Including how I created a life where I go to bed feeling happy (almost) every day.
I can pinpoint three key points when my happiness and satisfaction with life massively increased, and all of them were at mindfulness retreats.
Each time I was in the midst of a challenging time (burnout; recovering from burnout; close to burnout), and each time I felt something shift in me.
It was partially the time and space to properly switch off and forget about all the stuff I was dealing with behind the scenes.
But also it was experiencing how life didn’t need to feel so hard.
It was those moments on retreats that inspired me to keep trying to be more mindful, even when I didn’t know how.
So when I was driving home from work anxiously running my extensive to-do list through my head, and the advice “just focus on the present moment and you’ll feel great!” wasn’t quite cutting it, I kept trying.
After years of striving to live mindfully, and inspired by those retreats, here’s what I’ve learnt (and what I did/do about it) IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING FROM THIS WHOLE POST, READ THIS;
Frequency of meditation is more important than duration [and this is backed by scientific literature]; and so I created Daily Hooks and Mini-Meditations.
Understanding HOW to meditate, WHY and WHEN, is pivotal to it actually creating a change in your life (hint: it’s not about relaxing or “emptying your brain” after a stressful meeting).
You need a way to reflect, regularly, so you can monitor what works, what doesn’t, and what you need to keep trying; and so my MINDFUL ™ framework was born.
Experiencing how good it feels to BE mindful for a sustained period of time, is one of the most important factors in creating change; which is why I still attend two retreats a year.
Those retreats are the reason I wanted to be a mindfulness coach.
I wanted to help others EXPERIENCE being mindful for an extended period of time AND give them the tools to then carry that feeling with them.
Because I don’t see other people doing that.
A client at one of my single day retreats last year said this “one year on, the day retreat is still having a big impact on my life and helps me break out of bad cycles with overthinking or unhelpful thought processes”.
Read that again.
She’s still feeling the benefits ONE YEAR ON.
Find me someone who feels like that after a spa weekend or a yoga day retreat and I’ll eat my hat.
So yes other people run mindfulness retreats, and yes you’ll leave feeling relaxed, but I don’t see anyone else coaching you while you’re there so that the feeling stays with you.
When you come to one of my retreats, not only will you have a super relaxing weekend (where you stop thinking about what to buy for Auntie Margaret’s birthday, the mounting emails in your inbox and what you’re going to say to your boss in that meeting on Wednesday), you’ll also have the tools so that;
🙏 That becomes your reality all the time;
🙏You actually enjoy the simple day-to-day moments in life like dinner with your partner, a trip to Tesco with the kids (for real I enjoy this) and 30 minutes with a good book (rather than NEEDING to go on holiday to have “happy memories” to keep you going Monday-Friday);
🙏You have a strategy to follow next time you want to enjoy your evening but you can’t stop worrying about something you said in a meeting this morning.
Now full disclaimer; it takes practise and life won’t be like this all the time.
Yes MOST days I go to bed feeling happy and proud of myself and the life I’ve created (even when I’ve sent in an application for a promotion without attaching the covering letter 🤦♀️).
But you’ll still have moments (days, weeks, even months) that are hard. The difference is you’ll have the skills to deal with that too AND the motivation to get back to your happy place, because you’ll have seen how possible it is.
My retreats are 48 hours together to BE mindful, so you feel how good it is for yourself (and don’t worry, I have strategies to help you quieten your mind, even if you’ve never done this before).
Maximum FOUR guests (I challenge you to find another retreat with such a high ratio of coach:guest).
With workshops on all the strategies mentioned above, including all guests leaving with a personalised MINDFUL ™ plan to set you up for success.
If you want to start creating a life where you go to bed happy (almost) every day, get more details here.
I hope to see you there 🥰
*male and interested? Let me know, and I can make it happen in the future.
PS. Intrigued about mini-meditations? I’ve created a mini-meditation which is FREE to download for the next time you’re struggling to make a simple day-to-day decision. Get it here.
Comments