Wellbeing in the Workplace
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Mind Your Wellbeing
Wellbeing isn't something you have, but rather something you do. What we are thinking, feeling and doing in any moment is the sum total of our wellbeing. So what makes the difference? Our mind. And you don't mind, I mean, that you can be in charge of your wellbeing, right? Here are some strategies for getting your brain in the right gear for being well.
Increase your self awareness
Challenging times call for vigilance around our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Only when we are aware of what we are doing, thinking and feeling can we then change it if it isn't helping us. With anything we want to change in our life, it begins with awareness of the problem. When we're at a party, until someone points out to us that we have food on our face, we don't know it's time to get out a napkin!
When an extreme athlete comes under pressure because of the conditions or his opponents, his awareness of his mental state is pivotal to his success. A winning athlete will be the one who constantly monitors what he's focussing on, how he's talking to himself and what he feels in his body. And if it's not working for him, he'll quickly change it.
Choose carefully what you focus on
When we are worrying about deadlines, potential issues or what we can and can't do in a particular situation, we are usually creating anxiety in our body and failing to focus on what we actually want. The thing is, the brain is paying attention. Where attention goes, energy flows. That means that when we are worrying about something that might happen or may go wrong, our body responds as if it's true, as if it's happening right now. This is the structure of anxiety. Focusing on a positive scenario may seem like Pollyanna thinking, but it's useful in more ways than one.
Coming back to the athlete analogy, we know that things can go wrong in a race. Preparation allows an athlete to be ready for contingencies, and after that possible problems are forgotten as the focus moves to the result wanted. He is choosing to not feel fear about losing or focus on how much faster or better his competitors might be, or on what could go wrong. If he finds himself doing any of these things, he will bring himself back to more useful thoughts as quickly as possible. Top athletes focus on what they want (to win), and the immediate step in front of them. That way the brain is receiving constant instructions towards the result wanted, and the body's chemistry is in what we could call a positive state (excited and energised rather than anxious).
When your attention is going in a less than helpful direction, change it. Bring yourself back to what you want to have happen, and consider what the first (probably) small step is that will get you started. If we want to have more time during the week for certain tasks, what is one small thing that could be changed today in order to begin making this happen? When we ask ourselves questions like this we are inviting our brain to find new and creative solutions. Instead of going round and round in circles, we are literally accessing new neural pathways to find the answers.
Be in charge of your internal dialogue
Most of us know that it's perfectly normal to talk to oneself. Internal dialogue, or self talk, is part of our human experience and can be extremely useful. For example, when we are hearing a message on the TV or radio that we don't agree with, it's often through our internal dialogue that we choose what to take in and what to ignore. While there are wonderful uses for this 'voice', it can also prove to be just as unhelpful if we are not using it with care. Tony Robbins sums it up when he says that the quality of your communication with yourself (and others) is the quality of your life.
For instance, the self-critic is rampant in western society; we think it makes us better, faster, more clever. Critical thinking has its place when carrying out tasks such as auditing a set of accounts, checking a system, analysing data, and so on. It doesn't have a place in learning, having fun or building relationships. If you do it in any of these situations, stop it.
Develop an internal coach instead. How do you do that? Firstly, with lots of practice. Secondly, ask yourself, 'If I was paying a coach $500 per hour to make me feel motivated, enthusiastic and positive about my progress, what would I want to hear?" This is your guide!
Have you noticed how you talk to yourself day to day? If you forget to return a phone call or pick up dry cleaning how do you talk to yourself about it? With compassion and encouragement, or with impatience and reproach? Do you sound like your very own task master with a whip in hand, or an encouraging friend or coach?
You might be thinking, yes I know, it's running all the time. But are you running it, or is it running you? Get in charge of that voice!
How are you thinking about the state of the world right now? Of the state of your world? How do you talk to yourself about your choices, what you can and can't do right now? Is it helping you, or making things worse?
It's simple: our inner voice can create happiness and unhappiness. We must, therefore, choose our words carefully.
