Did you see the bear?
Did you see the bear?
Did you see the bear?
Do you remember the video of players passing a basketball to each other, asking you to count the number of passes?
If not, watch this before you keep reading:
Did you see the moonwalking bear?
If not, you’re in good company. Unless you knew what you were looking for, almost half of the people who watched that video didn’t see it.
When you know there is a moonwalking bear, it’s impossible not to see it. Psychologists refer to this as “inattentional blindness”, missing obvious things right in front of us if we’re not looking for them.
On the flip side, when you look for something specific, you see it all of the time. Time to buy a new car? When you decide on the make and model you want, you’ll start to see that car everywhere.
Between our brain’s negativity bias, our propensity to magnify the negative and minimize the positive, and inattentional blindness, we are missing a huge percentage of the positive moments and experiences in our lives. Throw in 24 hour news coverage and social media, and you have a recipe for cynicism, frustration, and anxiety.
Fortunately, you have a superpower that can change the way you see the world. Experience-dependent neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to change based on your experiences. Our brain is continually growing and changing well into our nineties.
Getting better at looking for, savoring, and sharing good experiences inclines your mind in that direction. Research has found that keeping a gratitude journal or thinking of 3 good things that happened each day forces you to scan for the positives.Those that did this repeatedly for a week were happier, more grateful, and had higher levels of optimism than those that didn’t, even after they stopped the exercise.
This doesn’t mean you wear rose colored glasses and pretend like the negatives aren’t out there, but you can wear gratitude glasses and find the good within it.
Just like you probably have a “to-do” list, make a list of the good things about your job, your relationships, and your life. I have a sign on my bathroom mirror that says, “What will you look for today?” as a reminder to look for the good things in life.
When you make it your intention to find kindness, compassion, humor, and goodness, you are way more likely to find it.
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Who needed to hear this? 🙋🏻♀️
Who needed to hear this? 🙋🏻♀️
Happiness happens in micro moments.
📷: @positivekristen
Happiness happens in micro moments.
📷: @positivekristen
Being courageous isn’t hard when you’re happy and everything is hunky-dory. It’s when you’re exhausted, emotional, angry and life is far away from what you had planned, that finding your courage gets hard. Courage is how we choose to act during these times.
Building courage doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one decision at a time. Where could you use a little courage right now? 💪
Being courageous isn’t hard when you’re happy and everything is hunky-dory. It’s when you’re exhausted, emotional, angry and life is far away from what you had planned, that finding your courage gets hard. Courage is how we choose to act during these times.
Building courage doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one decision at a time. Where could you use a little courage right now? 💪
It’s the end of the workday, you finish your last task, breathe a blissful sigh of relief, and get 30 seconds of peace before the negative thoughts start to creep back in.
Instead of sitting in an uncomfortable moment, you do everything in your power to numb yourself. You pull out your phone or turn on the TV, you make a cocktail or engage in some retail therapy…you look for anything you can grasp onto to ease some of the pain.
How do you numb?
Whether it’s numbing with your phone, pizza, or the pub, it seems we’re all struggling with the desire to find relief from life’s troubles. The next time you want to run away or drown your sorrows, here are a few things you can do 👇
Link is in my bio under New Blog Post!
It’s the end of the workday, you finish your last task, breathe a blissful sigh of relief, and get 30 seconds of peace before the negative thoughts start to creep back in.
Instead of sitting in an uncomfortable moment, you do everything in your power to numb yourself. You pull out your phone or turn on the TV, you make a cocktail or engage in some retail therapy…you look for anything you can grasp onto to ease some of the pain.
How do you numb?
Whether it’s numbing with your phone, pizza, or the pub, it seems we’re all struggling with the desire to find relief from life’s troubles. The next time you want to run away or drown your sorrows, here are a few things you can do 👇
Link is in my bio under New Blog Post!
Create a habit of taking time to strategically stop throughout your day, check-in with yourself, and give your brain some time to process.
Here are 3 things you can do to strategically stop throughout your day:
1️⃣ Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on extending the exhale. A deeply relaxed person takes 6-7 breaths a minute. When you change the way you breathe, you shift your emotional state.
2️⃣ Check-in with yourself. How are you feeling? What is causing you stress? Where in your body do you feel it? This mindfulness practice signals safety to your brain, helping to re-engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
3️⃣ Identify one small action you can take to adjust your mood and emotional state. It might be as simple as repeating a mantra like, “It is what it is” or “All I can do is all I can do. #mindfulmonday
Create a habit of taking time to strategically stop throughout your day, check-in with yourself, and give your brain some time to process.
Here are 3 things you can do to strategically stop throughout your day:
1️⃣ Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on extending the exhale. A deeply relaxed person takes 6-7 breaths a minute. When you change the way you breathe, you shift your emotional state.
2️⃣ Check-in with yourself. How are you feeling? What is causing you stress? Where in your body do you feel it? This mindfulness practice signals safety to your brain, helping to re-engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
3️⃣ Identify one small action you can take to adjust your mood and emotional state. It might be as simple as repeating a mantra like, “It is what it is” or “All I can do is all I can do. #mindfulmonday
Wendy is always watching. Happy Friday from the ranch! 👀
Wendy is always watching. Happy Friday from the ranch! 👀
Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work and Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph.