In the spirit of Positive Psychology, this page on Collaborative Optimisation is an attempt to help all of us “Ticking over at a six, maybe somedays a seven” to thrive our way up to living the remainder of our brief span of existence as a “F##K YES, Bring it on, loving life, the odd nine day is OK, cos I’m human, but I GOT THIS, nobody can talk me outta being a TEN, not even myself!!!”
Where my Men’s Mental Health page from a coupla years back, was all about surviving dark times, this is about keeping that upwards trajectory going. There will be much crossover, cos what lifts you when you are low, keeps lifting your spirits & soul when you have the wheels back on the wagon. But in the same way that psychology was merely concerned with fixing broken folks, Martin Seligman began the movement towards the rest of us unbroken souls, actually flourishing. Many resources HERE.
Patience is a virtue, and this is gonna be a gradual process, as I do like my “Life/Work” balance, but I could not be more motivated to get down the stuff that helps folks fulfil their latent potentials.
Lots of links to useful sites & info, so ClickAway, I do love a link!
So in no particular order (yet!) –
Self Talk – Shad Helmsteter – What to say when you talk to yourself. Having recently enjoyed life changing sessions of hypnotherapy with Dominic Borsberry he gifted me this gem of a book. Click on title above for a pdf version to whet your appetite, then go buy the book.
Heroic / Arete – Brian Johnson. Heroic is the app, free here for 30 days, then costing $99 per year thereafter. You will sign up, the app helps you “BookEnd” your days with an inspirational +1 of wisdom every morning, it has book precis’ (written & audio, so you can listen while driving, breathing, etc) collating the wisdom of the last 5000 years right up to modern day science, so you get “More wisdom in less time”, and lots of other stuff I have not even delved into yet. Arete is the book from the +1’s in the app, preview of first 11 chapters here as pdf or here as audio.
Wim Hoff Breathing. I love/hate the cold showers & swimming in rivers & seas too, but breathing bookends my day, coupled with Affirmations. The app is bostin as well, search your store for Wim Hoff Method.
Affirmations. Tying in with the hypnotherapy with Dominic Borsberry, many moons ago I stumbled across Vic Johnson and downloaded his affirmations, listened to them for a lot, then recorded my own version –
If you are partial to a droning monotone & a gammy “Mercian” accent, fill yer boots!
Wanna record your own?
Links here for audacity & text version (When you get comfortable with this, you’ll probably want to come up with your own content, as I intend to, when it becomes a priority. Instructions on “How To” when time allows. It is a lot better in your own voice, even Shad says so. Slight problem is, nobody likes the sound of their own voice, cos it’s different recorded than it is acoustically from inside your own head! Which is ironic, as we are discussing Self Talk, that horrible, negative, undermining voice that we ALL have in our heads, undermining our self belief.
Get comfortable with it, the first time is hardest, then it’s a bit easier every time thereafter. It is worth the discomfort, as THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND & LIFE FOR THE BETTER!