Be First Class

“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.” – Martin Luther King.

I have just returned from a lovely holiday in Majorca. Whilst away and when I was looking at a lovely beach and surrounding scenery one day, the following story came to my mind.

Rocks, Pebbles and Sand

This story is a great metaphor with a powerful message about time management and priorities.

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items in front of him. When class began, he wordlessly picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles, poured them into the jar and lightly shook it. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things; your family, your partner, your health, your children, anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.

The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else, the small stuff.

If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important

Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the rubbish.

In your own life, be sure to take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Remember, the rest is only pebbles and sand”.

But then, a student took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full and proceeded to pour in a glass of wine. Of course, the wine filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly full.

The alternative moral of this tale is that, no matter how full your life is, there is always room for a nice glass of wine!

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect. Consider if there is any action you need to take to make more time for the “rocks” in your life.

Additionally, think about if there are changes you need to make to your daily schedule.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength.” Marcus Aurelius.

Mental Health Awareness Week this year runs from May 11 to 17 and is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. The UK charity is focused on preventing poor mental health and building and protecting good mental health.

They believe everyone deserves good mental health and that no-one living in the UK should be deprived of the opportunity for it because of who they are, the community they come from or where they live.

Poor mental health is not inevitable. There are things we can do as individuals, in our communities and across society to help us all to live with good mental health. For one week each May, the charity hosts a campaign around a specific theme for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Since their first campaign in 2001, they’ve raised awareness of topics like body image, stress and relationships.  The campaign reaches millions of people every year.  This year’s theme is action to support good mental health because, while awareness is vital, real change comes when we take action too.

Even small actions can help us feel hopeful and less powerless. And while our individual actions matter, when we come together, we are even more powerful.

These are the Mental Health Foundation’s top ten suggested actions to support good mental health. They may help lift your mood and improve your ability to cope with life.

1. Plan something to look forward to. Making plans for things we enjoy can increase our sense of hope, which is important for our mental health. It could be a plan to sit down with a cup of tea and take a quiet five minutes or a long-term plan for an ambitious trip. Whether it’s a big or small goal, the important thing is to plan it.
2. Eat well. One of the simplest ways to improve mental health is by eating a healthy, balanced diet. Not only can it support your emotional health, but introducing small habits, such as staying hydrated or having fruit snacks, can help make changes stick easier.
3. Get closer to nature. Spending time in nature can boost your mood, lessen stress and help you concentrate.
4. Get good sleep. Good quality sleep helps your brain work better, lifts your mood and is good for overall health.
5. Get creative. Spending time on creative activities is a great way to help ease stress and anxiety. Carve out time to listen to music, paint, sing or do whatever you most enjoy.
6. Move regularly. Being active can boost your mood and raise your self-esteem. It’s also an effective stress management technique. Whether you go for a walk, do some yoga or vigorously clean the kitchen, it all counts.
7. Try mindfulness. Being fully aware in the present moment can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges. Aim to notice the colour of the sky, the sound of the leaves or the feeling of your feet on the ground.
8. Make time for friends. Having good relationships with others can help you feel like you belong, allow you to share experiences and receive emotional support. It’s a great reason to have a catch-up with a friend on the phone.
9. Be kind. Bad days happen to everyone. If you’re having a tough time, remember to treat yourself with kindness and understanding. You’re doing the best you can.
10. Talk things over with someone you trust. It can take a lot of courage to tell someone else how we’re feeling or what we’re finding hard. Just talking things through with a person we trust can feel like a relief and make us feel less alone.

 
This week, why not take a few moments to reflect on the suggested actions above. Is there an action you can take to support good mental health that might lift your mood or improve your ability to cope with life? Consider what your first step will be and if you require any help or support. If you do, who can you reach out to for assistance?

You can get more information on Mental Health Awareness Week and the work of the Mental Health Foundation at www.mentalhealth.org.uk

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Charlie Chaplin.

Yesterday was World Laughter Day as it’s celebrated on the first Sunday of May each year. It’s an international awareness day dedicated to the healing power of laughter. It was founded in 1998 by Indian Physician Dr. Madan Kataria, who developed Laughter Yoga as an exercise routine and global movement.

It’s a day that helps to promote laughter as a tool for health, happiness and world peace. It occurred to me that given the state of the world at the moment, that we need to find some space in our lives for laughter.  It also reminded that one of the sayings that I heard a lot in my childhood was “laughter is the best medicine.”

Whilst researching the benefits of laughter I came across an interesting story about Norman Cousins who was an American political journalist, author, professor and world peace advocate who died in 1990 aged 75. Remarkably, Cousins was diagnosed in 1964 as having a serious disease and was told that his chances for survival were one in five hundred and that he had just months to live.

But Cousins had a strong will to live, so he decided to assume most of the responsibility for his own healing. Having been told that he had little chance of surviving, he developed a recovery programme. It included big doses of Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films and anything else that he could get his hands on to make him laugh. Cousins developed a systematic programme for getting daily doses of hearty laughter.

He said “I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anaesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.”  It’s remarkable that he was able to laugh having been told he had an irreversible disease and didn’t have long to live. He wrote of his healing experiences in the book “Anatomy of an illness.”

Medical tests done since then have established that there’s a physiological basis for the theory that laughter is good medicine. After his remarkable recovery, Cousins continued to study the effects of positive emotions on the human system. Eventually, he joined the medical faculty at the UCLA Medical School, a rare appointment for a person without a medical degree.

Cousins was one of the pioneers in linking laughter to healing. Since his initial explorations, his research has been duplicated by many both in and out of the medical profession. These include Dr Bernie Siegel and Dr Patch Adams. Both have written extensively about the power of humour and hope in the healing process.  A film called ‘Patch Adams’ about Dr Adams work is worth watching. It is heart-warming, funny and based on scientific evidence.

Laughter Yoga is gaining in popularity worldwide. It’s a practice that involves prolonged voluntary laughter and is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides the same physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter. It’s done in groups and laughter is easily stimulated and sustained with eye contact, exercises and playfulness amongst the participants.

Sessions start with gentle warm-up techniques which include stretching, chanting, clapping and body movement. These help break down inhibitions. Breathing exercises help prepare the lungs for laughter, followed by a series of laughter exercises.

During my research, I found the following information from the Mayo Clinic about the short and long term benefits of laughter: –

Some of the short-term benefits that laughter can bring:

• Enhances intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response and lead to a good relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension, stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation.

Some of the long-term benefits that laughter may bring:

• Pain relief by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders.
• Increase personal satisfaction and can make it easier to cope with difficult situations as it helps you to connect with other people.
• Improve your mood, it can reduce depression and anxiety and increase happiness.

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect and consider what steps you can take to introduce more laughter into your life.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk