Thrive Performance Hub

danielrutter

5 Simple Strategies to Help You Perform Under Pressure

by

5 Simple Strategies to Help You Perform Under Pressure

how to perform under pressure

Keeping calm and clear in high-end pressure situations is a skill and not always that easy, especially as we raise the stakes. Whether it’s giving a presentation, performing a musical piece, playing a sport or entering a job interview, there are skills and strategies we can implement to help us perform at a higher level.

Here are 5 things you can do to help you perform under pressure:

1. Focus more on what you can control over what you can’t 

On the lead-up to any performance, focusing on what you can control over what you can’t is a very effective way to get you in the zone. Let’s imagine we have two circles:  the circle of concern (things you can’t control) and the circle of influence (choices you can make to influence your environment).  If we spend too much time focusing on what we can’t control it can lead us to either fall into a negative mindset or lose track of our own progress.

There is nothing wrong with analysing what the competition is doing – sometimes this clearly has to be done, especially in the business world and sport. However, too much focus on the opponent can be negative in the long run. If you’re starting any business venture, take a look at what the competitors are doing but then play to your own strengths. Don’t just copy or get sucked into what they are doing.

You are unique, so celebrate that and create something you’re proud of. If you are a musician, remember the phrase ‘Steal like an artist’. Listen and play your favourite band’s songs then take all the influences and write some fresh, new original material.

2. Develop concentration through meditation

Concentration may sound like a very obvious example to keep you in the zone. One very effective way to increase your concentration levels is through meditation. By simply focusing on one object during the meditation you can master the art of concentrating the mind. This could be an external object, the breath or the inner body. The idea is to keep bringing the mind back every time it wanders. So for any long match in which your attention and concentration is needed, you can hold a high level of concentration for longer.

“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” – Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

3. Use an anchor

Using a holistic word or image to guide performance. This can be a great technique for when we start to overthink during a task. This can be a really helpful strategy to help keep our minds in the moment and at ease. It can be as simple as using a holistic cue word such as ‘expansive’, ‘smooth’ or ‘clear’. Anything that enhances the movement in the performance.

Now, if we apply this with an image this can become very effective. A group of basketball players did an experiment in which they used the analogy, ‘Shoot as if you were trying to put a cookie in a cookie jar on a high shelf’. In the same experiment, another set of players were given an eight-step rundown on what to do. The team who were given the simple analogy outperformed the other group when the pressure was increased.

4. Affirmations

For me, affirmations don’t work just on their own. They sound great but need utilising more effectively. A great way to do this to have a three-step process when writing your affirmations.  Affirmations are also personal. A professional rugby player may use a completely different set of affirmations than a professional snowboarder. And it’s down to the individual’s tastes and needs in the given task.

Step one: Hold a factual statement on who you are. “I am one of the most committed, skilled musicians there is”.

Step two: Hold the right mindset prior to the event by identifying the main obstacles the performer faces.  By adding “If I do this”, you really give the affirmation impact. “My biggest challenge is harnessing my concentration. If I harness my concentration I really get into the flow of the music”.

Step three: Focus on improving your process and practice. “There will always be bum notes but they can never penetrate my secure performance bubble. There are no limits at the margin of everything I do”.

Be creative with your affirmations and come up with some yourself. Have fun with them but stick to the three steps and don’t cheat yourself – use affirmations that really affirm how you think and feel.

“I accept my power.” – Louise Hay

5. Feeling and accepting what arises

This is to desensitise yourself to the discomfort of pressure. This can be a great technique for helping musicians with stage fright. Many musicians at first struggle with stage fright, but over time they get used to getting up over and over again – it becomes like home.

Their biggest challenge is keeping the consistency when the pressure gauge is turned up. This can also be a really helpful way to manage your emotions. A lot of the time we tend to resist what arises. This is especially true in a high-pressure situation. By simply accepting what arises, you may be surprised to see the emotions shift.

One of the most effective ways to accept an emotion is to consciously ‘be’ the emotion. This may sound paradoxical, but true acceptance comes when you can truly be with what arises.

