Author: Buttimer-Associates

Can Satisfaction Bring Better Results?

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Remember the famous song lyric “I can’t get no satisfaction?” Mick Jagger crooned “‘Cause I try, and I try, and I try, and I try. I can’t get no satisfaction.”

The song aptly illuminates the seemingly endless pursuit for satisfaction. You naturally want to be satisfied with who you are, your efforts and your life. But are you? Or does it seem futile sometimes to keep trying?

The song aptly illuminates the seemingly endless pursuit for satisfaction. You naturally want to be satisfied with who you are, your efforts and your life. But are you? Or does it seem futile sometimes to keep trying?

Underlying the idea of satisfaction is the notion that eventually, it will be attained. You will have arrived, so to speak. It’s good to have goals and to want to improve aspects about you and your life. But what if you can find satisfaction now, before achieving those results?

Take a moment and mindfully draw your attention to what is around you. Use your senses. What do you find pleasing in your present environment? Whatever you notice, enjoy it. What satisfies you about your personality, relationships, body, accomplishments or travels? Let yourself savor those aspects. Avoid brushing off those aspects of your life. Those things can be deeply satisfying if you allow it.

It may be helpful to take a moment to reflect on your body and mind. You are breathing. Even if they’re imperfect, your brain, heart and digestion are functioning. You are likely able to read these words. Can you be satisfied with those aspects?

You might choose to focus on your environment. Perhaps you enjoy certain aspects of your home or the people living in it. Maybe the weather is bringing you joy today. Look around and notice the elements that are bringing you peace and happiness.

In some cultures, contentment is considered the highest mental and emotional state a person can experience. Satisfaction breeds appreciation and gratitude, and those states produce relative happiness. In essence, the more satisfaction you can focus on moment to moment, the greater your happiness level will gradually become.

Can Mindful Eating Make a Difference?

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Are you a mindful eater? When is it hard to eat mindfully and when is it easier? People sometimes tell us that it’s hard when they’re stressed, upset or when the food is delicious.

When you do eat mindfully, you are better able to digest your food and register fullness. You also tend to eat slower and a smaller quantity, which are both perks for your health.

Here are some tips for eating mindfully:

  • It starts with food choices at the grocery store. Are you selecting foods that will help you feel and perform at your best? Are you making choices emotionally or from the intentions you set for yourself and your well-being?
  • Prepare your food in a way that brings you peace and joy. You may even choose to play some music or enjoy a beverage as you do this.
  • On a scale from 1-10, ask yourself how hungry you are. Don’t allow yourself to become hungrier than a 3 or more full than a 7 or 8. Practicing body scan meditation, a central practice in mindfulness that can be accessed on many video platforms like YouTube, can help you become more accurate on this scale. Many have been taught to eat everything on the plate, which is often too much. It takes some time for the body to feel full.
  • Release stress before you sit down to eat. This helps calm your emotions. It also helps you release any difficulties from the day so you are less likely to eat from stress. You may choose an activity like walking, yoga or journaling to regulate your nervous system so you can more fully enjoy your meal.
  • When you eat, just eat. Put away the electronics. Turn off the television and put your phone away. Enjoy the food for the gift that it is.
  • Slow down and breathe. Put your fork down between each bite. Savor the taste, smell and texture of the meal for even greater pleasure.
  • Offer gratitude to those who participated in make this meal possible – farmers, truck drivers, and so on. Gratitude is powerful for your health and well-being.

Avoiding The Uncomfortable

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There is a natural tendency to shy away from people or situations that you don’t prefer. Avoiding the uncomfortable is a normal thing. In psychology, this is known as the pain pleasure principle.

From a commonsense point of view this makes sense, doesn’t it? You avoid touching a hot stove because of the pain it will cause. You indulge in your favorite comfort food because it gives you pleasure.

But there are challenging conditions that seem unavoidable. One realm involves human beings. You can’t exactly avoid your employer. Try as you may, that would only cause you further pain. Then there are people you just don’t resonate with. Funerals of loved ones take place. Health challenges unfold sometimes. Difficulties do arise in various facets of life. How can you face these circumstances thoughtfully?

Incorporate these four steps, known as the acronym STAR, when you find yourself in uncomfortable positions:

  • Stop: In many situations a knee-jerk reaction is ineffective and not required. Pause, even for a minute, when possible.
  • Think: Typically, difficult circumstances are emotional. Emotions can hijack the prefrontal cortex in the brain which is responsible for planning, organizing and decision-making. This is where your best thinking takes place. Breathe. Take some time to reflect on your best response.
  • Act: Make a step based on your own best thinking. This may be a small step. Small steps add up over time though. It may be an imperfect step, but that’s OK. You can adjust later. Sometimes, you must act like you are being confident or courageous. It’s mindful to “fake it until you make it” when needed for your greater good.
  • Reinforce your best efforts: Mentally applaud yourself for your successes. Feel the pride inside for effectively navigating the tough situations.

Mindful Performance: Feel, Perform, and Life at Your Best!

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How many times have you sacrificed your peace for peak performance? How often have you put your well-being on the back burner? You don’t have to sacrifice wellness for performance or productivity. You can have it all.

In fact, when you take care of your well-being, you perform and live better. Unfortunately, our culture often tends to overvalue productivity and performance to the detriment of wellness, and you can get caught up in that hypnotic trance. The opposite philosophy is much more powerful.

When you meet your needs for well-being first, you will outperform and produce the yesteryear of you. When you feel your vitality and strength, you enjoy energy, creativity and clarity. You feel unstoppable.

How can you shift this habit of putting wellness on the back burner? Here are a few strategies:

– Make yourself and your mental and physical health a priority. Schedule activities and downtime on your calendar.

– Check in with yourself in real time. What do you need today? It may be different than what you had planned, and that’s OK.

– Remind yourself of the times when you’ve invested in your well-being and the return on investment you experienced when you did.

– Find your tribe that values feeling, performing and living at your best and believes you can have it all. The people you surround yourself with have a major impact on your mindset and habits.

When you trust that it is possible to feel, perform and live at your best, the transformation is astounding!

The Value of Laughter

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Laughter directly opens a channel to joy. Think about it. Consider the times you’ve laughed intensely, maybe even hysterically. Didn’t you find yourself transported to a feeling of exhilaration? Your cares likely melted away in those deeply humorous moments. You may have experienced a high followed by a “glow’,” a delicious feeling of well-being. You were joyful!

Sadly, much of today’s world is consumed with stress and fear. Instead of living in a consistent happy mood, the tendency is to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and threatened by real or imagined happenings. You might find yourself operating with great intensity and an impending sense of doom. That’s no way to live. You deserve to feel good. By feeling good, you enjoy your life more, and you can better help those around you. Taking a lighter perspective and laughing as often as you can equals good self-care.

When you laugh, you not only create a better mood, but you initiate a healthy cascade throughout your body. Studies show that laughter produces endorphins, increases circulation, and stimulates serotonin uptake. So, when you indulge in laughter, you feel uplifted, and you directly influence your health and mindset!