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Tag: Well-being

Start the New Year with Mindfulness and Planning

With this final update of the year, I want to encourage you to end the year on a positive note and prepare for the year ahead. For me, the annual planning day has been a fixed appointment in my calendar for years.

Here’s what it includes:

  • Reflection and Appreciation: Make a list of your achievements and check your goals.
  • Pause and Assess: Continue as is, or is it time for a change? What advice would your 85-year-old self give you?
  • Recalibrate: What should you keep doing, change, start doing, or stop doing altogether?
  • Goals: Recap your mission, revisit your vision, and check whether your goals still align with what brings you satisfaction. Is your goal-setting system still appropriate?
  • Set a Motto for the Coming Year.
  • Follow Through with Suitable Rituals.

At this point, I also want to emphasize the importance of mindfulness and gratitude as central elements for personal development and overall well-being.

I firmly believe that mindfulness helps us stay present in the moment, enabling us to observe our thoughts and emotions with awareness. Gratitude, on the other hand, fosters a positive mindset, encouraging us to focus on what is going well rather than dwelling on the negative.

Regular mindfulness practices—such as meditation or mindful breathing—help calm the mind and promote clearer thinking. Gratitude exercises, like keeping a gratitude journal, can cultivate a positive outlook and improve overall well-being.

These practices can be especially helpful during stressful times, enabling us to find inner peace and balance.

Outlook

In January, I will launch my new English podcast, “Self-Leadership with Dr. Burkhard Bensmann.”  I’ll be happy to keep you updated and look forward to your feedback!

Also in January, I will be offering individual coaching sessions on Lanzarote and, of course, continuing to work on podcasts and other publications. Stay tuned for more!

For now, I wish you a successful conclusion to 2024 and a wonderful start to the New Year!

Leadership Strategies to Strengthen Your Mental Immune System

How are you doing in these weeks of the year? Are you feeling strong and full of optimism, or are you feeling drained and disheartened? Perhaps even overwhelmed by everything?

If it’s the latter, that’s a concern—because as a leader, your energy and state of mind influence your employees, customers, suppliers, and everyone you interact with. I want to focus on how we can strengthen our mental immune system and offer some practical tips to help you do so.

The Common Definition: Immune System = Defense System

The body’s immune system is described as a defense mechanism that combats pathogens. According to various sources, such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, the immune system protects the body through mechanical, chemical, and biological mechanisms. Without it, we would be defenseless against viruses and bacteria, leaving us vulnerable to severe infections.

A Broader Definition: Focusing on the “Mental Immune System”

Now, let’s broaden our perspective on the immune system. Consider, as an experiment, the concept of a “mental immune system.” There’s a scientific discipline dedicated to studying this—the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), which examines the interactions between stress, the immune system, and the nervous system.

PNI research shows that:

  • Acute stress can temporarily stimulate the immune system.
  • Chronic stress can lead to immunodeficiency.

Larger studies have also demonstrated that the occurrence of colds correlates with the intensity of experienced stress. This highlights the importance of mental well-being for our physical health.

4 Tips to Strengthen Your Mental Immune System

In the context of effective self-leadership, it’s crucial to take full responsibility for your health and mental state. This includes finding ways to strengthen your resilience. Here are some tips to boost your mental immune system:

Tip #1: What Can We Learn from This Situation?

Use this question to position yourself and prepare for the future. Sprinkle curiosity into this phase—for yourself and your team. Curiosity helps you look beyond the obvious and navigate uncertainty. Often, new opportunities that were previously invisible will come into view.

Also, celebrate your successes! Despite difficult circumstances, highlight the achievements you’ve made as a team. It’s a powerful reminder of how far you’ve come.

Tip #2: When Low Energy Strikes, Focus on Your Goals and Values

When the feeling of low energy becomes overwhelming, try focusing on your goals and values. Write them down and make them visible:

  • What are my goals?
  • What strategies do I need to achieve them?
  • What are the next steps?
  • What can I accomplish in this moment?
  • What is within my control?

Start with small steps and realize that you always have some degree of influence over your situation. Cultivating mindfulness in the present moment can help restore a sense of security and replenish your energy reserves.

Tip #3: Treat Yourself with Compassion

We are often our own harshest critics, especially when things don’t go as planned. When feeling down, we tend to use critical language with ourselves—language we’d never use with a close friend.