A level of confidence will naturally grow from this great insight. For example, if anger arises in a situation, it might not be the most helpful emotion. If you catch it as it arises, ‘be’ the anger – remain rooted in it and see what happens. If you resist it, it only gets stronger.

This is the same for anxiety and nerves. Try your best not to resist what arises. This may sound a lot easier than it is, but with time it can really be a powerful technique in both pressured situations and the rest of your life. Take some time to try some of these strategies and step into your greatness today.

Getting into the zone 10 Strategies to help you keep focus, be calm and execute under high pressure

by

The Zone

Setting a strong foundation – Repetition, repetition, repetition

One of the most effective ways to increase your performance in anything is simply by turning up and practicing! This may sound extremely obvious but it can be discounted far too often. Some people want all the glory but are not willing to put in the time to achieve it. So repetition, repetition, repetition cannot be overlooked as its the cornerstone to executing the task in hand.

 

Moving practice to performance

With a strong foundation in practice our next task is to convert that to the match, or the performance. A classic example is in the musician. They practice for many years in their bedroom to then hopefully one day play to hundreds or thousands of people. Their next step is to then move that playing to the stage.

 

The paradox of performance

Lets just quickly address one area that can cause many people to trip over when trying to perform at their best. The constant need to wanting to perform at 100 % perfection can cause problems if its not addressed and managed. We want to create a environment in which we push for our best performances, aim for a high level/standard but we have a heavy level of perspective whilst doing it. So if we have a bad day at work or at the session we can quickly turn ourselves back around and get back to it.

 

Sometimes the need for perfection eventually catches up and with some people, the reality is we are never perfect all the time, so being kind to yourself is key. Therefore we always aim to do our best and focus our attention on the process. This was a game changer for me personally, it’s simply a change of mindset, with dedication held with a equal amount of perspective.

 

Taking off the pressure

Of the most effective ways to take the pressure off yourself is to simmer the amount of focus on yourself. This is a little paradoxical but the best way to do this is to focus on your main mission. Some performers instead of focusing so much on themselves and switch their focus to entertain the crowd, give them a great evening or offer a product or perfromance that can impact their lives. This can be especially helpful for entrepreneurs, when they focus on their overall mission it can help keep them on track when the challenges come. It helps to alleviate the pressure THEY PUT ON THEMSELVES!

 

 

So lets take a look at 10 techniques that you can apply in any pressure situation

 

