Mindfulness - The Unsuspecting Life Skill Underpinning All Success
Welcome, you pretty fantastic being. I’ve been working with adults for almost a decade helping them work through their mind, emotions, trauma, fears and sabotages. I’ve stood on stages around Australia speaking about life purpose, emotional intelligence and holistic wellbeing. I’ve studied Medical Science at university and I treated cancer for a few years before diving into human psychology, psychotherapy and spiritual philosophy. To say it's an honour to be in front of you and introduce the most powerful and foundational techniques that unpin human success on a mental, spiritual, physical and emotional level, is an understatement.
Unpin human success? Yep. Let me explain.
Harvard conducted a research study and they tracked more than 1,000 people from birth until age 32, looking for what made someone successful. So, what common characteristic do you think the people with good careers, financial stability, loving relationships, and physical health, shared? Self-control. The ones who could focus, pay attention, and be aware, empowered and able to regulate their emotions. They were the ones who consciously or unconsciously, practiced the philosophy of mindfulness.
We are a society obsessed with developing ourselves but are ignorantly bypassing the most simple and powerful practice (mindfulness) that both transforms our physical brain and strengthens our mental muscle to be able to have the awareness and discipline to not react to a mind whose nature is to want, need and strive for more. On a side note, I believe it’s this striving that creates most of our suffering but more on that later. So, we want to become happier and healthier and more fulfilled; “a better person”, so to speak. Well my argument is that we are all innately pretty fantastic beings, simply ill equipped with the ability to tame a mind or manage our emotions. It all begins there, or perhaps more correctly, here and now. In those micros moments between action and reaction.
Well, mindfulness allows us to be calm and not self critical, accepting not judging.
It’s not about running from, ignoring or suppressing emotions it’s allowing us to not be overwhelmed by our emotions accepting them as that come and go. It’s not about controlling our thoughts, but rather thoughts not controlling us.
Mindfulness activities are designed to guide to to become a more mindful human being, one who can focus and pay attention and follow through with their intentions and goals. A person who can feel intense emotions rise, and rather than react and project, they reflect and respond responsibly. Mindful listening? Let me tell you, that skill is going to be the make or break for every relationship you ever have for the rest of your life.
Mindful sensing? The key to developing the skill that sets apart those who live in fear and those who thrive in their own self power; confidence and intuition.
Mindful eating and body awareness? That’s going to determine your physical and mental health and whether you are popping anti-inflams and lithium at 68 or doing yoga, rocking it out at golf with your homies and having enough energy to play with your grandchildren (and don’t forget the love for lovin’).
Mindful breathing allows you to find calm, love and peace amongst chaos. These practices ultimately lead to emotional resilience, compassion, generosity, inspiration for life, kindness and selflessness; less me more we. We need the world to be more mindful, we need our children to be more mindful. We need us to be more mindful.
So, yeah, it’s the bee's knees, the humdinger and bomb diggity. Mindfulness is where it’s at. And I am excited and honoured to begin spreading it to the leaders of who I hope to be, the most whole beings our world has ever seen.
“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.”
― L.R. Knost
Hugs,
