Wellness vs. distraction: Tips to manage your thoughts

Work is important, but we must make room for other things in our lives.

Shailini George is a professor at Suffolk University Law School and writes about mindfulness and the cognitive science of learning. She spoke about distraction and its impact on the mind during the recent National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Apex East event.

George challenged the audience to think about how they manage their thoughts so they can perform their best.

Most people operate in a one-dimensional mode at work, George said. “Work has its place, but being one-dimensional is a recipe for burnout,” she said.

George cited the National Wellness Institute’s six dimensions of wellness, which are:

1. Intellectual. The intellectual dimension recognizes one’s creative, stimulating mental activities. An intellectually well person expands their knowledge and skills while discovering the potential for sharing their gifts with others.
2. Spiritual. The spiritual dimension of wellness is characterized by a peaceful harmony between internal personal feelings and emotions and the rough and rugged stretches of one’s path.
3. Emotional. The emotional dimension of wellness includes the degree to which someone feels positive and enthusiastic about their self and life.
4. Occupational. The occupational dimension of wellness recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in one’s life through work. At the center of occupational wellness is the premise that occupational development is related to one’s attitude about one’s work.
5. Physical. The physical benefits of looking and feeling good frequently lead to the psychological benefits of enhanced self-esteem, self-control, determination and a sense of direction.
6. Social. The social dimension of wellness encourages contributing to one’s environment and community. It emphasizes the interdependence between others and nature.

Unless we are well intellectually, we can’t achieve the other dimensions of wellness, George said. Intellectual wellness includes the ability to pay attention, process information quickly, remember information and solve problems.

The goal for intellectual wellness, she said, is to reach a state of flow – a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in an activity.

Barriers to intellectual wellness, George said, include:

1. Cognitive overload. The brain can handle only a certain amount of information at a time. We must allow our brain to take some time off to process information.
2. Distraction addiction. “Distraction is the enemy of productivity,” George said, yet people are addicted to distraction from electronic media and other things that take their minds off the task at hand.
3. Stress impacts the brain as well as the body, she said.

George encouraged the audience to seek mindfulness, which she described as “having your body and your mind in the same place at the same time.” One way to achieve mindfulness is to perform mindful breathing.

Other tips George provided to enhance overall well-being included:

• Examining your schedule and taking breaks.
• Establishing an end to the workday.
• Appreciating the present and not living only for the future.

 

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at Susan.Rupe@innfeedback.com. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.

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