Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week:
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1st , halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.
May is also Mental Health Awareness Month
So, are you languishing or flourishing?
The need for mental health support is not new, but access to resources has become increasingly important for many in our community as we have collectively navigated stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and many other consequential world events.
To that end, here is access to relevant resources and some stories of flourishing humans in all walks of life.
Keep flourishing!
Where could you turn up the volume on your Self-Care?
Above All Connect!
As humans, we are designed for connection and relationship. We thrive together. We grow together. We learn together.
And while time alone to reflect, meditate, or take a solo adventure is nice and much needed, we also feel the negative impact of isolation and disconnection.
Throw in the rapid rate of innovation and technological developments, and we find ourselves in a rather interesting time. On paper, we are more connected than ever before, yet so many of us feel completely disconnected, lonely, and depressed.
To our detriment, we have adopted the relationship-building model of a mile wide and an inch deep, prioritizing followers as a sort of credibility builder or badge as an influencer. But with all the energy we put into our phones, we can’t forget what connection looked like and felt like before we had these computers in our hands.
I am not saying that having lots of followers or “friends” in the social media world is a bad thing, or saying that having access to a world of information at our fingertips is a bad thing.
However, we still need to slow down, untether ourselves from our gadgets once in a while, and connect in a different, dare we say, more human way. Call it the inch wide and a mile deep approach to connection building.
This month, why not invest your time in connection that doesn’t depend on technology. Get ready to open your hearts and feel part of something very special. Being connected matters!
Americans Need to Feel More Wonder in Their Lives:
Wonder Can Help Our Mental Health and Sense of Wellbeing…
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Greek Proverb
We asked, you answered: What’s your secret to staying optimistic in gloomy times?
From watching the sun rise — yeah, it’s a cliche but it works! — to dancing to techno music, to doing good for others to just plain smiling, readers share what gives them optimism in times of trouble.
What’s your secret to staying optimistic? Readers weigh in : Goats and Soda : NPR
This Is How Long You Need To Go Outside To Improve Your Sleep
You can completely reset your body clock just by walking out your front door.
Preventing Burnout Is Now Job One for Bosses
Protecting the bottom line means putting people first. These 7 strategies can protect your teams.
Pay isn’t a substitute for treating people well.
if leaders are kind, incentives are rewards to appreciate. But if leaders are jerks, incentives become threats to avoid.
Selfish bosses turn carrots into controlling sticks. In the long run, the best way to win is to care.
-Adam Grant
Speaking of Great Leadership if you are local:
Join my good friend Eric K at his book launch at Warwick’s in La Jolla on May 31st at 7:30pm
“Eric crashed the Gateless Gate of Zen wisdom and applied it to leadership, so you don’t have to.”
I’m stoked to share my new book, Leadership Breakdown, and to invite you to my book launch at Warwick’s, on May 31st at 7:30pm.
I promise that our hour together will be one of connection, delight, and illumination, and I can’t wait to introduce you to my leadership ideas and tools. Jamie Wheal, New York Times best selling author said that “Eric crashed the Gateless Gate of Zen wisdom and applied it to leadership, so you don’t have to.”
Please reserve a seat and a book at Warwick’s. And be sure to stay for the book signing that will immediately follow the presentation.
Looking forward to sharing, and to chatting about wisdom, love, and power.
Eric Kaufmann, Executive Guide
Author: Four Virtues of a Leader l Leadership Breakdown
Thought Leader: Institute of Coaching @ Harvard
TEDx Speaker: Courage is NOT what you think
O: (619) 668-8500 l M: (619) 944-2090 l W: sagatica.com
Other Inspirational Stories about Service Before Self-
A pilot takes a big risk to save a skydiver’s life:
In 1970, Alan Ayers was preparing himself for a skydiving competition in Gainesville, Florida. It wasn’t the first time he’d jumped out of a plane, but it was almost his last.
A pilot takes a big risk to save a skydiver’s life : NPR
Shrimp Boat Captain from Texas Wins International Goldman Environmental Prize:
Wilson noticed problems in the water and started a nearly four-decade fight to get a local chemical company, Formosa, to stop dumping harmful plastics in the water. She won a $50 million court case against the company. Now, she is the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, which honors grassroots environmental activists around the world.
Feeling a bit more centered?
Keep flourishing and pay it forward!
Love,
Neville
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
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Happy Soul Food Friday! 