Today, when we wake up to hear that even the most successful celebrities such as Anthony Bourdain and Avicii have committed suicide, a question
surges for many entrepreneurs: If not even the most accomplished amongst us are immune from suffering, how are we then supposed to find the joy and the motivation to succeed and be happy in the long run?
This workshop will originate with this question and will proceed with
activities and games to use the most effective mindfulness techniques that help build our self-esteem (positive thinking), realistic goal setting, and motivation.
2. Ground rules
● Respect other opinions
● Don’t interrupt;
let others finish speaking before you begin
ADD / REMOVE ?
● Participate as much as possible
● Ask questions as they come up
● Put on silent your cell phones
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19:30-20:30 Workshop
3. Gladys Bourdain (the mother of A. B.) on NYT
interview: “He had been in a dark mood in these
last couple of days. But he is the last person in the
world I would have ever dreamed would do
something like this. He had everything, success
beyond his wildest dreams. Money beyond his
wildest dreams.”
Parts Unknown (his documentary) has a section
where A.B. opens up about depression. He says
“I would like to be happy. I should be happy. I
have, you know, incredible luck. I would like to
be able to look out the window and say yay!
Life is good.” (and you don’t? no)
4. Want big impact?
Use big image.
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Avicci’s Family’s statement (a segment
they released after his death)
“Our Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic
soul searching for answers to existential
questions. An overachieving perfectionist
who travelled and worked hard at a pace
that led to extreme stress”.
5. 5
If not even the most accomplished
amongst us are immune from
suffering, how are we then
supposed to find the joy and the
motivation to succeed and be
happy in the long run?
6. Mindfulness
Is letting go of taking
things from granted
Means to return to
the present moment
Is the self-regulation of
attention with an attitude
of curiosity, openness,
and acceptance
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Getting at the heart of what mindfulness is - www.psychologytoday.com/~/definitions-mindfulness-might-surprise-youness-might-surprise-you
Openness- www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/big-5-personality-traitsCuriosity - www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths/Curiosity
Self-regulation - www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths/Self-Regulation
7. “ “Mindfulness means paying
attention in a particular way: on
purpose, in the present moment,
and nonjudgmentally.”
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Jon Kabat-Zinn
Wherever you go, there you are: by Jon Kabat-Zinn - https://books.google.es/books?isbn=0349414238
8. “ “Mindfulness shows us what is
happening in our bodies, our
emotions, our minds, and in the
world. Through mindfulness, we
avoid harming ourselves and
others.”
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Thich Nhat Hanh
Moments of Mindfulness: Daily Inspiration: by Thich Nhat Hanh - https://books.google.es/books?isbn=1937006506
9. Mindfulness
@practice
● Activities and games
● Mindfulness techniques that help build our self-esteem
(positive thinking), realistic goal setting, and motivation
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10. Mindful listening as a
group exercise
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In general, people thrive when they feel fully “heard” and “seen.” In
other words, mindful listening involves a form of self-regulation in
which the focus on the self is set aside. Mindful listening can create
an inner stillness in both parties as the speaker may feel free of the
listener’s preconceptions and prejudices, and the listener is free of
inner chatter whilst learning valuable positive communication skills.
Valuable positive communication skills - https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/active-constructive-communication/
11. The Mindful Listening
exercise involves these steps:
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● Step 1: Each of us thinks of one thing she
or he is stressed about and one thing they
look forward to
● Step 2: Once everyone is finished we
take turns in sharing our stories with the
group
● Step 3: Please pay direct attention to how
it feels to speak, how it feels to talk about
something stressful as well as how
it feels to share something positive
● Step 4: Please observe your own
thoughts, feelings and body
sensations both when talking and
listening
● Step 5: After each participant has
shared, we discuss these questions
Body sensations - https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/body-mind-integration-attention-training/
12. 12
1. How did you feel when
speaking during the exercise?
2. How did you feel when listening
during the exercise?
3. Did you notice any mind-
wandering?
4. If so, what was the distraction?
5. What helped you to bring your
attention back to the present?
6. Did your mind judge while
listening to others?
7. If so, how did “judging” feel in
the body?
8. Were there times where you felt
empathy?
9. If so, how did this feel in the
body?
10. How did your body feel right
before speaking?
11. How did your body feel right
after speaking?
12. What are you feeling right now?
13. What would happen if you
practiced mindful listening with
each person that you spoke
with?
