Combat negative thinking
- When passing though difficult times, think about 3 good things that happened in your day, to encourage you brain to process positivity.
- Create a power lead: if someone asks how you are doing, answer with an uplifting thing.
- Invest in mindfulness. This is a powerful tool against negativity.
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In the military, a stronghold is a place the losing side will retreat to when things get bad. It’s a well-stocked area that has been tightly secured in case of attack.
A mental stronghold is a practice that creates a stockpile of mental reserves you can always fall back on in challenging circumstances (for example, gratitude).
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Some research suggests that who you spend your time with matters, too.
One study in 2011 found that elderly people who spent time with family were less lonely than those attending social groups with strangers.
- On time = one minute early, because there are lots of different links and things that people need to click.
- Slack time vs. Solo time. If you're always available on Slack or email, you're multitasking and unable to do deep work. Instead, check in periodically throughout the day.
- Dedicated workspace. Even if not ideal, try to create a dedicated home office workspace in whatever way possible.
- Pomodoros & Music. The practice of the Pomodoro Technique (where you work for 25 to 50 minutes followed by a 5 - 10-minute break), combined with music to increase focus, is very effective.
Extreme grief, like losing a loved one is normally handled by an individual's support group of friends and family in stereotypical ways.
There seems to be a 'support gap' in which positive emotions like hope, gratitude, kindness, bravery, and resilience hardly find any mention during the grieving period.