10th July 2024 Mindset

Dear Readers:

I hope you enjoyed last months’ edition on Men’s Health. There were a few teething problems which means that some of you may not have received the email, or it may have gone to your spam folder. Sorry about that! If you didn’t receive the email you can find the web version here.

This month, we have some great guests who will be sharing some helpful ideas and skills around mindset.

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Katherine

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Mindset

The Ultradian Rhythm - how to purposefully avoid burnout by understanding when you need to take a break.

Peak Performance: Mastering the Mindset for Success - a highly successful business adviser and athletics coach shares some invaluable techniques with us.

Take the Energy Audit - see how your daily habits contribute (positively or negatively) to your lifestyle, wellbeing and personal energy.

Think Like a Monk - train your mind for peace and purpose every day.

The Ultradian Rhythm

Have you heard of the Ultradian Rhythm before? Not many have, but understanding and working to it will help you focus your energy more efficiently and effectively. As humans we aren’t meant to focus for long periods of time. Optimal performance requires regular rest breaks of anywhere between 5-20 minutes every 90-minutes.

Here’s Jon Watkins, CEO of Resilience Development Co, to explain more:

Jon Watkins

Jon is the CEO of Resilience Development Co and former Special Forces Team Leader. Jon’s expertise lies in helping organisations cultivate strong leadership skills, enhance team resilience, and foster a positive organisational culture that yields exceptional outcomes.

At Resilience Training Co, they believe that “People are amazing & can achieve anything with the right tools”

What we find appealing about the approach of Resilience Training Co is that they realised that they could make the biggest difference if they reached people where they spend most of their time - at work - so they can thrive in those conditions and can pass the immediately transferable skills onto their loved ones. There are actionable steps and skills to be learned throughout their training, and throughout their teachings, including in the newsletter (details below).

Find Jon Watkins on LinkedIn, or at Resilience Training Co. Sign up to the Newsletter., and the latest programme Seven Days of Resilience.

Peak Performance: Mastering the Mindset for Success

Paul describes his take on the performance mindset as being the cornerstone of both athletics and business success.

In this video, Paul talks us through how to develop a performance mindset of our own. He gives us the tools and practical approaches to help us thrive, whether that be on track or in the boardroom. He covers:

• Smart goals

• Growth mindset

• Mental resilience

• Feedback

• Celebrating small wins

Paul Forrest

Paul is a high performer himself. Amongst his many achievements, Paul has advised many businesses and helped them to achieve success and incredible growth; some of which are the most recognised brands in the world. He teaches Entrepreneurial Finance at the LSE, and mentors and trains young athletes in their quest for international success at the athletics club he established, which is one of the fastest growing athletics clubs in Europe.

Paul’s TedX talk on ‘Mad Mavericks & the Art of Working with the “Unconventionals”’ is a must-see talk on the discovery of unconventional people in your life or workplace and why it is worth pursuing working with them.

Paul has been recognised for his work as both a producer and cinematographer on award winning feature films and has won awards for his contributions to the business world and in sport.

Connect with Paul Forrest on LinkedIn or via his website, Ecaveo. 

Take the Energy Audit

Let’s talk about energy!

We all know some habits contribute to feeling our best, but making changes can be tough. However, when we are able to identify which areas of our life could be improved we are better equipped to find small achievable things and create new daily sustainable habits.

Grateful Lemon has a great tool on their website which allows you to pinpoint the areas of your life where there may be some room for improvement. According to Grateful Lemon, “burnout is the number 1 reason people leave their job, so taking this audit may be more important than you think!”

Once you have completed the 2-min survey, you receive your personalised report which provides actionable tips on how you can increase your wellbeing and energy!

Discover how your daily habits contribute (positively or negatively) to your lifestyle, wellbeing and personal energy:

Grateful Lemon

Grateful Lemon is named as such to encapsulate the two of the most simple, yet important elements that can transform your life:

1. Living with gratitude in replacement of expectations. Amazing things happen to you when you adopt this mindset.

2. Starting every day with a glass of lemon water encapsulates the power of small yet significant healthy habits and provides the energy to live life.

Mike Ford

Mike’s background in business, human behaviour, employee engagement, leadership coaching and a passion to help people to be their best, led him to start Grateful Lemon with a clear purpose; to help business fulfil its potential, by putting their people first.

Connect with Mike on Linkedin, or visit his website, GratefulLemon.

Think Like A Monk

Reviewed by Katherine, YOOMUSE.

Think Like A Monk provides a framework for developing a mindful and resilient mindset, aiming to improve our wellbeing and navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity.

I stumbled upon this book by accident and have listened to the audio version (read by Jay Shetty himself) every morning for the past two weeks while out walking. What a way to start the day! I loved the book so much that I now have a hard copy so that I can refer back whenever I wish to.

The book is filled with practical steps to try out, and guides us to think differently about others and ourselves. In fact, it feels quite brutal at times, especially when faced with the reality of what our egos are capable of. But Jay Shetty has a way about him in his teachings, which feels uplifting and the idea of adopting this mindset feels entirely possible.

Train your mind for peace and purpose every day.

Jay Shetty has a unique ability to make purpose and ancient wisdom not only relatable but practical and easily accessible. In this book, he points out that we (the readers) do not need to become monks to apply the mindset of a monk. He did that so that we don’t have to. Here’s how the book explores mindset:

Monkey Mind vs Monk Mind

Shetty proposes we all have a “monkey mind”, constantly chattering with negativity and distractions. The goal is to cultivate a “monk mind” through practices that promote focus, clarity and inner peace. The parts that stood out for me were:

• Letting go of negativity. The “spot-stop-swat” technique helps to identify negative thoughts, interrupt them and replace them with positive ones.

• Detachment. There is a fair bit of emphasis on detaching from external desires and outcomes, finding contentment in the present moment.

• Self-esteem Vs Ego. Differentiating between healthy self-esteem and egotism. Guiding readers through genuine self-worth based on inner qualities.

• Living your purpose. The importance of discovering your “dharma”, your life’s purpose. This brings direction and motivation.

• Gratitude. Practicing gratitude for what you have. Fostering a positive outlook.

I found that this book forces you to confront your own values and self-limiting beliefs, and highlights the importance of selfless service. And crucially, you are not required to live like a monk to…. think like a monk.

Here’s a thought….

At your next team meeting or appraisal, when discussing areas for improvement and handing out/receiving constructive criticism, consider:

Our Mission

At YOOMUSE we believe that mental and physical health are closely linked, and this plays a huge part in our professional and personal lives. We are passionate about empowering individuals to take control of their health and wellbeing, and believe that the work environment and culture can embrace this notion and benefit massively as a result.

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