Are you listening?

First published 8th June, 2021

SERIOUSLY … are you listening?!?!

How many times have you heard this “are you listening?” Potentially more so when you were younger maybe/ What does it mean to actually listen… ?  To listen with your whole body and mind?

Like you have also heard in the past, we have two eyes and two ears to gather information. Not to simply gather and ignore BUT also to process such stimulus.

That’s precisely where our brain steps in to process the incoming stimulus accompanied with that which comes in from other sensory systems, eg. touch, smell, etc.

Sensory input paired with past stored knowledge and experiences. There is certainly a lot going on in our busy brains at ever moment of the day!

In terms of listening, what your hearing, are you hearing correctly, have you missed anything? How would you know that you understood correctly?

Maybe some curious questions are in store…

Flourishing

First published 17th October, 2021

F L O U R I S H I N G | What does it mean?

I remember clearly my first lesson of teaching Health Education back in 1996 in Maffra, I am fairly certain it was a Year 8 class.

The topic of 'self-identity' was written neatly in my best hand writing, in chalk of course, on the well used black board. AND I remember clearly the room smelt weird, maybe the old carpet, or stale air from being locked up over summer.

This old portable classroom sat high on the hill near the gymnasium, so open windows were a good option due to the absence of air conditioning.

The standard self-identify lesson was for students to draw a coat of arms featuring hand-drawn images that represented them. While a great way to get to know your students, contrasting likes and dislikes. BUT in reality, it barely scratched the surface…

So to answer the question and cut a long story short.... We certainly have come along way from those late 90's Health Education lessons BUT I still don't believe we are dealing with self-identify all that well on a large scale, on numerous fronts.

There is still work to be done!

Back to the question ..."what does it mean to be flourishing?" The question is not all that straight forward. So over the next few weeks I am going to share some insight into what it means to flourish. The need for foundational skills of self awareness and more. Remembering that not all environments allow individuals to flourish...which makes the the whole mental wellness concept quite complex. 

 What might you        discover?

First published 26th June, 2020

The best way to move forward is to have some sort of plan, so whatever the direction you have chosen (for now), you can always change your mind. AND to move forward you must DO SOMETHING!

If your plan does not work out the way you intended it is really important to take note of your learnings along the way. Look for the 'silver lining', capitalise on the experience as a learning opportunity!

If your path has a forced change or you actioned the change by choice, remember it is how you manage the change that displays character and resilience.

The sunrise mindset is one of the best ways to frame change. Just like COVID-19, the perfect opportunity to reframe your personal (and family) values, transform your business or rethink your professional growth.

A sunrise mindset is one of discovery.
What could change?
What requires a change (large or small)?
What do I need to learn?
What questions do I have?
What do I wonder, ponder, dream of....?

  The Brain

First published 13 August, 2018

Loads of benefits for the learner knowing more about metacognition. AND after some great Sunday conversations it reinforces how training, practice, strategies, experience, etc helps us keep the upstairs brain engaged.

There are some excellent explanations about how our brain works, our favorite is Dr Andrew Wake’s “The Good Enough Parent” - how to provide for your child’s social and emotional development. AND our preferred method for developing the upstairs brain is using Professor Reuven Feuerstein’s method for improved cognition.

Here’s a sketch of a brain to help demonstrate the role of each in terms of function, up upstairs brain, mid-brain and the base of our brain.

Let’s check them out...

REPTILIAN BRAIN - this is known for keeping us alive; initiates the ‘fight or flight’ response; no language or communication present when we are using the ‘downstairs’ part of our brain.

MAMMAL BRAIN-  this is the part of the brain responsible for emotion; we respond with emotion to situations when the mid-brain is dominant, sometimes our actions may be undesirable, ie. too confident; care and empathy sit here, but when sadness dominates then we can’t engage our upstairs brain effectively.

HUMAN BRAIN - otherwise known as our ‘upstairs brain’; responsible for cognition; critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, etc; development is rapid from birth; the frontal lobe (another name for it) develops all the way through to the mid 20’s. *Which is quite challenging when lots of life-time decisions are made before this developmental milestone.

We have particular interest in developing the upstairs brain and if you check out our rotating coin image from one of last year’s post ... you can read more about how emotion and cognition are related

Another perspective is vital

First published 18th February, 2021

Who is your greatest sounding board or plays the role of ‘devils advocate’ ... when you are developing or sharing your ideas, plans or decisions?

These honest individuals give you the opportunity to float your proposed idea or decision before you action it for real! The chance to adjust your plans and possible outcomes just by engaging another individual’s input.

The simplest of strategies that often gets overlooked, we action the idea or decision with a need to think a little deeper, but may proceed in haste...

Who is your sounding board?

Who gives you honest feedback, even when they know you may not like what they have to say?

Age certainly brings with it perspective, wisdom, when it comes to making decisions. We may be automated in some of our decision making but the same thinking will let us down at some point.

