Andy Murray - why did he underperform?

Any crashed out to a straight sets loss against Djokovic in the Aussie Open on Sunday. How come he so under-performed? Yes Djokovic played extremely well. We've seen Andy Murray play some great matches against great opponents - so it's not that he lacks the capability. Was he physically drained? Possibly, but my guess is that he has found the energy in previous situations like this. So what else might explain it?

Any top performer plays his very best when he or she is fully aligned at all levels of consciousness; this allows them to get into the state of 'flow'. At this high level of competition, any slight doubt of any kind can be enough to sink the ship, as it were. I recall one sprinter saying that if you were going to compete against Linford Christe, if you had any slight doubt even for a second in the week before the race, then you had already lost. In NLP language, that's a lack of alignment at the unconscious level. And yet, it's quite easy to put right.

Of course, the old-fashioned way is to keep going until you get a break and your mind suddenly fully realises that you really ARE a winner; rather like appeared to happen for Roger Federer after his first Wimbledon win. But that's a risky strategy. I think that's what never happened for Tim Henman. Agassi transformed his approach as a result of NLP coaching.

For any of us, the real difference that makes the difference as to whether or not we get what we are truly capable of in life, is about unconscious mis-alignment. Simply put, we have either unrecognised doubts or competing desires which undermine our focus and determination. It's totally fixable these days.

Is real happiness unrealistic? Beware of reality checks; check on reality itself first

Let's say life is good... but, being honest with yourself, is it the way you'd be if you had 'three wishes' - or even just one :)   Aaah but we have to live in the real world. What if you discovered that reality is not as real as we tend to believe? Check out this BBC Horizon video and just wonder...

What is Reality? Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

Happiness on video - free

From the World Conference on Happiness and Its Causes, Sydney
Some great presentations recorded for you to watch free online 
Don't miss this opportunity - I don't know how long they will be there (I had to buy previous recordings as DVD sets). 
<View the whole programme here>

I particularly recommend these two: 

Happiness of a compassionate life

Dr Robert Thurman

Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Department of Religion, Columbia University, USA

    * Can we find a reliable source of happiness?
    * Is it possible to have enduring satisfaction in life without depriving others?
    * Compassion and generosity can be fun.
    * Can we educate ourselves and our children to live life to its fullest? 

Happiness: Is it beyond our control?

Hugh Mackay

Psychologist, social researcher and novelist, Author: Advance Australia…Where? and Right & Wrong: How to decide for yourself

    * How have changes in Australian society affected our psyche?
    * Does the pace of change create an unrealistic obsession with “control”?
    * Why we need to embrace the full spectrum of human emotions – not just happiness
    * Why we need to accept that life is for living, not controlling

 His ideas on ALL emotions being important echoes my own ideas, that emotions are feedback signals from the mind-body system trying to maintain internal equilibrium within its environment.

Is wealth bad for your health?

Complex economic formulas developed by two professors of economics, Curtis Eaton and Mukesh Eswaran, and published in the current edition of the Economic Journal, suggest that greater affluence can seriously damage a nation's health. Based on their mathematical modelling, the economists advance the theory that once a country reaches a reasonable standard of living there is little further benefit to be had from increasing the wealth of its population. Indeed, it could make people feel worse off.
Read the full article on wealth is bad for your health here.

New Happiness Post

The Physics of Happiness

In this email:

• A basic truth for happiness & success
  
• News bites
  
• Training & events
• Free Stuff

Hi! We'll soon be in Spring!

Time for new growth - and many of us in business would like some of that!

The common wisdom is that the best you can hope for is to balance work and life. I think it's all wrong. Passion + your strengths = success and happiness. Do less of what you don't like and more of what you do.

A rediscovered old truth

 

The basic requirements for success and happiness

Anyone who has sustained amazing business success will tell you that two ingredients are necessary: (i) self-belief and (ii) doing something you enjoy. The trouble is, most of us don’t fully get what the second requirement is all about. Creating and keeping something significant takes a lot of work. This applies whether you want happy relationships, a great career or business, or a lovely family. How are you going to sustain the effort if you are not fully focussed on why you enjoy it? You will get moments of weakness that will let you down.
You have to always ask WHY you want what you want. Even more importantly, what will your achievement enable you to continuously do, or be, or have? What will be happening? Go out to that future, now, and check – does it make you really excited, ongoing? It has to have real passion and meaning to you. Try it this way – imagine all your bills, your mortgage, your concerns were all met; what would you be doing in life then? The answer gives you clues about what you need to be doing. When it comes to business, make sure you pick out things that you are naturally excellent at.

