Inspired Project Teams

Audio: 10 Specific Actions That Can Help You Become Happier
[Time - 25:10, File Size - 24.6 MB]

In this post, we focus on the individual instead of the team. After all, teams are made up of individuals. And when individual team members are happy, there’s a good chance the entire team will be  happy! But how can anyone become happier? To begin to answer this question, I share 10 specific actions that I’ve taken to create more happiness in my life. (And I hope you will share your suggestions in the Comments section at the end of this post.)

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[Note: As I said in my last post, 25 Episodes! Time for a Break, I'm currently traveling, visiting family and friends, and recharging my inspirational batteries. In a few weeks, I'll return to the office and begin writing & recording more episodes. In the meantime, I'd like to share this "summer inspiration" with you.]

Do you, your project team members, or your organization as a whole support the practice of meditation? I meditate daily and I’ve found it to be an amazing source of clarity and peace. Better yet, this clarity and peace seems to enhance my productivity, creativity, and the quality of my team contributions.  So I highly recommend meditation!

Here are a couple of posts from my just-for-fun blog, The Best Free Training, that can help you get started in the secular (non-religious) practice of meditation:

• Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 1, Jon Kabat-Zinn & Mindfulness
• Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 2, Free Tools from Jet City Orange

Each of these posts includes links to other resources, podcasts, audio meditation timers, and more that can help you get started. So… as long as your sitting at the beach anyway, why not spend some time learning to meditate? Then you can take a little of that vacation peacefulness back home with you.

[Are you new to this blog? Check out the page Posts and Podcasts for a complete list of all Inspired Project Teams posts to date.]

Audio: Practice Mindfulness [Time - 22:10, File Size - 20.8 MB]

[Acknowledgement:  The main inspiration for this post comes from various interviews and articles featuring Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.  Kabat-Zinn started his career as a scientist at MIT and it is with this scientific perspective (along with his clinical research to support many of his positions) that he shares his thoughts on the power of mindfulness. He teaches mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. You can check out the links below for more about Jon and his work.]

In this post I hope to convince you of the power of mindfulness — the practice of bringing your full awareness into the present moment. This is very different from that “kinda sorta” awareness that you have while you are attending a meeting, firing off a text message, and eating lunch all at the same time. And it is different from the awareness you experience within a conversation while you are trying to stifle clever or fearful or angry or resentful thoughts that are clamoring for your attention. And it is different from the awareness you experience when sitting alone at your desk, working to solve a problem while thoughts of past difficulties and future fears challenge your concentration. Instead, it is a cleaner, simpler kind of awareness. It is simply being fully present, with all your attention. It is, in the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn, “paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, without judgment.” This is mindfulness.

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