying in the moment. Self-reflection. Answer each question with a 1 for “never,” up to a 5 for “always.” Other people notice that you can be extraordinarily, intentionally present with them. When taking on a challenge, you can […]
Here are steps to learning to create mindful moments in disagreements using mental rehearsal (much like athletes do to practice physical skills). Imagine someone disagreeing with you. Respond with, “that’s interesting,” then drop your thoughts into the time and space of mindfulness. Then say “I’d like to understand why you think that.” Listen without judgment, […]
Losing, even temporarily, your ability to be mindful can have potentially devastating results. In 1996, I was six months pregnant and, although feeling distinctly unwell, I had committed to facilitate what was a very important meeting for a global director of JP Morgan. Two days prior to the meeting, a nurse practitioner had told me […]
“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” – James Baraz John Kabat-Zinn, an advocate of mindfulness meditation, sees parallels […]
Here is the Navy SEALS ethos: In times of war or uncertainty there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our nation’s call. A common man with uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America’s finest special operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way […]
Physiological Responses To master your mind, you might also want to pay attention to your physiological responses as well as your thoughts. Notice when there’s tension in your shoulders, hands, abdomen or face. The most important thing is to learn to monitor your breath. How are you breathing? Shallowly and rapidly in your upper chest? […]
“Things turn out best for the people that make the best of the way things turn out.” – Anonymous In my last blog, I talked about the importance of controlling your mind to be your best and capitalize on opportunities that lead to success. To repeat, here are four brief steps to replace destructive thoughts […]
What if you don’t master your own mind? Without mastery of your own mind, you can easily fall victim to your own undisciplined thoughts. Out of control in the most important moments of your life, you will most likely be unfocused. The result of surrendering to the negative thoughts will mean that you have minimized […]