Inspiration only comes when you put yourself on the edge; when you burn your boats; when you take a risk and invest in yourself. At that very point, your mind gets creative; you tune into new ideas and get creative. If you don’t, you stay just ‘off-station’ and no new information will come to you. It’s rather like the difference between tuning into a live broadcast compared to listening into a replay of yesterday’s news. This is ancient wisdom, consistent with Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish traditions, which hold to a sacred truth: ‘live in the present moment’. Many people think that this is only a modern idea. It has been held true for thousands of years.
So, the ancient wisdom, just as the modern business gurus, say get rid of all self-doubt or bad feelings that get in the way, and make sure you are being authentic to yourself. Invest in being yourself – all other posts are taken! Listen to no reasons or excuses – they become self-fulfilling alibis. Get whatever help you can to speed this up. In this current financial environment, where the tide has gone out, so-to-speak, it’s time now to have a good look at what it reveals on the exposed beach. It’s an opportunity you may not get twice.

 

Newsbites

 

In the flow


Ever had that wonderful, timeless feeling that arises when you're absorbed in a challenging task, one that stretches your abilities but doesn't exceed them? Pioneering psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this state 'flow'. Countless studies have shown that flow is highly rewarding and usually provokes feelings of joy afterwards. Little researched until now, however, is the idea of 'social flow', which can arise when a group of people are absorbed together in a challenging task. In a new study, Charles Walker finds that social flow is associated with more joy than solitary flow - 'that doing it together is better than doing it alone'. He concluded by leaving open the question of why more social tasks lead to a form of flow that provokes more joy. Source BPS Blog where you can read the full article.

 

Spin really works

A take-away restaurant near your house might offer free home delivery or a ten per cent discount if you collect. It sounds much better than saying you get no discount for picking up and suffer a ten per cent fee for delivery – this is the power of spin or ‘framing’ (which we teach in NLP). Now David Hardisty and colleagues have dug a little deeper into framing, to show first, that these kinds of effects can interact with people's political persuasion, and second, that they can act by altering the order of people's thoughts. Source BPS Blog where you can read the full article.

Olympic athletes reveal their mental strategies

Here's one for the boys at Top Gear to think about - apparently having an obsessive passion for driving can predispose people towards aggression behind the wheel. The idea is that for these people, driving has become an overpowering compulsion, such that an obstacle - for example, a slow driver in front - provokes great frustration, which leads to anger, which explains why they sometimes drive right up your bumper and flash their headlights.

'When obsessively passionate, the person wants to pursue activity engagement because of an internal compulsion that comes to control him or her,' the researchers explained. 'Within such a state, being prevented from engaging in the activity by an external agent is conducive to anger toward this agent.' Source BPS Blog where you can read the full article.

Training & Events

Would you like to Learn to Hypnotise Anyone in One Day?

 

Now, you may or may not have experienced hypnosis; most probably you have seen demonstrations on T.V. or somewhere.  How does it really work? How can you use it to help people, or for your own benefit? Well I'm going to tell you how on 20 March (only £30 if you book by Wed 10th - tomorrow). Find out more <here> (there's also a free hypnosis audio download).

Learn NLP  - extra dates 

 

Now scheduling an extra 8 day NLP practitioner training, this summer. First come first served in confirming the precise dates. Certified by the ABNLP. £1399 includes a pre-study training pack of audio and video recording (pre-saved on a free personal MP3 player), two course books and comprehensive manual. Live training will also include the amazing time line therapy techniques.  We will be a small and friendly group, where personal attention is assured. Contact Richard now. Download Brochure and booking details.  

Free stuff

 
The Business Manifesto

I spoke about passion and vision above. Rich Schefren is a highly respected business advisor on creating success using the web. One of his early ventures was to create a chain of hypnosis centres with some savvy marketing methods, with a $7 million turnover in four years. He is now regarded as the guru's guru. Tap into his knowledge by downloading hi 'Business Manifesto' at his blog. Follow the trail to download both 'The Missing Chapter' and the 'The Final Chapter', all free. I heartily recommend following his blog from the beginning too.

Lasting Happiness

I’m really passionate about the idea of spreading how to do happiness. I’m talking about durable Happiness; not what you get from moments of achievement or satisfied desire. It's about making use of what you enjoy. I particularly want to help our kids - who doesn't want children to be happy and fulfilled in life? Now, I don't think it's for me to talk to them directly (there are laws to protect them). They are your kids, or in your care. But are you interested in helping them and yourself at the same time?

It's easier to learn when you’re young isn't it? So this blog is also about how to help your kids survive growing up – by working on your own happiness at the same time. Lead by example; they are watching you! Are you willing to do what it takes? Because this is not an easy path to follow. You will be stepping out of the norm; thinking differently from other parents, and quite probably teachers and almost everyone you hear.

