All posts tagged: motivation

Be happy. Be productive. Build PERMA.

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We all want to be happy. When we’re happy we look on the bright side of life, take ourselves less seriously, become more motivated, loving, and are generally better people. Scientist know our genes and upbringing influence around 50% of the variation in our personal levels of happiness.  Our circumstances 10%, e.g our income and external environment. Which leaves as much as 40% accounted for by our daily activities – the relationships we keep, the work we do and the choices we make. Our actions strongly impact our happiness levels, which is great news because it means we have great control over them and can therefore almost instantly, boost our happiness. Respected positive psychologist Professor Martin Seligman developed a well-being theory called the PERMA Model. It combines the five building blocks required for a happy and flourishing life. These five blocks are – POSITIVE EMOTION (P) Experiencing feelings of joy, hope, love, inspiration, satisfaction, gratitude or any positive emotion allows us to experience wellbeing. ENGAGEMENT (E) When we’re fully engaged in a challenging task and time seems to stand still, we experience a state of flow (see blog post ‘How do you …

Words of Wisdom

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No matter what is going on Never give up Develop the heart Too much energy in your country Is spent developing the mind Instead of the heart Be compassionate Not just to your friends But to everyone Be compassionate Work for peace In your heart and in the world Work for peace And I say again Never give up No matter what is going on around you Never give up Never Give Up, Dalai Lama XIV

The Rise of Spirituality

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People often confuse Spirituality with Religious belief or worse, ‘that wishy washy hippy stuff‘. But in truth, anyone who wants to be the best version of themselves, or strives to live a life with meaning and purpose, is Spiritual. Or for that matter, anyone who has a connection to a higher sense of self –  and believes there is more to living, than just our own subjective existence. Spirituality relates to the soul and is not a tangible or measurable physical matter. It is the connection of the mind and emotions to the spirit and something greater than ourselves. Through reflection and realignment, to be spiritual is to refine who you are. To understand your personal values – what you find most important in life and what motivates you – and to live the most meaningful life, in line with those values. As more and more of us find our social conscience and strive to look for meaning and purpose, in the vast options available to us, we’re turning to our Spiritual selves to find the answers. What are your …

Forge meaning, build identity

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If you can spare 20 minutes this afternoon, use it wisely and watch this inspiring TED Talk by Andrew Solomon – ‘how the worst moments in our lives make us who we are’. He explains how experiences form the foundations of our identities, and how we can build a better self and more colourful identity in the face of adversity. Reminding us we can learn to endure pain if we’re mindful it can forge greater meaning in our lives. Tissues at the ready for the final few minutes! Enjoy.

How do you find your flow?

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A moment in your life when time stands still, oblivious to the world around you, so fully focused on what you’re doing, concentrating so hard, time disappears completely. Psychologists call these fully absorbent times, flow states or a ‘heightened state of consciousness’. Perhaps you find flow doing a crossword, playing a competitive sport or writing and giving a powerful speech (like the legendary Martin Luther King, Jr – featured above). There are many activities in which flow can be found, but it can only happen under very strict conditions – at times when our skills are tested, but our ability is just about sufficient to meet the challenge. Stretching us to our maximum limit. If the challenge is too easy, we become bored and lose interest, too hard and we become anxious and want to give up. So flow cannot be achieved. Achieving flow is incredibly important to achieving inner happiness, it leaves us feeling worthy, satisfied and encourages personal growth. Testing our limits and fulfilling our  potential. Unfortunately, the amount of time we spend surfing the internet, checking social media sites and watching catch-up TV …

Talking to your Future Self

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MindBodyGreen.com is an interesting website founded by Jason Wachob, Carver Anderson and Tim Glenister. Their mission is to “Revitalise the way people eat, move and live” – providing an ongoing conversation about health, with useful tools and information to help you achieve the life you want. I discovered a great list on their site recently, a list of things my future self would want me to know. The exercise encourages a more balanced life by taking a mindful approach to how we spend our time now and what impact that will have on our future. Take a look for yourself and think about what your future self might want you to know – http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15318/50-things-my-future-self-wants-me-to-know.html 

The Great Outdoors

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There’s nothing like running through a park on a crisp and sunny autumnal day. Pacing over crunchy fallen leaves, in every shade of orange imaginable. A time to reconnect with mother earth, away from the drain and noise of our digital age. I urge everyone of you to take the time this month to run in your local park one morning. Leave your iPods and iPhones behind and just carry your own thoughts from tree to tree. Notice the difference in the air and the clarity in your attentions.

Go on I Dare You!

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Welcome to Technotox. A revolution to reconnect with our inner selves, to fight the digital age of smartphones, iPads, Sky TV and social media and rediscover our spirituality. By switching off to the distractions and drains of modern technology and learning to look within ourselves, we can begin to explore our inner sanctum, rediscover our intuition and nuture our own wellbeing. This makes us happier, more spiritual and satisfied individuals, better able to love and succeed in a world full of distractions. For regular ideas and inspiration, please sign up to our newsletter back on the homepage.