Self-compassion is essential for maintaining mental well-being. Be patient and kind with yourself, and engage in supportive self-talk. You deserve the same understanding you would offer someone else in a tough situation.

Tip #4: Take Care of Yourself with Light, Movement, and Relaxation

Sunlight plays a vital role in our well-being and specifically for our immune system. So, take time each day to move your body, even if it’s just a walk during lunch. Disconnecting from work and enjoying fresh air can work wonders.

In my book, “Self-Leadership: The Key to Being Productive,” I discuss tools to enhance your effectiveness and satisfaction. It covers topics such as:

  • Boosting self-motivation
  • A formula for success
  • Effective learning strategies
  • The social media diet
  • Simplifying life

One entire chapter is dedicated to “Strengthening Your Mental Immune System,” providing tested strategies that can benefit you both personally and professionally.

Recommended Reading

BJ Fogg: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything (2019)

Why read it?
This book offers a groundbreaking approach to creating lasting change by starting small. BJ Fogg demonstrates how tiny adjustments in daily routines can lead to significant personal and professional growth. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to build positive habits effortlessly and sustainably.

Strengthening Mental Well-Being Through Self-Leadership

Our health is a valuable asset—especially our mental health. Inspired by “World Mental Health Day” this month, I’d like to encourage you to take a closer look at your own mental well-being with this update.

In effective self-leadership, it is wise to take full responsibility for our health and care for ourselves accordingly. This includes finding ways to strengthen our resilience, for example.

Key Concepts for Mental Well-Being

Resilience:
The ability to endure challenging life situations without lasting harm. Resilience means not only getting back up but also emerging from crises stronger, having developed new skills or attitudes.

Mental Toughness:
Similar to a fitness program, it helps you prepare for extreme situations. Mental toughness enables us to remain calm and act effectively when things get tough.

Mindfulness:
An essential component of self-leadership and well-being. Through mindfulness, people can better manage their thoughts and emotions, staying focused on the here and now.

Serenity:
A state of inner peace achieved through conscious relaxation techniques and a positive mindset. It’s about reducing stress and focusing on what truly matters.

Practical Applications

In my lectures, coaching sessions, and podcasts, I offer concrete tips and techniques to help develop these skills and emerge stronger from challenging times.

Further Reading & Support

For further reading, I recommend my book Self-Leadership: The Key To Being Productive, filled with practical tips for enhancing personal effectiveness. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

One important note: if you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please seek professional therapeutic support.

Warm regards,
Dr. Burkhard Bensmann

Finding Focus: Summer Reflections for Leaders

It’s summer, vacation season—a time often associated with relaxation and slowing down. But for many leaders, being “on” is constant, even during holidays. This busyness, however, doesn’t always equate to happiness.

If this resonates with you, here are some tips on how to pause and truly recharge.

Rituals for Recharging

To break free from the state of constant activity, rituals are essential. They act as intentional pauses, fostering mindfulness and focus.

  1. Meditation, prayer, or similar forms of being with oneself and focusing:
    Practiced daily, these rituals enhance our ability to be fully present in whatever we do. In other words, they help us stay focused.
  2. Journaling:
    Taking time to pause, organize thoughts, and gain some distance from daily life.
  3. Gratitude Rituals:
    In conversations with successful entrepreneurs, I’ve learned that they reflect on the day each evening, consciously recalling events they are grateful for. A gratitude journal is also helpful for this.
  4. Changing perception through travel:
    “Travel is a draught from the fountain of life.” ~ Christian Friedrich Hebbel. For me, traveling always feels like a mental switch. New impressions create new connections, both internally and externally. Physical movement often brings about mental movement, too.

Reflecting on Your Work and Life

The breathlessness of our turbulent times is often highlighted in pop culture—and it also characterizes how many organizations operate.

Still, perhaps you can use the summer months, aside from your vacation, for a relaxed reflection on your current work situation.

Consider these questions for contemplation:

  • What is truly important in my life right now?
  • What do I want to spend more time on in the future?
  • What am I ready to say STOP to?

Greg McKeown, bestselling author, offers this as a guiding decision-making principle:
“If it’s not a clear YES, it’s a clear NO.”

Warm regards,
Dr. Burkhard Bensmann