  • Visulisation – visualization plays a huge part for many athletes and performers. Simply put it’s the ability to visualize the desired outcome you would like by mentally running through your performance visually bit by bit. This is a great technique for many golfers, basketball players, musicians etc they clearly visualize the outcome they would like. A study made by Edmund Jacobson proved how effective visualization truly is with a set of basketball players. Check it out! http://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/244
  • Emotional EQ + Visualization – Another great way to use visualization is by applying some emotional intelligence along with it. Emotional intelligence is exactly what it says on the tin, the ability to manage and express your emotions in a clear concise way without getting wrapped up in them. So if we use a positive emotion such as joy, or confidence with the visualization this greatly improves our ability to access that emotion when we step into the performance. If you know exactly how confidence feels you can clearly express this in your visualization exercise. A great way to do this is to have 2 parts to the visualization. You can use a previous situation where you had confidence and go back to that situation and hold the emotion. Then you can use that emotion with the new scenario you are working on. The idea here is to really feel the emotion and get familiar with it.
  • Movement – Your physical body (The way you position your body) resetting your posture under pressure can massively effect your performance. Take Cristiano Ronaldo’s body positioning when he steps up to take a free kick. With Ronaldo being a J shape kicker (direction of the kick) he access greater power into the ball in the direction of the kick. His upright posture gives him a ‘power’ stance that can also add huge mental benefits. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy has done some phenominal work on body language, how it effects our testortone and cortisol levels in the brain! Fascinating! http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are
  • Meditation – in any pressure situation being able to regulate your thoughts and emotions is huge. Meditation can be a great tool to keep your emotions and impulses at bay in performance. Restful alertness is the key here, with training we become more and more aware of our thoughts and emotions. Therefore we can respond more effectively in high performance.
  • Slow down your response – this can be a fantastic way to not overthink the situation your performing in. Develop times to slow down yourself down, so you can make for better decisions, so you you’re not making decisions impulsively.
  • Language – reframing the situation – a healthy way to increase your performance is the way you shape the situation. Many performers have still feel the nerves before the performance, but its how they manage and use it to their advantage which is the key. Mike Tyson before many of his boxing fights would be extremely nervous, but his coach …. Would say: “The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It’s the same thing, fear, but it’s what you do with it that matters”.
  • Boxing the inner critic – This can be a very helpful technique when any doubt arises before the performance. Our inner critic may point us to what ‘may’ go wrong why you can’t do it. One way around this is to box the inner critic by reinforcing 4 other powerful reinforcements. Powerful words (affirmations), Powerful Physiology (emotional intelligence and power posing), Strong focus (process driven) and Visualization (you have visualized the desired utcome over and over. With these four areas the inner critic simmers and we can perform at our best
  • Being in the now – staying present during your performance can be a extremely helpful way to keep you in the zone. With a strong foundation in mindfulness (the ability to let thoughts come and go without getting lost in them) you can stay in the now and focus on the performance in hand.
  • Be friend the moment – simply changing your relationship to perceived pressure can really impact your performance, To see the performance as a challenge and as fun (enjoyable and exciting) (a game). This can help take the seriousness out of the performance so we don’t choke, many times its not a do or die situation.
  • ‘There are many opportunities’ – when you know there are more opportunities to get it right. Think about how many times you have to get it right. The band Coldplay got turned down by over 20 record companies, they kept going. You will have other opportunities if you put yourself out there and keep on being proactive. The irony is you feel less pressure knowing there will be other opportunities.

 

 

These are 10 of many strategies you can begin to develop in your arena. Start with one and see how it can help with your develpement and training.

 

Step into your greatness today!

Finding True Happiness

by

The same old story

 

Picture this

It’s a hot, sunny day; you’re driving your car into work listening to your favourite album. You pull up to a junction when an oncoming car cuts in front of you, slams his horn, gives you the birdy and drives off… How do you react?

It’s a classic story that we have all experienced, whether as a driver or passenger. We end up angry, frustrated, annoyed, upset and completely baffled as to why a complete stranger would cut you up and give you the birdy, or beep their horn.

Holding onto the situation

What can happen here is we hold onto what just happened and repeat the story for the next few hours, the rest of the day or even longer. The reality is that the situation has happened, but at times our mind may have a completely different agenda and storyline/set of questions to add to it. It’s almost as if we have to create an added story to the situation: we may become defensive, upset and frustrated.

What if there was a way we could be ‘cut off’ from the situation; see the guy give the birdy, simply note how we feel and let it go? How would it feel to simply let it go there and then, and continue your day just as you intended before the incident?

There is a way to be more content, happier and at peace in life, even when the external situation may come with a whole host of challenges. Your freedom lies within awareness.

 

A schoolboy’s dream

A number of years ago I was completely fixated on wanting to be happy, just searching and searching for this happy state of being that would fulfil me forever. Where is it? And how can I attain it?

For as long as I can remember, I fantasised about arriving at the perfect place one day. Once I attained all that I wanted, I would get the ‘happiness civilian’ card and that would be it, like some sort of film. I’d become a professional musician, get a house, a car, have a family and poof, happiness would appear and stay.

As I came to learn, this didn’t turned out to be the case. This is what I call living in ‘tomorrow land’: you’re forever wanting and searching for happiness.

As we all know, life isn’t as black and white as my young schoolboy dreams made out. It’s a ride that features many ups and downs, where emotions, thoughts, feelings and circumstances constantly change. In fact, everything is constantly changing, something we all resist from time to time.

 

Stuck in a loop

So what do you do if you are feeling a little bit lost in all this? Maybe you’re unhappy, depressed, stressed or overworked?

