Staying positive in 2019

Originally published on LinkedIn.

You may have noticed I've haven’t kept up with my LinkedIn articles (I had a target of writing an article about once a month). I wasn't going to post this one either but thought that as it is "Blue Monday" I'd open up. Part of why I haven't been writing articles (even though I enjoy doing it - regardless of how many people read them!) has been workload but it if I am totally honest it has also been my variable mental health. Whilst I don't really do new years resolutions - I do find it a useful check point to reflect on what is going on and take a step back. I made a conscious decision to really think about what was causing me to not feel right and try and course correct in 2019. So far (3 weeks in) it is going pretty well. 

Let's be honest it's not easy being upbeat right now - for Brits like me Brexit (regardless of your stance leave or remain it is hard to disagree it continues to be a mess), in the US there are also political challenges, and globally issues like sustainability, climate change, inequality, the dark side of where digital transformation may lead us (a possible future article!) ok I'll stop as this article was supposed to be uplifting!

 In 2018 (like many others I'm sure) despite how I may have appeared on the surface I spent a lot of time feeling down and negative and helpless. This of course impacts your engagement at work and personal life and tends to be a downward re-enforcing spiral that is hard to get out of.

Whilst I am no psychologist and have no magical answers I do spend time reading articles and books on mental health, culture and anthropology. And try and work out what works for me - hopefully some of my voyage of self-discovery might be of interest to you…

 For 2019 regardless of what is going on in the news, at work or at home I am determined to try and stay upbeat, positive and constructive in spite of what may be going on.

Self-awareness - knowing yourself and what winds you up

Being self-aware and recognising the stressors and situations that cause problems has been the first step. A classic example of this is the commute to work routine - if I am rushing and then get held up or someone drives in a selfish way - that could be enough to start a downward spiral. If I can recognise what's going on I can say to myself come on calm down it's not worth getting worked up about it. Breaking down bad habits in this way is really hard - but keep trying eventually you can "re-program" yourself to behave differently - or at least recognise when and what is triggering you.

Emotional Intelligence - including self control

Related to self awareness is wider general Emotional intelligence - also known as EQ. If you don't follow him already Travis Bradberry is worth checking out on this topic: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/travisbradberry

Being thankful and appreciative

Being thankful and content for the good things I have in my life - family, health, friends, good job, safety etc. In a highly competitive world and one where we are constantly exposed to advertising and highly curated "social media lives" it is easy to feel like you aren't good enough yet. Whilst its great to have targets and aspire it is all too easy to link happiness to status and think I'll be happy when I ...

Mindfulness

Mindfulness - whilst I can’t claim to have this fully nailed (my mind easily goes off on mental safari coming up with crazy ideas!) - being present in the moment (particularly when interacting with people and definitely when 1-2-1 with someone) and using it to focus on what you are doing in the moment.

Plan ahead and try and keep your options open

Having a plan a, b and sometimes c when things look difficult to predict really helps me avoid getting stressed by difficult situations (which may have been avoided by some thinking ahead). Sometimes this can just be a bit of upfront planning other times it is a full on review of a situation or what if scenario planning.

Opening up and talking

There have been a few key friends and colleagues who I have leaned up quite heavily (thank you - you know who you are!). It’s a bit of a cliché but its true a problem shared is often a problem halved.

Physical health = mental health

Taking care of yourself (and for me this also means regular exercise) I believe is a foundation for a healthy mind. This also includes decent quality sleep (I often struggle with the last one - and this can be a trigger...)

What works for you?

Keen to hear any tips that you use to help in the comments. Also if you think this has been useful / interesting - as I said at the start I was slightly nervous to post this.

#mentalhealth #bluemonday #emotionalintelligence #wellness

Originally published on LinkedIn.