Join Julie Bruns (L&D professional, best-selling author, and thought leader) for this session on practices (and the science behind them) that are simple and easy to implement, as well as extremely impactful in helping employees across all work models thrive.

5. Surviving
Which do you prefer?
Thriving

6. Quick question:
What’s the opposite of multi-tasking?
Not multitasking is actually being present
Being present is being mindful
Being mindful is so much better for your body & mind

7. Mindfulness:
1: the quality or state of being
mindful, conscious or aware
2: the practice of maintaining a
nonjudgmental state of
heightened or complete
awareness while calmly
acknowledging one’s thoughts,
emotions, or experiences on a
moment-to-moment basis; also:
such a state of awareness
Meditation:
1: the act or
process of
meditating
2: to engage
in contemplation or
reflection

8. Mindfulness is:
Directing our attention to our experience as it
unfolds
Training us to respond skillfully to whatever is
happening, good or bad
Improving our thought process, feelings and
concern for others

9. thoughts

10. So far, is there anything nagging at you?
Is anything difficult to believe?

11. Did you know?
Creativity
Memory
Focus
Self-Awareness
Compassion
…
Meditation has been linked to larger amounts of gray matter in
the hippocampus and frontal areas of the brain.
More gray matter can lead to more positive emotions, longer-
lasting emotional stability and heightened focus during daily life.
Calm
Peace Insight

12. More gray matter, which comes from
being more mindful and doing less
multi-tasking, reduces activity in the
sympathetic nervous system (fight or
flight), and increases activity in the
parasympathetic nervous system
(calm and relaxed feeling)

13. “Mindfulness practice decreases activity in
the parts of the brain responsible for fight-
or-flight and knee-jerk reactions while
increasing activity in the part of the brain
responsible for what’s termed our
executive functioning. This part of the
brain, and the executive functioning skills it
supports, is the control center for our
thoughts, words, and actions. It’s the
center of logical thought and impulse
control.”
“Simply put, relying more on our executive functioning puts us firmly
in the driver’s seat of our minds, and by extension our lives.”

14. life benefits
Calms Nerves Controls Anxiety Reduces Stress Improves Sleep
Helps Control
Pain
Lengthens
Attention Span
Promotes
emotional health

15. work benefits
“Research also shows that, in addition to slowing you
down, multitasking lowers your IQ. A study at the
University of London found that participants who
multitasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score
declines that were similar to what they'd expect if they
had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night. IQ drops of
15 points for multitasking men lowered their scores to the
average range of an 8-year-old child.”

16. more work benefits
Lower healthcare costs Increased work satisfaction Social connection: one of the
greatest predictors of long-term
happiness

17. lifelong benefits
• Reprograms your brain (more gray matter)
• Increases clarity and productivity
• Decreases stress hormones, insomnia,
depression and anxiety
• Anti-stress serum
• Allows you to calm down after stress more
quickly
• Most successful people mediate 1, 2, 3x/day

18. How can I do this today?
PRACTICE 5-10
MINUTES A DAY
AVOID READING
E MAIL FIRST THING
TURN OFF ALL
NOTIFICATIONS
STOP MULTI-TASKING ADD IT TO YOUR
CALENDAR

19. Viktor Frankl
“Between stimulus and response there is a
space. In that space is our power to choose
our response. In our response lies our growth
and our freedom.”
Why do any of this?

20. Every person she interviewed about having a joyful life, “…described themselves
as joyful, actively practiced gratitude and attributed their joyfulness to their
gratitude practice.”
“Both joy and gratitude were described as spiritual practices that were bound to a
belief in human interconnectedness and a power greater than us.”
“People were quick to point out the differences between happiness and joy as the
difference between a human emotion that’s connected to circumstances and a
spiritual way of engaging with the world that’s connected to practicing
gratitude.”
Gratitude and Thriving
Patterns of grateful people per Brenee Brown:

21. Several studies have shown that practicing gratitude leads to:
• Better overall physical health and better sleep
• More optimistic outlook on life and upcoming events
• More likely to make progress in achieving important goals
• Increase in alertness, attention, determination and energy
• Increase in compassionate acts and sense of being connected
to others
• Enhanced empathy
• Reduced aggression
• Improved self esteem
• Better mental health
“New research shows that you can help others be more productive by getting
them to reflect on the good things going on in their life.” Shawn Achor

22. How do we
cultivate
gratitude to
thrive?
• Say it or write it daily
• Turn a negative into a
positive
• Give at least one
compliment daily
• Thank people directly
• What will I be grateful for?

23. • JOY 1: Find the Pleasure in Learning – discover the pleasing things at work!
• JOY 2: Give Students Choice – create choices at work!
• JOY 3: Show Off Student Work – celebrate achievements at work!
• JOY 4: Take Time to Tinker – reflect about things that have gone well at work!
• JOY 5: Make School Spaces Inviting – create an inviting workspace!
• JOY 6: Get Outside – go outside regularly (at work or at home)!
• JOY 7: Transform Assessment – assess yourself as you go; ask for feedback!
• JOY 8: Have Some Fun Together – have some fun at work (with each other)!
Joy at Work?

24. • To increase your joy at work (or at home), why not start a
Gratitude Jar
• Anonymously write what you’re grateful for and add these
gratitude statements to your intranet
• Scroll through them regularly for inspiration and a little joy
Create Joy at Work

25. • “Ultimately, I realized that while happiness is a choice, it is not just
an individual choice, it is an interconnected one. This is because
when you choose to act with gratitude or joy, you make joy and
gratitude easier for others, who in turn give you more reasons to
be grateful and joyous.” Shawn Achor
• A virtuous cycle: “A positive feedback loop whereby making
others better leads to more resources, energy, and experiences
that make you better, fueling the cycle again. Thus, making
others better takes your success to the next level.” Shawn Achor
• “Your success, your well-being, and your performance are all
connected to that of the people around you. “ Shawn Achor
Joy in Summary

26. Thank You!
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Peace, Possibilities, and Perspective
8 Secrets to Serenity and
Satisfaction in Your Life and
Career
https://2possibilityandbeyond.com/
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