Happiness can seem completely elusive if you’re struggling with any of the above – it’s the last thing on your mind when you feel overwhelmed by negative emotions. In society, most of us are rushing around trying to fill the void, trying to find happiness, but actually find that it vanishes under our feet just when we think we have found it. Many of us want happiness, whether we are aware of it or not. The irony is, it’s the wanting to be happy all the time that can cause unhappiness.

 

The honeymoon period

Everything in life has a honeymoon period. Whether it’s a new car, house, place, relationship, business etc. They all give us that burst of excitement and intensity. It’s beautiful and should be enjoyed.

 

But what happens when that begins to die off? This is when the work begins. At times, we can get sucked into a whole host of honeymoon periods, feeling like more and more things will boost our happiness.

 

This can last for a while, but eventually it catches us all up. It’s a bit like eating too many sweets; your stomach starts to feel off and your teeth begin to fall out. This is also true for success: it lasts for a very short period of time, so it’s very important to celebrate any successful venture. It’s also equally important not too hold onto it too much either.

Success and awareness – bringing it all together

For me, both perspectives have to be brought together. If we can bring awareness into all areas of our life, we can benefit when we are successful, or when we fail and need to learn. Remember, failure is an event, not who you are. If we can learn to love what is, stress begins to fall and we can then take greater action.

How to begin to step out of the loop – mastering the art of awareness and finding true happiness

Now, this doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy external treats and trips. They are all there to be enjoyed. But if we can find the underlying happiness within, we then have a far better foundation to manage negative thoughts and emotions when they arise.

Mastering the art of self-awareness in the following areas is is absolutely key here:

  1. Mental
  2. Physical
  3. Emotional
  4. Spiritual

If we can hold awareness in these four areas, we open the gates to where happiness truly lies.

To start, a meditation practice – slowing down the traffic

Meditation is the cornerstone for developing awareness; the Tibetan definition is to know thy self.

Meditation can help you develop full mental, physical, and emotional awareness. By simply spending time observing your thoughts, you can learn a lot about how your mind is working during your day. You can then begin to observe feelings and sensations in your body, let them rise and pass.

Creating space between it all – stepping into a practice that works for you

Stepping into a meditation practice can be a little bit daunting at first. How do I start? What can I do? How do I even do it? .

How to note – noting with meditation and being mindful

The best way to start is simply noticing what comes in. If you keep your awareness very light, this will also help the process.

Begin to start noticing, ‘Ah, there’s a thought’ or ‘Aha, there’s a feeling’. This is a great way to start as it allows you to note the thinking or feeling without judgement. Just simply note it, see it and let is pass.

The best way to do this is within your meditation practice. As always, your mind may wander off, but you can note the feeling or the thinking as it comes and goes.

The breath and the inner body are two fantastic anchors for the present moment; as the mind begins to wander, you can use these two anchors once you note each sensation.

At first you may be shocked to see how much your mind wanders, but simply note it as a thought then come back to being present. By doing this on a regular basis, you begin to create space between yourself and the thoughts. Once you get the hang of this in your meditation, you can then move it to your day-to-day routine and notice when your mind wanders while you’re driving, washing up, shopping or at work.

 

Five tips to get started

  • Once you are in meditation, begin to note what takes your mind away from the moment. Simply note it as ‘thinking, feeling’ etc but keep it really light, almost as if you are brushing a small feather against a glass
  • Once you get comfortable with that, you can then get more specific about your labelling. ‘Ah, joy,’ ‘sadness’; just simply note it and come back to your breath or inner body
  • If a feeling arises but feels stuck, expand your awareness and fully accept it, by simply stating ‘accept and let go’. Remember, some days you won’t have to move to this step as it will quickly pass – this is only if it feels slightly stuck
  • Have a 15 second rule on the feeling. If you become very aware of the feeling, it will change – it may start as sadness and slowly move to anxiety, or even joy, then to excitement or love. One thing’s for sure, if you pay really close attention, it will change. This is a beautiful insight and can be one of the main windows to internal freedom
  • Keep it light; thinking of it as a game of awareness can really keep the heaviness from the exercise

 

 

Try these first five tips and step into your greatness today!

