The podcast for GPs, hospital doctors and other professionals in high-stakes, high-stress jobs who want to thrive rather than just survive. You studied for years, you’re really good at what you do but you’ve noticed that you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, overworked and under-resourced. You may be comparing yourself to a frog in boiling water - the heat has built up so slowly that you haven’t noticed the extra-long days becoming the norm. You may feel on the edge and trapped in the very job that you’ve spent years working towards. Here’s the problem, frogs only have two choices; stay and be boiled alive, or jump out of the pan. The good news is that you are not a frog. You have many more choices than you think you do. You don’t have to quit, and nor should stress and burnout be inevitable. It is possible to be master of your own destiny, to craft your work life and career so that you can thrive even in the most difficult of situations. There are simple changes you can make which will make a huge difference to your stress levels and help you enjoy life again...
https://youarenotafrog.com
episode 116: What I Got So Wrong About Mindfulness and How it Might Transform Your Life
This week, Steve Pratt joins us to discover the benefits of mindfulness. We talk about how mindfulness is used to be able to live happier and less anxious. We also teach you how you can develop mindfulness practices and incorporate them into your life.
Resources
- Sign up for the Resilient Team Academy to join a supportive and thriving community of leaders
- Listen to a previous episode on mindfulness with Graham Lee
- Try out the Headspace app
- Get the book by Mark Williams Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
[5:46] Steve’s Experiences
- Steve has been a GP appraiser for 35 years, both as a managing partner and now a mentor for other GPs on the fellowship scheme.
- He spent 25 years teaching evidence-based medicine.
[9:34] How To Be Less Stressed And Burnt Out
- Mindfulness is not just about becoming more resilient, although it is part of resilience courses.
- Tune in to learn more about how to be less stressed or less burnt out in the full episode!
[17:02] The Skill Of Noticing
- The act of noticing the chatter is the work. All you have to do is bring your attention to something specific.
- Mindfulness is noticing that something is happening but choosing to remain direct.
[19:11] Choosing Where To Focus Your Attention
- It’s up to you to choose where to focus your attention.
- Train yourself to recognize what's going on in your body.
[25:59] How Mindfulness Practice Changes Your Behaviour
- Mindfulness gives you the skill to quickly get better information from your body.
- Eventually, you'll react differently to stressful situations.
[35:12] Stress Equals Resources Minus Demands
- Steve believes that we should do things that work and have evidence backing them up.
- Mindfulness practice has strong evidence behind it. It's not "woo-woo".
[42:54] Mindfulness Practice In Daily Living
- You can practice mindfulness at any time, such as when brushing your teeth or while driving to work.
- Instead of taking 20 minutes to scroll through social media, you can spend it in meditation.
- You can try out other mindfulness skills if you don’t develop a formal practice.
- Steve recommends doing a formal MBSR course. For now, listen to the full episode to try out a three-part breathing space!
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- Rachel’s email: rachel@wildmonday.co.uk
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