Mind maximisation

Sustenance For Lifel

Mind Maximisation

Webinar, December 2012 – Presented by Andrew Stead

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“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Aristotle

Outcomes •  Highlight the brains flaws and the impact on our

Happiness •  Examine how neuroscience can help increase our

Well-being and Resilience •  Adopt techniques designed to help you lead a

happier life Contents •  The Operations of the Brain •  What Can Be Done? •  Positive Psychology •  Putting it into Practice

Outcomes and Content

Introductions

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Resilience, Happiness & Well-being

Flourishing: “enthusiasm for life.... actively and productively engaged with others and social institutions”

Schematic Mental Health spectrum based on global results - Huppert et al, 2005

Languishing: “a life of quiet despair” l

Sustenance for Life

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What Your Daily Bread is not – ‘The 5 Pauls’

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a.  How did your body feel at the end of the relaxation exercise before the disturbance?

b.  What was the object that disrupted that feeling?

c.  Which sense organ detected the object?

d.  How did your brain perceive the object?

e.  How did your body react to this perception?

f.  How did your brain reinterpret the information and how did your body react again?

Question 1

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Object  

Sense  Door  

Awareness  

Percep3on  

Physical  Sensa3on  

Reac3on  

Explosive Sound

Aural Sense

Conscious Awareness

Interprets past sound data: Good/Bad?

“Bad” Sound Ø  Body Tenses Ø  ALERT

Fear Signals Ø  AVOID

The Operations of the Mind

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a  

Question 5: Perception Bias c  

db

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Parasympathetic (PNS) Sympathetic (SNS)

“Fight or Flight”

Hormone - Adrenaline

Stress/ Anxiety

AVOID

Neuro-transmitters: Serotonin; Norepinephrine

“Rest & Digest”

Feeling Good

REWARD

The Autonomic Nervous System

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•  Inappropriate Threat Response

•  Response Automation and Reinforcement

•  Physically Addictive

•  Double Trouble: Present AND Historic Memory

Reaction Bias

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1.  Analyse the situation honestly and ask “what is the worse thing that can happen?”

2.  Accept this worse case scenario

3.  Devote time and energy to improving on the worse case scenario

“Be willing to have it so”

Technique 2: What’s the Worst Thing That Could Happen?

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“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by

doing, and by falling over”

Richard Branson

Putting it into Practice

4 PROBLEMS

1.  Competing Methods

2.  Information Overload

3.  Practical Application

4.  Personal Motivation

Putting it into Practice – ‘The 4Ss’

Structure

Science

Skills Support

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Structure The OAR Model

•  Diagnostic Tools

•  Proprietary Change Management System

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Science

•  Meditation

•  What’s the worst thing that could happen?

•  Count your blessings

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Skills ü  Tools & Techniques

ü  Evidence Based

ü  Measurable Outcomes

ü  Proven Results

•  Choose a negative event that happened in the past

•  How could it have been worse?

•  How did you deal with it?

•  What was the outcome?

•  Was there a silver lining?

Ø Do you have a history of successfully working through tough events?

Technique 3: Count Your Blessings

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Support

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Transformational Reality ..........from   ...........to  

L information overload, lack of knowledge and suffocation by choice  

ü to clarity, vision, focus and prioritisation  

L lacking structure, support and a suitable guide  

ü to being effective, efficient empowered and enthused  

L feeling tired, low-energy, anxious, worn-out or stressed out  

ü to being energetic and purposeful with a zest for life  

L too much volatility, instability and not enough tranquillity  

ü to calmness, discernment and greater resilience  

L discord, dis-ease and dislocation from self  

ü to a congruent, re-connected and coherent you  

L too little community, connectedness and average relationships  

ü to positive and productive engagement with all those around you  

L feeling frustrated, imbalanced, or burned out at work  

ü to redefining and redesigning a fruitful professional life  

L losing touch with leisure and recreation  

ü to being creative, open-minded and developing a sense of play  

L an average existence of quiet despair  ü to a maximised existence full of meaning and purpose  

Any Questions?

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“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions”

Dalai Lama

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Discovery Session

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“The knowledge, application and

changes you make will be with you

forever”

Programme Participant

Sustenance for Life

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Next Month

Sustenance For Life

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+44 (0)207 828 2955 [email protected] yourdailybread1 @yourdailybread1

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