Wellbeing Canvas

Essential wellbeing practices for resiliency and performance in challenging times

In 2010, after facing professional and personal challenges stemming from the Great Recession, I began a deep exploration into mindfulness and wellbeing practices, by doing silent meditation retreats and studying with global leaders to understand the science, skills and practices that drive human wellbeing and performance.

The Wellbeing Canvas is a milestone in that journey and captures the key elements of wellbeing in a simple reference and one-pager worksheet that can be used to plan and execute on your wellbeing goals and is based on the essential wellbeing practices supported by science.

The Wellbeing Canvas includes elements for both body and mind and ensures we balance stress and recovery. The canvas increases wellbeing awareness, choices and results and is most effective when used on a regular basis.

Download the Wellbeing Canvas worksheet here

The Idea Mix

Loved being back with Ana Kertesz and Samhita Jayanti in March 2019 on their The IdeaMix Life Hustle podcast which features essential ideas, stories and resources for people interested in entrepreneurship.

We talked about why tech-enabled disruption and macro-economic uncertainty is driving companies to increasingly invest in wellbeing and mindfulness skills and why each of us should craft our own Wellbeing Canvas to better align our work and life.

Take a listen to my episode and let me know what you think!

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play and on The IdeaMix website https://lnkd.in/gAShtY2

Learning Mindset

I recently (November 2019) did a Spartan obstacle course race for the first time, after constructing and following a three-month training plan. Over that period, I replaced my Can I Do This? mindset with a What Can I Learn? mindset.

Can I Do This? sets you up for failure; it’s like training with a sword hanging over your head.

What Can I Learn? frees you up for growth and advancement. In my case, it got me thinking, “No matter what happens, I will create a baseline from which I can grow in the future.”

One thing I learned is that your mind plays tricks on you. For example, I learned that my preconceptions could be pretty off target. Others told me to watch out for the seven-foot inverted wall, but I ended up clearing it in one swing. That was a lot of stress for nothing.

I was very pleased with my performance… until the last three obstacles. By that time, I was pretty spent, and missed my first attempt on each of them.

Afterwards, I was eager to continue my learning and wanted to sign up for another Spartan event three weeks from now.

My wife convinced me it might be a better idea to train some more, before diving into another learning experience. Smart tip.

Anchor Habits

I love cheese and chocolate and could easily overdo it, but the way I try to keep it under control is by establishing certain anchor habits, one of which is to primarily eat a healthy, plant-based diet.

You can do the same by establishing your own anchor habits in these five critical areas: how you recharge, move, eat, think and feel.

The image shows my habits, but you should pick those that work best for you. For example, I need eight hours of sleep a night to feel my best; you might be fine with seven.

The more chaos and pressure you feel, the greater the benefit of sticking with your anchor habits.