MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Five takeaways:

It is natural to experience periods of heightened worry, stress, and unease. Fortunately, research from numerous studies has provided us with effective techniques to calm an overactive, anxious mind. These are:

1. Use the 4-7-8 breathing method: This method requires you to sit comfortably, exhale through your mouth with a “whoosh,” then inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, and exhale for 8. Repeat three times. This practice helps calm the body and works well for sleeplessness, too.
2. Listen to this specially designed song: “Weightlessness,” an eight-minute song created by sound therapists, reduces stress by gradually slowing its beat from 60 beats per minute to 50 beats per minute, helping listeners’ heart rates sync and lower. The author noted that he returns to this song regularly for stress reduction.
3. Get 45 minutes of vigorous exercise: Research shows that exercise reduces anxiety, especially vigorous 45-minute sessions. However, anxiety was positively affected by moderate 80 minute exercise and 2 hours of light exercise. Of course, shorter, more intense workouts may be more practical for busy schedules.
4. Get some nature: Being in nature, even if only for a short walk, can have markedly productive effects on your anxiety. However you can– even if only along a commute, or putting plants around your desk– increasing your interaction with nature has proven positive effects on your mental well-being.
5. Save it for later: This is less about shutting anxiety off than it is making it manageable. You can address stress by actively deferring it. However you keep your schedule- by hand or via phone/computer, schedule a time later in the day to address the source of your anxiety. Writing down worries and dedicating time for them sets boundaries, often reducing their impact by the designated time.

The brain works in unexpected and impressive ways. We hope these tips help you manage the moments when its anxiety responses are working overtime.

By Bill Murphy Jr, for Inc.
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Four takeaways:

19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer believed that listening to music was one of the “oracles” that helped humans connect with the truth about life– that it opened up a unique channel of higher consciousness. This point of view is shared not only by other thinkers and philosophers, but also by scientists.

First: it is human instinct. Music has appeared in every human society ever documented. Styles differ from culture to culture, but the making and appreciation of music are ubiquitous across human life.

In 2018, a study conducted through the Berklee College of Music showed that our brains are built to enjoy and benefit from music. Music showed to pacify the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, access areas of memory dulled by Alzheimer’s disease, and decrease the frequency of seizures in those with epilepsy.

Music also has a clear emotional effect. Studies of brain waves have supported the remarkable ability of happy & upbeat music to induce greater happiness, and in sad or more aggressive music to make people feel understood or less alone in their unhappiness.

Brooks provides four tips for maximizing music’s innate effects to heighten emotional experiences and gain a deeper sense of meaning and self understanding:

1. Decide what you want from your music: Research shows that music can be used to bond socially. It also shows that it can intensify personal emotions. But it can rarely do both at the same time. If you want to feel a more raw emotional experience, listen or go to a concert by yourself.
2. Follow a recipe: Understand that music shown to elicit a more positive response is usually faster tempo, has specific chord changes, or is previously affiliated with positive memories. Create a catalog of songs that make you feel specific emotions, paying attention to each one’s characteristics– and the emotional response you usually have.
3. Learn and Grow: To expand and refine your music taste, think about the emotional and cognitive effects music has on you—try Italian opera like Puccini’s Tosca or La Bohème for love songs, or elevate the thrill of guitar riffs with flamenco virtuosos like Paco de Lucía.
4. Play it Yourself: Learning to play an instrument can enhance your connection to music, and heighten its emotional effect. Why not try it for yourself?

By the end of his life, Schopenhauer listened almost exclusively to one composer: the Italian Gioachino Rossini. He reportedly rolled his eyes up to heaven when listening to his music and speaking about it. Through research and diligence, you too can make music a part of your life that takes you into higher levels of consciousness and self-awareness.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Five takeaways:

The desire to make a change can be a general one. Assessing the specifics of what you want to change in a profressional situation will help you take the most useful, beneficial action. The five questions below are designed by career development experts to help with this assessment:

• “What do I want more or less of this year?” – creating a list of the things you no longer want to do in a new role, as well as the things you want to do more of, will help you refine your search for a new role. It will also provide a framework for conversations with your superiors about a role restructure, should you decide to try to evolve in your current position.
• “How can I increase my visibility at work?”– people hire people, people promote people, people amplify people. Visibility to the right people creates a “career insurance plan” – a strong network that provides a safety net should a career change become necessary or disruption arise.
• “What’s my one big win this year that will it a year to smile about?” – Look one year ahead, and imagine you’re still in your current role. This helps people clarify which commitments they need to make to themselves; the people they need to be and the mindset they need to have. The resulting action will certainly lead to positive career development.
• “What’s my reputation at work?” – Those who get promoted or hired into good positions are known to be collaborative, strategic and analytical. You must think about how adequately aligned your reputation is with those adjectives in your current surroundings to know to best move forward.
• “What fills my cup?” – make a conscious effort to have your work align with what nourishes, thrills, and restores you. Does being successful mean making a lot of money, or does it mean making impactful change? Is it somewhere in the middle? Knowing what fills your cup allows you to set yourself up for a year of wins– or refine your search for your next job.

By accounting for these questions honestly, you will put yourself in the best possible position to either grow in your current role, or take productive action towards your next one.

From Monica Torres for The Huffington Post
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Three takeaways:

Even if someone asks you for it, giving advice can often be a counterproductive act. But it doesn’t have to be that way– and being great at giving advice can help you maximize the happiness and effectiveness of those around you.

Author and advice expert Michael Stanyay society falsely teaches us that giving advice is a sign of success, and that leaders in particular must prove their value by liberally dispersing it. While we might have good intentions, we often rush to give advice that serves our ego more than it does the person receiving it. A 2018 study found that giving advice helped participants overcome a lack of motivation or confidence more than receiving advice did.

When giving advice in the modern workplace, there are some important things to remember to make your advice the most effective while ensuring that it does not offend the person receiving it:

1. Remember that no one has all the answers anymore: As technology transforms the workplace and required skills become more diverse, it is unrealistic for leaders to have all the answers. Know when a question goes outside of your expertise, and find those with specialized skills in the workplace who can be counted on to help with area-specific questions.
2. Know the difference between advice vs. coaching: instead of offering advice, become a coach: help others devise their own solutions by asking them leading questions. This may be slightly more time consuming, but it can boost motivation and help people develop their problem-solving skills.
3. Be conscious of your framing: To avoid offending the person receiving your advice, frame it in a way that allows them to ignore it without losing face. Adding a qualifier like, “These ideas worked for me, but they may not work for you. I’ll just throw them on the table and if there’s something useful – great. If not, that’s fine as well” can help assuage any potential ego hit to the recipient, and therefore make it easier for them to implement your advice.

Giving better advice will help you build trust and credibility in the workplace, positioning you as a valuable resource for colleagues– while offering the added benefit of better overall decision making and productivity among your colleagues.

By Jessica Mudditt, for The BBC
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