 

 

 

What is flow? Discovering the secret to high performance and happiness

by

What is flow? Discovering the secret to high performance and happiness

 

“People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It’s like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every moment in the river has its song.”

― Michael Jackson

 

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

Michael Jordan

 

 

Have you ever felt the feeling of being fully present and in the moment, where everything just connected? That moment where the mind subsided and the activity felt pure and simply immense?

 

Flow is simply a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play or work. It’s a state of being in which we become fully present, alert, focused, fully charged and ready to perform; those moments where it all simply comes together; that bit of inspiration where all our worries disappear and we become completely immersed in what we are doing.

 

We have all experienced flow in areas of our life. It can be as simple as playing with your kids, training in a sport, or performing a task at work. It’s an optimal state of consciousness; a peak state where we perform at our highest and feel at our best.

 

We see flow regularly performed by elite athletes. It’s that bit of magic that took your breath away, whether it was a Michael Jordan three pointer, a Tiger Woods hole in one, a Murray backhand, a Conor McGregor knockout or that David Beckham free kick.

 

Flow enhances the energy in the performer; an encompassing energy that can be picked up by the audience, your teammates or your family. It brings connection, not only through skill and performance, but a connection through spirit, dedication and application.

 

Rules and triggers

 

Having a clear framework will really help you build flow into your daily life. If we can begin to create more automation in our life, we can then begin to actively add flow into points in our day. Let’s start with some key factors that help increase flow. Once you nail the basics we can look at adding it to your day-to-day routines.

 

Psychology

  • You have a clear set of goals
  • The challenge needs to be ‘in the gap’ of boredom and anxiety, therefore the task is not so hard that your fear levels go through the roof, but also is not too dull: as attention falls, your engagement deteriorates
  • You are fully focused on what you doing, completely present
  • You can get some direct feedback, whether through a teacher/coach or the environment
  • You enjoy a sense of control
  • You experience deep involvement in what you are doing: the everyday stress of life seems to vanish
  • Your sense of self disappears, but paradoxically your sense of self emerges stronger
  • Your sense of time disappears
  • Time flies – during the activity, time seems to move quickly as you are enjoying the process

 

 

Environmental triggers

  • Engaging environment: an environment that is rich with novelty, complexity and unpredictability can increase flow. You are forced to use your tools and skills in that moment, e.g asking someone on a date, finding the right environment to meet new people etc
  • Relationships: relationships are so important to any successful endeavour so here are a few key points to optimise flow within them
  • You are the average of the five people you associate with the most, so choose your relationships wisely
  • Listening: a huge skill to cultivate in any team. Creating a flowing culture and having top communication can massively impact confidence and decision making. Seek first to understand others, delegate and build a proactive team/culture
  • Familiarity: keeping everyone on the same page once the goals are set and keeping members engaged and fulfilled is the key to success
  • Equal contribution (skill level): when everyone is on the same page and contributing equally, we create a gateway to flow
  • Group flow: there is no group flow without the risk of failure. Simply changing the group’s relation to risk and fear can increase flow. We can always have a contingency plan in place, but by simply addressing the fact that there is no creativity without failure,. Creativity, innovation, failure and risk go hand-in-hand.
  • High risk/consequence: if the environment has high risk consequences, flow can be triggered very quickly, as it’s a do-or-die situation. This is at the extreme end of performance, and includes activities like sky diving, surfing, motocross etc. This type of environment will drive your focus levels through the roof: there is little time to think and you are forced to focus, as diverting your attention away from the activity could end in injury.

 

 

4) Creativity: we are all creative. Simply put, we all have the ability to unleash our creative endeavours. If we combine both pattern recognition (the ability to link and learn new ideas) and our level of risk, we raise our level of flow.

 

Taking action and stepping into flow

 

These rules can be used as a guide to help you get started. Can you apply any of these to a sport you are currently training in, a work role, your workout routine, writing or another daily ritual? Start with one area of your life, then you can begin to add it to other areas.

