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Move Your Mind...

Since it is the month of Step-tember and talking to a colleague today morning, I realised we should start back on our Health & Wellbeing journey.

As the Greek adage goes “A sound mind is a sound body” it is evident that our ancestors had it clear. On contrary, we in the digital age are getting stuck with devices, desks, dings and rings of our smart devices. Recent study suggest an average office workers checks their smart phones 165 times a day! Where as the average for a non office worker is 80.

This clearly shows how important it is to get our regular doze of digital detox. Not only to keep our body fit but also our mind healthy. Brain scientists call this as “neuroplasticity” which in essence is the ability of brain’s neural network to change based on habitual routine. Now that’s an important piece of information when it comes to conditioning our body and mind.

The good part is it works both ways i.e. If you want to improve your health then boost your mobility. Movement nourishes your mind, body and spirit alike. You need to choose what method suits you best. Gym, Yoga, Tennis or a simple walk in the park.

This is mental health awareness week and RU-OK day on Thursday 12th of September. Let’s get into the groove and get to move our body and our minds!

Foreign Star of Bengal - Glowing Reviews!

Thank you audience your praise works like adrenalin for our creativity.

Read the complete official review at: http://www.indiandownunder.com.au/?p=12673

FSB Tittle track - Mera Dil

They were called fantastic 4 - More than friends they meant life to each other. Some could meet and some had to wait for another 40 years. Watch the teaser of our Title track "Mera Dil" (my heart) and don't forget to book your tickets as they are selling fast.



http://bollywoodcentral.com.au/fsb.

Results and Emotions - Dispassion

Results and Emotions - Dispassion 

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit" - Conrad Hilton

There are two parts to life, there are results, and then there are emotions. What messes people up is when they tie them together cancerously. Results don't mean anything unless we attach a meaning to them.

Emotions, on an elementary level, are chemical explosions that our brain controls. You don't need to do anything to feel a certain way. Do you? it automatically happens. But awareness of those emotions makes a big difference.

Similarly, a result isn't an emotion. Take any result like earning an income of a million dollars. A million dollars doesn't mean anything until you attach a meaning to it. I have seen people loose their sleep over achieving such goals. So when you attach your emotions to results inseparably it begins to haunt you.

However, there is a better way of doing this. When you can separate emotions and results, you will find a much fulfilling way to achieve your goals. In eastern philosophy, this is known as dispassion theory of keeping oneself grounded.

 "Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better" - Samuel Becket.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Emotional Roller Coaster

For ages, people have debated if leaders are born or made? So too, goes the debate about emotional intelligence. Perhaps it has been my most favourite organisational behaviour topics since I read Daniel Goleman’s book about emotional intelligence in 1998. I always had a belief it could be an acquired skill but I never knew how? But later on I felt it must be a born talent hidden in genes and finally I got the answer actually it is both. It is just like empathy, some people are born with it and some people acquire it with life experiences.

Emotional intelligence like empathy is a psychological muscle which needs emotional work out, like our physical muscles. Good news is that our psychological muscles too get stronger and stronger with work out just like our physical muscle. Only the work out regime is little different, in order to build our emotional intelligence muscles we need play full out in our brain gym with dumbbells of feelings, drive, impulses, anxiety, stress, motivation, laughter and happiness.

Our brains have a little area called “Neocortex” responsible to grasp concepts and logic. It along with our conscious thoughts and experiences form emotional intelligence system.

Some people might be better with it by virtue of genome structures. Rest of us could also develop this by putting our mind to work out in the brain gym simply, by taking each experience with intension to get better at it next time when it comes around. Just like as a kid when you learnt not to touch a hot stove after getting burned with it once or as an adult learning how to handle professional and personal stressors. Once you do it next time round you’ll have emotional muscles much stronger to handle the situation better.

There are five aspects to practice when it comes to building muscles for emotional intelligence:

·         Self-Awareness – Knowing your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals. Their impact on you and others around you.

·         Self- Regulation - Controlling or redirecting disruptive thoughts, emotions and impulses.

·         Motivation – Being driven to achieve for the sake of self-esteem.

·         Empathy – Considering others feelings, especially when making decision about things that matters.

·         Social Skills – Managing relationships to move people/ thoughts/ situations in desired directions

Research is demonstrating that people can, if they take the right approach, develop their emotional intelligence. I had personally found it very rewarding and can easily tell the difference between the days it works and days it doesn’t. Offcourse it is a never ending learning experience and not an easy process. It takes time and most of all commitment. But the benefits that come from having a well-developed emotional intelligence, both for the individual and for the organisation, make it worth the efforts.

Happy working out at the brain gym!

"When I say managing your emotions, I only mean really distressing, negative emotions. Feeling emotions is what makes your life rich. You need your passions." - Daniel Goleman

Creating a mindful culture

Creating a mindful culture

I’m sure you would have come across the word “mindfulness” a lot of people I meet think it is something to do with meditation. Nevertheless, practicing meditation isn’t a bad start however mindfulness is a lot more than just sitting down closing your eyes and feeling like Buddha.

Have you lately caught yourself standing in a room thinking why the hell did I come here? Or driving down the road on auto pilot? Or brushing your teeth in the morning without even realising which side you have already brushed? Or eaten your lunch at desk without even tasting a single bite? I got you didn’t I ha ha… well Mindfulness in essence is opposite of mindlessness.

There are two parts to mindfulness –

First, learning to focus and attention on one thing, and being able to bring the attention back when distracted.

Second is about the attitude you bring to paying attention i.e. being open, being focused and interested in what you are doing.

Why suddenly mindfulness is a buzz in corporate culture rather than in monasteries? It is due to the benefit it brings along with it. Imagine if someone can become more creative, have higher levels of pattern-recognition, greater confidence, greater motivation, greater focus and less anxiety obviously they’re going to be more productive and valuable to the company.

So what are few simple ways to create mindful culture?

• Do one thing at a time and do it well
• Be aware of your mindlessness patterns
• Create a soft anchor to flip out of distractions
• Set a time limit for worry or anxiety
• Switch off for at least 10 mins every day
• Recharge your battery often
• Ask for help if you’re in stress
• Develop mindfulness as a skill
• Choose to do three things mindfully everyday like brushing your teeth.
• Choose to respond rather than react
• Learn to accept difficult experiences or changes
• Lastly, Nab’s new marketing punch line – “talk to yourself more”

      

As said earlier, mindfulness is like a muscle which gets stronger and stronger with regular practice. Try the mindfulness app by smiling mind to get started I find it best to switch off during my train trips. You can find your own based on what works for you… happy minding.

“You can’t cross the sea by merely by standing and staring at the water – Rabindranath Tagore”