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The 6 am fit-ball class at the gym scored the full country smell experience this morning.

My gym shoes this morning – not a pretty sight let alone the odour they gave off 

Aaah the joys of sharing the road with 300 cows ambling ( as they should) in front or your car  and then having to get out and open the gate.

The joys of sharing your ingress and egress with the dairy cows

What a shame the people at the gym don’t get to see the many, many benefits of the country experience as often as I do

What a magnificent sight 

#lifeoflynne #lovewhereIlive

Following on from my blog post yesterday lauding the #stopbullying and #doitforDolly campaigns my attention has been drawn to the beyond bizarre social media bullying of  daughter of the hero of this perfectly harmless and highly amusing good news story from The Land senior journalist Alex Druce.  Check it out and decide for yourself. ‘Give me the bloody chicken’: ‘Hero’ dad thwarts chook thief outside Coles .

My source tells me the bullying got so bad the young lady shut down her Facebook page

Quoting nineteenth-century chemist Ellen Swallow Richards

‘The environment that people live in, is the environment they learn to live in, respect and perpetuate.’ 

I pose the questions.

1. Has the Mean Mob Mentality got out of control and if the answer is yes how do we all learn to be nice to each other?
2. Has the support system failed our fellow man/woman doing it tough that their only option is to steal food?
3. Do we need to rethink the environment we are cultivating with our PhD’s in Judgment and Expertise in everything and anything?

#stopbullying and #doitforDolly are currently trending and could there be a better cause.

Hashtags can be extraordinarily powerful in addressing the social media Mean Mob Mentality. All Australians saw the power of #illridewithyou after the Lindt Seige 

Humans are unique in that we are the only animals that can conceptualize and think about ourselves abstractly. We are blessed with the ability to imagine ourselves in hypothetical situations and contemplate the impact our actions have on others.  Yet in the word of Charles Bubowski “We are terrorized and flattened by life’s trivialities: we are eaten up by nothing. ‘We are all going to die- what a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t.

‘

I was never bullied as a child and didn’t experience it until I joined Twitter. But I am not blaming Twitter. It’s not Twitter that’s the problem, it’s the bullies and the mean mob mentality it attracts.

So how do we as individuals and as a collaborative collective do our bit to limit the damage it does and gain emotional resilience for ourselves and those around us. How do we reframe the experience, so it affects us less? How do we help young people embrace the mantra “The more I peer into the darkness, the brighter life gets, the quieter the world becomes, and the less unconscious resistance I feel to, well anything” and stay emotionally resilient?

My experience showed me

1. Bullies will never go away. They don’t think they are doing anything wrong. They think it is their right to express their opinion no matter how hurtful it may be to others
2. Bullies attract followers. I don’t understand the Mean Mob Mentality followers. Perhaps in my case they were people who didn’t like me or what I stand for and saw it as a way of telling me very publicly.
3. Your social media supporters can be a lot smarter than you. They don’t engage the bullies. They start their own hashtag. In my case it was #strongwomen

Some strategies I have include:

1. I cultivate healthy, genuine friendships. People who care about me. People who don’t judge me. People who support me
2. I have some great mentors. Professionals whose career journey gives them the expertise to support and advise me
3. I read great books that help put it all into perspective and embrace it.

Some wise words I have drawn inspiration from

1. Legacy – The Story of the All Blacks by James Kerr
2. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
3. Composure by Zoë Routh
4. Moments by Zoë Routh

I have a mentor who told me that the higher profile you get, the more polarising you will become. Expect half the audience to love you, half the audience to hate you. In the end it is about them, what you trigger in them, that is causing the emotional reaction. Keep showing up in service and sharing.

This is the challenge that the #stopbullying and #doitforDolly campaigns are tackling They are sending a strong message around the world that many, many people are putting their hands up to be part of the solution. Well done , what a great legacy you are leaving – I am barracking for you

and remember

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide get help immediately. Choose life  Call Lifeline 13 11 14 or 000 if life is in danger.

From me to everyone. Happy always and in the spirit of new beginnings

“We will open the journal. The pages are blank. We are going to put the words on them ourselves.”  My journal is called Courage and its first chapter is New Years Day

According to this article in Huffington Post and every leadership coach I know journaling is the latest scientifically proven therapy for Happiness. 

There’s a strong connection between happiness and mindfulness. Journaling brings you into that state of mindfulness; past frustrations and future anxieties lose their edge in the present moment.  It calls a wandering mind to attention, from passivity to actively engaging with your thoughts.

Journaling often includes your dreams and ambitions, yet the idea that scribbled words can help achieve goals is understandably fanciful. But consider building a house without a blueprint. That makes more sense.

and its good Brain Food 

Writing goals signals to your brain “this is important.” Your reticular activating system (RAS) then flags relevant opportunities and tools to achieve that goal. More detailed goals provide a psychological blueprint, and increases the likelihood of achieving them.

There’s a unique relationship between the hand and brain, sparked by the composition of thoughts and ideas. Words are representations of ideas; the formation of letters and causes the mind to compose or re-compose ideas while journaling. This strengthens previously covered information and forces you to engage in cognitive recall.

and its good for your Heart 

Being able to get on the same page with someone is a mark of emotional intelligence, and allows for a much deeper connection. Journaling is an outlet for processing emotions and increases self-awareness. This internal familiarity becomes a bridge of empathy, you’ll better intuit and understand what others are experiencing.

 and inspires you to clean your House

Setting time aside to write, whether morning or evening, is an act of discipline. And discipline begets discipline. Like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. And habits formed in one area of life have a tendency to spread; as keeping your office clean leads to keeping the bedroom tidy, your daily practice of writing will domino onto other healthy habits.

and its good for your Soul 

Expressive writing is a route to healing — emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Dr. James Pennebaker, author of  Writing to Heal has seen improved immune function in participants of writing exercises. Stress often comes from emotional blockages, and overthinking hypotheticals. He explains, “When we translate an experience into language we essentially make the experience graspable.” And in doing so, you free yourself from mentally being tangled in traumas. Studies have also shown that the emotional release from journaling lowers anxiety, stress, and induces better sleep.

and sparks your Creativity

Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” has become the panacea for unlocking creativity amongst anyone and everyone. Our struggle isn’t whether we’re creative, it’s how to let it flow. Her powerful tool is simply to write without thinking — “stream of consciousness” writing. Beyond overcoming writer’s block, stream of consciousness writing brings out thoughts and ideas you never knew you had in you, and loosens up your expressive muscles. She recommends three pages, done first thing in the morning. Including even one page as part of your journaling will get your creative juices flowing.

and builds your Self-Confidence

Journaling about a positive experience allows your brain to relive it. And reaffirms your abilities when the ugly head of self-doubt appears. The release of endorphins and dopamine will boost your self-esteem and mood. These reflections can become a catalog of personal achievements that you continue to go back to.

As you work to incorporate journaling into your life, remember the elephant is best eaten one bite at a time. Patience and consistency are crucial in forming new habits. Begin writing perhaps three days a week, first thing in the morning or before sleeping.

Look forward to you sharing with me what your 2018 journal is called.

HT to Edith Lovejoy Pierce for giving me the opportunity to paraphrase her words