 

Remember, always start small. Begin by adding one rule/trigger at a time. This could be simply starting something brand new like learning a language, instrument or martial art; something that allows you to use these rules and triggers.

 

You could start with a dream you have, a routine, your diary, anything! Take the first step and always remember, it’s taking actionable steps into it which will propel you forward.

 

4 extra tips to help you get started today

  • Choose one area of your life where you would like more flow, something you really enjoy
  • Set some clear goals within that activity (remember, it needs to be goals that are going to push you just past your limit)
  • Find a environment that will enhance this: a gym, a new class, somewhere that you can begin to develop existing and new relationships
  • Get feedback – whether this is finding a new coach or talking to a member of staff

 

Step into your greatness by find more flow in your life today!

How can we focus through the challenges in our life with less stress and overwhelm? Move into a positive state of being and reach levels of happiness that are incredible?

by

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path”. – The Buddha

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection”. – The Buddha

Lost in traffic

Have you ever felt overwhelmed at times? Constantly on the catch-up with life? Feeling slightly lost? Struggling with anger, anxiety or low self esteem? Left with a mind that doesn’t seem to want to slow down?

If the answer is yes, rest assured that you are not the only one. There are many who feel the same way too. A recent study showed stress costs the UK’s economy 8.6bn a year.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/depression-costs-economy-16386bn-a-year-1706018.html

This was me around 5 years ago, I was working extremely hard as a musician, and I felt like I hit a brick wall, the harder I pushed with gigging, practice and writing the more I felt my creativity take a dip and my overall happiness decline. I remember just feeling exhausted, with life feeling very heavy and serious. I felt burnt out, and the worst part was that the harder I tried, the more disconnected I felt. It was a classic case of burning the candle at both ends.

I was trying to be more creative and found that the opposite was happening.

All these different types of thoughts and feelings would arise and I wouldn’t know what to do with them, one after the other, coming and going.

I was exhausted and I was very critical of myself. I felt frustrated, stressed and at times I felt very low, with fear constantly knocking at the door.

I started to ask questions. ‘Am I the only one feeling this? Why do I feel like this? What is going on?’ I was brought up in a society that said once I achieved what I wanted, I would be eternally happy. Also, I met people who had achieved great wealth and external fortitude and were still hugely stressed and unhappy. How could this be?

In our lowest moment lies the opportunity for personal transformation

I started to see I was constantly blaming the outside world for things not going the way I wanted. So if something didn’t quite go my way I would play the victim. Feeling as though life should make me happy, I should be happy, that music should make me happy. I slowly began to see this was far from the truth. Guided by insight, this was the final push into taking a proactive step away from the victim mentality.

I just one day said ‘Enough! Stop blaming other people or circumstances and take a good long look in the mirror.’ This was extremely hard at first as I could feel a part of me wanting to point the finger, but I knew this wasn’t going to serve or help anyone, least of all me.

I started reading a load of books, taking courses and researching human behaviour; everything from psychology, to self help/development, emotional intelligence, spirituality, biology and more.

So after all this research, I realised that in order for me to be happier, more productive and have a better quality of life, I had to take a step back and realise that been busy isn’t ‘cool’; it’s a lack of priority, that being stressed and feeling sorry for myself wasn’t the right path, that happiness is actually closer than you may think. The journey had begun…

Win – Win – An Inner Win to a greater Outer Win

What I have discovered, and what I would like to share with you, is there is a way out of the rat race; a beautiful discovery that can help millions of people and, in turn, help us surpass negative thoughts, feeling and emotions and deal with all our challenges with a greater understanding and intelligibility. Win Win for me is firstly feeling centred within (our internal thoughts, feelings and emotions) then moving to what your outer purpose is. It is being able to deal with challenges from a centred place.

If the mind and body are working together, we have a much greater chance of knowing what we want and how to face it, rather than constantly trying to fill the void within with external gratification. External gratification is beautiful, but firstly we need a strong foundation, anchoring our drive so that it can serve us and serve the people around us in an authentic way.

