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January 2009 Entries
Are you a Demander, Judge, Denialist or Extremist?

 

 

 

Dr Tom Mulholland today- talks about managing your attitude...by understanding what profile you are.

Are you a Demander, Judge, Denialist or Extremist?

2009 has kicked off with a bang. Many of us are back to work. How is your attitude shaping up?

I was fortunate enough to be a doctor on a Russian Icebreaker in the sub Antarctic islands for the first part of January. Big seas, penguins, albatross and sea lions, plus great calm days and stunning scenery.
 
Looking out the window today at a glistening Hauraki gulf I am reminded how important it is to recharge our neural hardware by taking time away from the office and relaxing. Believe it or not, charging through the Southern Ocean was relaxing!
 
How long we can sustain this hardware refresh, depends on a number of things.
 
So presuming your hardware is firing on all synapses after a Christmas break, how do you test and run good software for the coming months?
 
When the cloud covers your attitude and the grumpy unit (amygdala) is activated at work or home, how do you fix it or even better prevent it?
 
We have developed a concept called COGNITHERAPEUTICS.
 
It is about immunizing yourself with Therapeutic Thoughts to avoid conflict, improve relationships, productivity and health parameters like blood pressure and cortisol.
 
Working a few shifts in Auckland City Hospital Emergency department as a doctor over the Christmas break I certainly saw lots of stress related illness.
 
Some were the effects of Chronic unhealthy thinking while others were the result of an acute episode of unhealthy emotions like stress, anger and anxiety.
 
  • COGNITHERAPEUTICS have been used by successful people for many years, often without knowing it. I came across one from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, arguably the 20th Century's Greatest Explorer, in a book of his I was reading recently. 

 "Panic can rise from a fear of failure, leading to the sudden collapse of the reserve of willpower needed to sustain enormous effort and discomfort over long periods (sounds like a normal day at the  office for most of us?)

We have found that Preventative Therapeutic thoughts (COGNITHERAPEUTICALS) can be targeted based on your Attitude profile. For those of you who have read the book The Power of Healthy Thinking, attended one of our seminars or read previous newsletters, you may be familiar with The Demander, The Judge and The Fortune Teller as well as their antidotes.
The good news is that we have now developed a Psychometric test for attitude. As one of my clients, a head Chef at Hilton said to me recently, "Dr Tom, I can teach anyone to cook, so I hire on attitude, your profiling system will help me do so!"
 
We require another 100 people to complete the assessment to validate it as a reliable Psychometric test to further our research into why people behave in certain ways, and more importantly, how to change it for the better! Its all about reducing stress and frustration by recognizing unhealthy attitude profiles.
 
  • Are you a Demander, Judge, Denialist or Extremist?
  • Do you prefer to be an Explorer, Rationalist or Advocate?
This is not a personality test but an ATTITUDE test! It is hard to change your personality, but you can change your attitude! They key is to find out your core attitude profile and treat it.
 

Go this link and find out! 

The first 100 people to do so will get a free individualized report from one of our psychologists. You will also go into the draw for a free Healthy Thinking e-development course valued at $350, for helping with our research.

 
If you wish to more about our keynote presentations, workshops or books go to www.healthythinking.biz or email me tom@healthythinking.biz
 
With the current economic climate being slow we believe crisis will create opportunity. It is not what happens to you, but your attitude towards it that counts. You cant necessarily control the economic climate, but you can control the climate between your ears! It depends on what software you are running.
 
 
Happy Healthy Thinking
 
Dr Tom Mulholland
 
 
posted @ Friday, January 30, 2009 1:46 PM | Feedback (1) | Filed Under [ Action ]
Kick-start your 2009 Goals Now!

 

In our quest to find out how some of leaders in their field are focussing themselves on their goals and on coming out of the starting blocks fast in 2009...

John Shackleton talks about some health and fitness goals for the year
Unlike the professional athletes we don’t have an Olympic final to aim at in a few years time so we can easily procrastinate on our health and fitness goals with statements like: “I’ll start my diet tomorrow” or “One day without exercising won’t make a difference”. Unfortunately one day turns into two and then into a week and before you know it, we’ve lost all momentum and have to start all over again.  
I have a few simple rules to kick-start health with my diet and exercise goals: 
1.      Have an extremely specific goal. What will you achieve, by when and how will you measure that achievement? How will you reward yourself when you get there and what price will you pay if you fail?
2.      On Sunday night make a training plan for the week. How many days will you exercise and for how long each day? Which days will you have off and what else will you do to aid your recovery?
3.      Every morning make an eating plan for the day. Where and when will you eat your meals and what exactly will you consume? What snacks are you going to eat between meals and how much water will you drink today?
4.      Write down a drinking plan for the week. Which days will you consume alcohol and what will your weekly total be?
5.      Be nice to yourself. If you eat or drink too much or you miss a training session then don’t quit or beat yourself up. Just sit down with your plan and work out if and when you can make up the difference later in the week.
6.      Keep a record of everything you do. Write down everything you eat and drink and keep a training log including distances and times achieved. Reading this log can be the most motivational thing to do when things are getting tough and your goals seem to be slipping away.
Success in anything doesn’t come from luck or talent. It will come to those who plan their work and then work their plan.
John is a professional speaker and author of Life is for Living 

 Gray Bartlett’s Philosophy is to focus on the simple things:

1.    Look in the mirror and declare 2009 your year- your attitude will determine how you succeed in times of feast or famine.