We certainly can not ensure the same result with the same type of thinking for a new situation. Or maybe we can... Worth getting a second opinion or simply sharing the idea or possible decision with the view of getting some feedback or insight.

Two lane bridge

First published February, 2020

IMAGINE IF WE ALL TRIED TO CROSS AT ONCE ...

We are going to use this bridge to help you understand our patterns of thinking under pressure.

Imagine this two-lane (no shoulder bridge) was the only path between two thriving cities. Lack of investment in infrastructure you might suggest but clearly traffic congestion would be a major issue for the cities. Unless of course there was alternative public transport such as an underground tunnel.

Liken the bridge to the demands on the everyday challenges you may be bombarded with, so many demands and thoughts running through your mind and not to ignore a bit of multi-tasking here and there. Not very efficient thinking is it!!!

The bridge is narrow and only allows one lane of traffic passing in opposing directions. No room for pedestrians or wide vehicles and imagine the havoc of a pushbike or two crossing the bridge and slowing down the traffic. Let alone a vehicle breaking down on the bridge, potentially bringing the cities traffic to a grinding halt.

Our thought patterns and thinking can be very similar, so much to do but at times with no strategy to manage it all. Hence inefficient use of our time due to the dedicated time we need to process all the information. Traffic congestion across the bridge could be likened to a roadblock in your thinking, (vehicle breakdown) inaction paralysed by all the pressure or you simply forget to do something or do it poorly due to the lack of dedicated attention required to do it well.

What does your bridge look like, what are your strategies to overcome the congestion of thinking and thoughts you experience in your daily grind.

Your influencers

First published 29th January, 2020

Who are they?

Over your lifetime you will cross paths with individuals that have a lasting positive impact. In this instance the image is one of Dee’s past colleagues. It may be a brief encounter or may evolve into long term friendships. Quite often it may only be on reflection that you realise the power of those interactions.

Dee caught up last month with this legend, a past colleague, also accompanied by his gorgeous wife, enjoying great conversation over coffee. It was the first time in over 8 years that they would NOT begin the year working alongside one another. Both now navigating slightly different paths in 2020.

We encounter people throughout our lives that help shape our thought patterns. It may be a result of the way they support you in the workplace, the sporting field, socially or just due to value they bring to your friendship or relationship.

Dee places a high value on collegial relationships, owing to the shared experience of working together and navigating those everyday workplace challenges. Most people tend to spend significant time with their colleagues so if you enjoy their company then that is a real bonus. If you can love what you do and can do it alongside great people, it is absolutely a winning formula.

She recalls summer fruit picking jobs and the comeradery amongst the group, all tertiary students working and saving to finance their way through University. Experiencing together those long hot days when the fruit had to get into the storage bins otherwise, it would be spoiled. It was well and truly over 100 degrees in the shade, during summer, moral support was critical. There was also the long term causal job in a family-owned pharmacy that maintained Dee's cash flow while she studied, from the age 15 to almost 22 she worked every Saturday morning. Dee describes the family business treating their staff as if they were an actual member of their family, a nurturing work culture.

While we have shared workplace examples of positive influence, you have your own experiences... Who are your people of influence and what was it that they provided you? Was it their energy, leadership, compassion or undeniable support that helped you unravel your wings?

Wellness

First published 13th June, 2019

The first time we had heard of this particular measure of wellness (*RMIT University) was when Dr Arne Rubinstein presented in Wodogna last year. Singapore also have their ‘Futures...’ report that reveals the link between Year 12 results, success and wellness. Also worth a read!

Not at all surprising ... but to see the information visually represented like this...

The graph alone ignites a need to stand up and demand WHY? & WHAT are we doing to stop this decline?

AND yet we continue to pour the majority of our resources into supporting the severe to critical cases. Of course it is essential to support these people BUT often the result of inaction and lack of understanding much earlier in the young persons life. We are often extremely reactive and our actions can sometimes sadly be too late.

In this day and age we talk about mitigating risk and look at prevention measures in our business and organisations. We talk wellbeing and push the issue around the board room table, discuss it during our lunch breaks and alert our communities about programs we have decided to implement.

For what effect does our small collection of actions result in our community as a whole. Was it a need, a desire, ‘lip service’ or the ‘scatter-gun approach’?

Dr Arne Rubinstein is definitely on the the right path and his programs are evidence of the powerful change that can result. The Rites of Passage Institute is a program that addresses youth in the early decline stage (*see graph). A great strategy to foster relationships and strengthen communities to guide our youth. If you missed hearing him speak last year or last night, getting your hands on his book is highly recommended.

Dr Arne also alluded to the work needed in the preteens stage. Much of this relies on parenting, healthy relationships and a supportive home environment to nurture our young people so they can thrive as teenagers.

The period of adolescence characterised by rapid growth and significant changes in understanding of self. Why wouldn’t we want our preteens to have sound foundations to thrive as teenagers and become happy healthy adults.

What’s your school, organisation, sporting club or yourself doing to make a difference for the youth in our community?