Liberation – moving into freedom

You deserve to live an amazing life. You deserve to be inspired. You deserve to be free. You to live a life on your terms. Transformation starts with yourself, so in order for us to move into a happier state of being we firstly need to be kind to ourselves, have a little bit of discipline, a shift in psychology and the willingness to awaken your great self. You are great, you just need to see it.

SOLUTION 1 – Creating some well-deserved headspace

Chaos at the show – a metaphor for the mind

Picture this…

Imagine you’re watching your favourite West End show. During the play a whole load of different scenes occur; there is a love scene, anger, tragedy, betrayal and a whole load of excitement. There are different characters, and there is a constant storyline running throughout.

Now imagine that during the play, you ran onto the stage and caused a load of confrontation because you didn’t like one of the scenes and wanted to stop it? Once you jumped on the stage you would probably feel a little foolish, and might leave with your tail between your legs, feeling baffled and confused once you turned and saw an angry audience now wanting their money back.

Well, what if you viewed the mind in the same way? Let’s say you’re sat at home, minding your own business, when an angry thought all of a sudden arises. It may have a character and there may be a story line within it. What do you do? A lot of the time, many of us get sucked into our thoughts and we are left in a downward spiral of thinking negative, angry thoughts. We are then left feeling worse than we originally felt.

We have metaphorically run onto the stage in our minds and the angry audience is usually our close family or friends. Sound familiar? Now what if I told you that you don’t even have to go into the angry thought? You can simply watch it and let it play, like you would at the cinema or the West End show. You simply see it, with little judgement, and let it pass. The seeing of the thought is the beginning of liberation.

This is one of the first major steps towards a healthier, happier mind. By simply seeing the thought, we begin to disassociate with it, leaving the space for it to pass whilst we continue with our day.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness is the day-to-day seeing of the mind, called ‘awareness’ in many circles. If we are mindful, we simply see our thoughts and let them come and go like the cars on the road or scenes in the show. By simply seeing the thought we are then left with a choice; to let it go or hold onto it? Do I want to react angrily, or do I want to let it go and deal with the situation constructively? We can view this as the ‘match’, the major event.

Meditation is the training for the match. The preparation beforehand. This can simply be a 10 minute space in your day where you may sit, or a part of the day where your attention is focused entirely on the exercise you are doing. You may have already had moments like this when you exercise, or when you are in a high intense state of creativity, or you’re entranced by a beautiful sunset. You are focused, present and not distracted. If we can develop this in our practice, when it comes to the main event we are better prepared and ready for the challenge.

Removing the stereotype

Meditation can be seen as a little ‘woo woo’. The thought of a bunch of monks in robes come to mind, or maybe lit candles, bells, gongs and floating off to some eternal bliss. Meditation is simply how you define it. The classic stereotypes are old hat and we now need to let go of the clichés to realise how much benefit it really has. The value it can add to your life is immense.

So I now want to give you the first of two very simple and effective techniques to get you started. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but once you take the first step, the results can be amazing.

WHO IS USING IT AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MINFULNESS/MEDITATION

Mindfulness and meditation have really taking off in the west, with major businesses, military centres, schools and celebrities all getting involved. The big question is ‘why’? Why does a major company like Google have its own meditation rooms and courses? Just take a look at some of the biggest companies in the world investing in it: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-big-companies-that-promote-employee-meditation/

Also check out this list of athletes and celebrities who have now started to use it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK6uh-lgu0w

http://tmhome.com/experiences/famous-people-who-meditate/

Let’s dig a little deeper into the health benefits so you can see the potential of just taking 10 minutes out of your day for your great self.