14. Do you think mindful listening
would change the way you
interact and relate with others?
15. How would it feel if you set the
intention to pay attention with
curiosity, kindness,
and acceptance to
everything you said and
everything you listened to?
40 Kindness Activities & Empathy Worksheets for Students and Adults - https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/kindness-activities-empathy-worksheets/
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1
Reflect on the series of emotions
and thoughts that came up and how
this affects your behavior, whether
the exercise is helpful and if you
want to share any final comments.
Mindful Walking Down The Street Technique
One core process, which can be influenced by mindfulness practice, is our ability to observe out
thoughts emotions and sensations without reacting to fix them, hide them or solve them. This
awareness creates room for choice between impulse and action which can help develop coping
skills and positive behavioral change.
1. As you were imagining, did you
notice any of your thoughts?
2. As you were imagining, did you
notice any of your emotions?
Visualize a scenario in which you are
walking down a familiar street and
then you look up and see someone
you know on the other side of the
street. You wave however the other
person doesn’t respond and
continues to walk right past.
“It can be challenging to differentiate
between thoughts and emotions as
they can play off each other quite
rapidly.”
2 3
Positive Nutrition: How to Improve Well-Being Holistically - https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/positive-nutrition/
14. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy-Mindfulness
1. Simply observe your
experience
2. Describe your
experience using
verbal labels
3. Be fully present in the
moment and in your
actions without feeling
self-conscious
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Dialectical Behavioral Therapy-Mindfulness (DBTM) training was added to general
psychiatric treatment to test its effectiveness. A module on mindfulness was
developed to help clients achieve the “wise mind”(Soler et al., 2012).
What are the “What” skills?
This first set of skills is meant to help the client learn how to:
Effects of dialectical behaviour therapy-mindfulness training on emotional reactivity in borderline personality disorder - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23494767
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Be aware of what comes into your
head, but resist the urge to label or
judge these thoughts. Think of them
as a passing cloud in the sky of
your mind.
If your mind wanders to chase a
thought, acknowledge whatever it
was that took your attention and
gently guide your attention back to
the moment.
16. Mindfulness Techniques for Anxiety
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● Volition or intention: This is the building block of all other
attitudes. First, you must bring your focus to the intention of
working with your anxiety
● Beginner’s mind: This refers to a mindset that is ready to see from
a new perspective and consider new ideas in regards to dealing
with anxiety
● Patience: This is a very important attitude to cultivate since it can
broaden your perspective and help you persevere when you run
into obstacles on your journey
● Acknowledgment: Having the mindset of acknowledgment
means that you take each experience for what it is; you accept
what is happening and be secure in the knowledge that it, like the
weather it will pass
● Nonjudgment: This attitude involves experiencing your present
moment without evaluating and judging it. It means you let go of
value judgments about yourself and how you are feeling and
allows you to begin your work from a more balanced starting
block
● Non-striving: This attitude refers to the willingness to accept a
situation or experience as it is, without trying to change it. To
combat your anxiety, you must first be present with it and
accept your current state
● Self-reliance: The mindset of self-reliance is characterized by
trusting yourself and your ability to handle your
feelings. Cultivating your self-reliance will allow you to more
easily acknowledge, experience, and let go of your anxiety
● Letting be or allowing: Similar to the attitude of non-striving,
letting be or allowing refers to the mindset of allowing yourself
to feel anxiety. Often it is more effective to work with your
anxiety than expend energy trying to fight against it
● Self-compassion: As mentioned earlier, showing yourself
compassion is an important part of mindfulness. Being kind to
yourself, as you would be kind to a dear friend or family
member, can help you to decrease your anxiety by being a
support for yourself
● Balance and equanimity: These are attitudes that allow
wisdom to develop through a broadening of perspective and an
understanding that your whole experience is so much more
than your current feelings, whether positive or negative
Emotional Agility: Susan David’s 4 Step’s to Growing with Change - https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/emotional-agility-susan-david/
17. “Everyone wants a happy life without
difficulties or suffering. We create
many of the problems we face. No
one intentionally creates problems,
but we tend to be slaves to powerful
emotions like anger, hatred and
attachment that are based on
misconceived projections about
people and things. We need to find
ways of reducing these emotions by
eliminating the ignorance that
underlies them and applying opposing
forces"
Dalai Lama