2.    Eat fresh foods and exercise simply but regularly

3.    Renew your passion for leisure activities in your life- it will inspire and refresh you. ( I choose music)

4.    Connect with people and companies you truly believe in and be vocal about your support for them

5.    Mix with lots of different people to help you get creative in your thinking- get out of your rut.

6.    First believe in what you are doing – then get up out of your seat and create action.

7.    Don’t be afraid to be controversial

Gray is an entrepreneur, director of 5 companies and star-finder / career creator of Hayley Westenra, Elizabeth Marvelly, Yulia, Will Martin, Annabel Fay and Ben Morrison

posted @ Thursday, January 15, 2009 3:35 PM | Feedback (0) | Filed Under [ Action Goals Interview Yourself ]
Kick-Start your Goals for 2009

I asked a number of leaders in their field to share with us their ideas for coming out of the starting blocks quickly in 2009.

I’ll share their Kick-start Tips with you over the coming weeks as we step cautiously – but boldly (if that is possible) into the year in which many eternal optimists and determined opportunists look for ways to beat the world trends – or take advantage of them.

 
Just before that though, I thought I would give a plug for Twitter as a neat goal setting (and getting tool). It's a phenomenon- which caught my attention  which has been facilitated by new mobile phones, web 2 technology and the growth of social media. It is a source of inspiration for me to link up regularly with inspired people’s thoughts. Twitter helps me to do that.
 
I joined Twitter last year and have been fascinated at the very personal glimpse into the minutiae of people’s days and how they go about creating and sharing thoughts with each other towards achieving their own goals. Its actually a great way to get a supportive netwprk around you to help keep you focussed on your goals as well as providing inspiration throughout the day and week. Choose who you follow carefully of course!
 
This online service is used to communicate and share ideas and links with groups that have similar interests. It’s fast and a form of microblogging. It’s not for everyone- but what I have taken out of it is the idea sharing part and the fact that no matter what your expertise, interests or position in life, our everyday is patterned with similar mini-thoughts and revelations. It’s what you do with these thoughts that creates the abundance and opportunities in your own life.
 
What we do with 24 hours is the most important plan we can make – so worry less about the whole of 2009 and focus on optimising the next 24 hours and the next and the next and create positive action that will take you towards your important goals.
 
Kick-start Tips #1
By Jenene Freer, Founder and Ceo of www.flossie.com
 
Step 1: Take some real time off
No pussy-footing around with excuses of “I’m waiting ‘til the weather’s better”, if you’re serious about moving at lightning speed you need to get some space between you and the last year.  Take a long summer holiday and really let the past year wash over you and feel completely refreshed.  This approach did wonders for my business last year and bore the concept for our newest venture.  Bask in the sun and relax – it’s a vital ingredient.
 
Step 2: Congratulate yourself

Time to blow your own trumpet!  What did you rock at?  Why?  What was it about that thing / project that motivated you to do well?  Get a good understanding of what actually gets you out of bed in the morning then go and toast your success and get everyone pumped up about doing it again.

 

Step 3: Berate yourself

Enough back slapping – now what could you have done better?  Who’s doing it better than you?  Now, what are you going to do about it?  Get together with your team and have everyone contribute to what they think they-slash-the business could be focusing on.  Goal: to be the best in breed.

 

Step 4: Use the downtime well

I accept that January is a bit of pain-in-the-butt month where it’s difficult to get too much interaction with clients going.  However, I tend to use this time to get annoying projects that are easy to procrastinate about, out of the way.

 

Step 5: Set directions

Time to ensure you’ve got a very clear strategy for the year ahead (which ideally you would have set last year) and measureable goals for each quarter – this will enormously motivate your team.  Even if you’re only a one-man band, key performance indicators will enable you to look back and appreciate what you’ve achieved and motivate you to keep at it.

 

Step 6: Create a motto and scream it from the rooftops

Create a motto:  mine’s going to be “embrace online in 2009” and I’m going to say it so many times that people are going to want to have my vocal chords removed.

 

Step 7: Positivity breeds positivity

Ignore the gloom but take heed.  Efficient, well run businesses will continue to flourish and positivity is vital for the coming year.  Try and shake off the continued talk of gloom, but at the same time a prudent business manager will look at how she might be able to trim costs and challenge how the business could be further streamlined.

 

Step 8: Diehard for your cause

Add some pressure and set high expectations. And reward!  Those willing to kill their own food are going to love the next year or so.  Use this to your advantage and really dial up the competitive spirit and add a bit of performance pressure.  The satisfaction of achieving big things will make it worth everyone’s while.

posted @ Thursday, January 01, 2009 2:01 PM | Feedback (0) | Filed Under [ Action ]