THE BENEFITS – 10 fantastic benefits

10 great benefits it has to offer in your day-to-day life, work life and relationships

  • Meditation helps you with your stress levels and improves your focus and attention
  • Meditation can lessen worry, anxiety and impulsivity, lessening fear and loneliness
  • Meditation improves empathy and positive relationships. It also helps reduce social isolation
  • Greater information processing and decision making
  • Increases positive emotion – http://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Abstract/2003/07000/Alterations_in_Brain_and_Immune_Function_Produced.14.aspx
  • Improves your memory
  • Enhances awareness and your ability to set aside mental chatter
  • Decreases feelings of loneliness
  • Increases feelings of compassion
  • Increases grey matter in keys areas of the brain associated with compassion and awareness

GETTING STARTED

What do I do? Where do I start? What type of meditation do I do?

I asked all these questions when I sat down to do my first mediation. For now I want to take all that worry away for you. There’s so much information out there and it can be overwhelming at times, so here we want to keep it very simple and actionable.

Simplicity is the key

Here are 3 very helpful tips to get you started and feeling comfortable

  • Find a comfortable place to sit; it can be a chair or the end of your bed
  • If you can find somewhere that has few distractions that will be helpful. This is not a priority but it will help in the early stages
  • Put it in your diary or couple it with something (i.e brushing your teeth, before/after a shower. This works really well.)

3 extra tips once you are into the exercise

  • Expectation – Expecting the mind to stop – the idea of mediation is not to stop the mind; instead the aim is to clearly see the mind with clarity and non judgement. Think of passing cars on the road or clouds in the sky. Remember it’s a skill, so at first you may be a little shocked by how many thoughts there are, but do not worry – this is perfectly normal. The mind will, with time, begin to free up a little and the thoughts will lessen. Ahh, peace!
  • Effort – Finding the balance

We can’t force a quiet mind. A great example of this is when you can’t sleep, so you say to yourself, ‘I can’t sleep’, and you start to try harder, but what happens? Ironically, we struggle to sleep. So the idea is to have a nice amount of attention and focus but a equal balance of relaxation and rest.

  •  Unveiling happiness in the now – once we have a healthy balance of expectation and effort we can then move to the realisation of stillness. This is the realisation that happiness is already here, in this moment now. This will become more clear once you are into regular exercises. Rather than trying to create peace within, we simply realise it’s already here. This is one of the most exciting realisations and is a beautiful discovery. To realise it’s already here is one of the first steps towards internal mastery.

WHEN SHOULD I DO IT?

We normally recommend you do it first thing in the morning, but that’s only if that works for you. Everyone has different schedules so choose a spot when you know you have 10 minutes free.

COMMON ROAD BLOCKS

Watch out for the classic impulsive excuses… ‘I don’t have time to do it’ is a classic. Yes you do! As Tony Robbins once famously said, “If you don’t have 10 minutes you don’t have a life”. If you want to awaken your great self, give yourself that well-deserved mini break, so when you come back to your routine you’re rejuvenated and ready for the rest of the day.

‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ is another classic that never happens. There is no time like the present so just do it! This is why we have developed the feedback sheet for you to keep you on track. Once you do it, mark it off and you’re all done, and you have just taken a step forward to a happier, more focused mind. All you have to do is sit comfortably, click play and follow it along.

And finally, ‘This all sounds to be good to be true; this will never work for me’. The ultimate excuse! We now have so many scientific studies to back up the benefits, so give it a go, follow it along and enjoy the benefits. And remember, it’s how you define it. You may want to be more focused at work, find something to help quit smoking, eat healthier and so on.

FINALLY I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THE MEMORY OF MY FIRST EXPERIENCE

Looking back, my first meditation was quite hilarious. To put your mind at rest, I thought all the usual impulsive clichés and was very self-conscious while I was doing it. I can’t count the amount of times a thought would come before I started, saying ‘You haven’t got time, look at all the work you have to do. This is weird. You need to empty the dishwasher. Did you call back Steve? I’ve got bills to pay. I have no free time’.

Whatever the excuse may be, I promise you the benefit of just slowing yourself down for 10 minutes can begin to change your whole world dramatically. Take that step today and get back in touch with your greatness. Remember, you are great. You just need to see it. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like a bit more peace, focus and clarity in their life, and it’s all here for us, right here, right now.

84337-alan-cohen-quote-if-you-want-to-find-god-hang-out-in-the-space