Personal and Leadership Development

No: 518 - May 4, 2017

	A Quick Tip
	REMINDING YOURSELF TO RE-MIND
	Pause, take a deep breath or two. Remind yourself... literally! Remind yourself what you want from life - not in grand terms but the kind of things you like to have and do and would like more of. Remind yourself of why you got out of bed this morning and what you would like to achieve today. Now... you're back on track.

We're on the verge of electing a new President in France - well, we're not, the French are! In the lead up to the first round of voting, one of our (Irish) friends, living in Paris, thrashed through the policy differences of the various candidates with a couple of his work colleagues. They all work at the HQ of one of France's CAC40 leading companies. When our friend announced that, as an Irish passport-holder, he wouldn't be able to vote, his colleagues retorted: "How are you even living here then? Where are your papers?" He replied that, as an EU Citizen, he has every right to be where he is - no papers required! "But what will happen you after Brexit?" they continued. "Ireland isn't the UK" he replied "But it's all part of the same country isn't it!" was their reply. Never mind their initial reaction - it's a little more worrying when people in senior positions don't know the difference between one country and the next!

Now, I know straight away that, as I announce my new App, some of you will say "It's about bloody time" - and so it is (it is, to be fair, the last piece of a jigsaw that's taken over four years to put together).

Be that as it may, I am - today - announcing the launch of MYpsyberCoach... "My what?"... well, a visit to the App's website might just explain a little more - you can visit MYpsyberCoach.com here... And, as you might imagine, the App is not all about meditation - even though meditation is a key feature. There's more to mindfulness than the training... a lot more, it's called living!

DAY BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS... EVERY DAY

In conversation with a client - we'll call her Ingrid - a few weeks ago, I was told that, when we first met, she had intellectually understood the science behind and the practical proposition offered by purposeful mindfulness or focus "But I actually felt it today" she continued. Until you feel and experience the impact of being present in the moment, mindfulness is just a concept and, unfortunately, with all the exposure it's getting it's an over-simplified, hackneyed, muddled concept that ends up being tree-huggingly meaningless for the apparently harsh reality of everyday life.

You experience purposeful focus in the moments when you're just doing what you're doing and it feels good. You know that you're "in the zone", you know you're doing the right thing in a way that feels easier that your normal mind might have anticipated. Sometimes we have this experience the day before we go on vacation - when putting the pain-in-the-ass job off is no longer an option. And, suddenly, because you've no longer any time to think about it being a pain in the ass, it isn't... and it just gets done.

How about having that feeling every day - to the extent that you wade through work effortlessly, that you achieve more in less time, giving you more time to do more of whatever either turns you on or brings you to the heights to which you really and truly aspire. That's the promise of mindfulness - purposeful mindfulness, not happy-clappy mindfulness. I need to clarify what I mean by this. I was recently told about how a big employer had, as part of its corporate wellness initiative, a speaker who, in just thirty minutes explained that "If you become mindful, you'll never worry again!" - that's the happy-clappy I'm talking about.

And that is not what Ingrid experienced. She experienced the value and practical result of being present in the here and now, the natural high we get when we're just doing what we're doing and it's happening effortlessly, when we're doing the necessary even if our ordinary mind might have thought it was a pain-in-the-ass task, when we do the important and see tangible results. A kind of day-before-you-go-on-holidays thing!

	DO YOU WANT TO FOCUS? DO YOU WANT TO BANISH STRESS?
	In one intensive but relaxed day, you will learn what is wrong with our normal neural "wiring" and how, as a result, our mind normally works against us. You will learn how to:
	Purposefully focus - it doesn't come naturally, we're actually "wired" to not focus Set goals in a way that energizes your subconscious into focused effortless action Make your very best decisions and solve problems with ease - your brain can do this effortlessly Banish stress - we're ordinarily "wired" to be stressed
	The Psychology of Success will take place again in Dublin on Tuesday, September 12th. You can find all the details here... and read participants' testimonials here