Hello all!
How are you? I hope you enjoy these blogs, I am enjoying writing them.
Today I would like to talk about awareness and the role it plays in our well-being.
Let’s start by talking about wellness. What is well-being? and more specifically what does that mean for you?
Why do I ask? Because the purpose of coaching is not transmitting knowledge. It’s not about me telling you what well-being is, it’s about you being self-aware and respecting of your own boundaries and priorities.
Well-being for you can be going for a walk, meditating, eating healthy, exercising, sleeping well, being calm … And all the answers are “correct”. Which one is yours?
Be careful not to define one thing by quoting the absence of another. An example of this would be to define well-being as “movement without physical pain” or “the absence of stress”.
There are two problems with this answer, the first is that you say what you don’t want, not what you want (alert!). The second is that the answer does not recognise that stress has a function and that it should not be completely eliminated. Instead, it should be managed.
When we feel threatened, the brain sends messages to our body and affects our breathing, temperature, sweating and so on. It also deactivates the neocortex (the rational part of the brain), so that only the limbic system remains (which is called the emotional part of the brain). This part gives pre-conditioned answers: for example, the infamous “fight, flight or freeze” response.
When people talk about stress, it usually means that there is too much stress.
I just want you to remember that a little is good, and it actually helps us get into a state of flux
In terms of well-being, I would like you to consider the concept of resistance to adverse situations. A core buzz-word in today’s corporate environments will talk about “resilience”, which according to the American Psychological Association is ‘the process of adapting well to situations of aversion, trauma, tragedy, threat of large doses of stress’ . When you look at this word in languages other than English, you’ll find this word translates as elasticity or resistance in other languages.
Source https://uncw.edu/studentaffairs/committees/pdc/documents/the%20road%20to%20resilience.pdf
The concept of an idea having elasticity, stretch and/or resistance, I think is a good translation because it highlights our ability to grow, develop and “bounce back” from adverse situations.
Within the English language there are many words to speak of consciousness, which includes the notion of but is not exclusive to awareness and mindfulness.
Yet each of these ideals and concepts are are slightly different. Mindfulness is understood more as “observation without criticism, a compassionate state with yourself.” Mark Williams and Danny Penman claim that the state of mindfulness allows you to realise when you enter cycles of negative thoughts before “falling into the pit”, thus keeping you in control of your life. It is the notion and concept of being present in the here and now. There is a sense of serenity and tranquillity, that comes with the true mindfulness.
The word awareness is used more when you realize the presence or existence of something. This perception is very often heightened when in a state of mindfulness. Try the Great Raisin Experiment, to help disseminate and note the differences.
Why am I introducing all of these concepts at once? You might think, this is confusing!
I’m doing it because improving our awareness allows us to be more resilient and resistant to adversity and thus take care of our long-term physical and Mental health.
So how can we be more elastic?
- Being more aware of our response to change, of how we behave
- Being predisposed to develop and learn
- Taking risks with a sense of confidence in our ability to manage the consequences of those risks
- Seeing change as a challenge to overcome (not as a source of fear)
- Focusing our thoughts, feelings and behaviour towards overcoming these challenges
- Maintaining a positive image of the future (our goal / destination) and acting to make it a reality
What do you pay attention to? What habits do you have? What do you prioritise? What are your goals?
Take care and write to you soon 🙂
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