Many of us may like the idea of empowered children (and many, frankly, do not). We might like the idea of them being able to ask for and strive for they want, to fulfil their real potential, and be happy in the process. However, their are consequences. What if they do indeed begin to be themselves? Maybe they will not do what you want. It is a challenge to move to listening, understanding and enabling, as opposed to 'knowing what's best' and 'helping'. It will go against the grain for most people. Do you think it is worth pursuing?

Think about your own life; how truly happy are you? How much of what you do you really enjoy? I'm not talking about not having hard work or tough times. I was talking to a chap only last week, who loves playing the french horn, in a top orchestra. He mainly loves his job; but he felt motivated to say that sometimes he had to play a lot of c@@p stuff. He wasn't happy at all with that. It seemed to spoil his true happiness. He didn't quite feel fulfilled. But how could he change it?

Well, you start by considering the possibility. He told that he likes to go distance running. He enjoys it; so much so that he will get up early and run for many miles, whatever the weather. That's tough; but he would never complain about it; he would never say he didn't like it, even on a tough hill with the rain in his face. The reason is, he would remember that it was his choice to go out. And he was happy about running; he enjoyed it.

Now, what would happen with someone who did not like running? They might complain about how early they had to get up, or the rotten weather, or the hilly route, or any number of things. It seems to me, that when you are doing YOUR chosen thing, no matter how tough it gets, you keep motivated and you get sustained joy. The trouble starts when you are not on your true path. Some of the things you do you may like - and you might say you had a good day. Sometimes you have a bad day. As you get closer to working towards your true purpose, all 'hills' are just hills, not bad experiences.

The Physics of Happiness

• Welcome to my Happiness Blogsite!
  


• Happiness and how to achieve it
  


• Video clip
  


• Latest News & Tips
• Keep in touch
  

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Hi! Enjoy my new Blogsite!

I've finally realised a little ambition of mine to bring together lots of free information and resources on achieving happiness. I needed to figure out how blogsites work and how to create them and all that techie stuff. I hope you like the result!

Sign up at the blog site to get a series of free articles on happiness and how to achieve it! I'

What will I find here?

My blogsite is like a simplified web site, with everything instantly accessible from the one front page. I collect articles - like copies of this newsletter, plus lots of links to fascinating and useful things. Discover how your own happiness rating; or how happy is the world right now; view video clips, books and more!

Sign up today on the site and receive a series of free articles on my ideas on Happiness and How To Achieve It. Your first article will be sent to you automatically. I have summarised these for you below.

Happiness and How To Achieve it

Part 1: It wasn't meant to be this way

Let’s say you meet a friend, and they ask “Hi! How’s it going?” And you answer, “Not bad. And you?” Hold it right there; what was that? “Not bad”? – NOT BAD!?– What does that mean? It seems to suggest the normal state of affairs in life is ‘bad’, and currently you just managed some relief from it! Surely something's going wrong here? This article challenges what we take for granted.

Part 2: Yes, but my problem is..

The first article challenges state of ‘grey normality’ that is commonly accepted to be as good as it gets. Usually this sort of talk brings out protests about the difficulties of changing things. So this article explores the truth about problems.
Part 3: How do you achieve happiness and fulfilment?

Ok, so some of you will be thinking, "Yes but life's not like that in the real world I live in!" Ok, so you think you know what the real world is like? I think you'll find you are mistaken. Actually, we all are. It's in the nature of things. Discover in this article why things seem to be the way they are, and open your eyes to what is 'really' possible out there. This is the heart of my Physics of Happiness concept, which contains the keys to happiness and fulfilment.

Part 4: How to make friends with your bad feelings

When you think about going for what you really would like in life, do you find that there are some bad feelings around your chances of success? Its normal isn’t it? After all, if it were easy, and everything felt great no matter what, we’d be off and laughing right? Wrong. What if you couldn’t get angry enough to make a difference, or hurt enough to realise that you made a big mistake? Am I telling you that it’s good to feel bad? Well, sort of. Actually, in this article you'll discover what I believe to be the real value of your emotions, what they mean, and how to make use of them. Cool.

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Part 5: What makes us happy?

This is the last of my mini series of five articles exploring happiness. We have discovered the keys to happiness and fulfilment, and how to use our emotions. Finally I ask, "Do you really know what would make you happy - long term?" For most of us, it’s easier to say what we don’t like, isn’t it? But what do you really want? I mean, would you really recognise a happy life if it slapped you in the face? And would you be prepared to do what it takes to make it happen? Sign up at the Blog for the full series now.

Video Clip

Releasing negative emotions is easy!

Very few people realise how quickly and easily you can release all negative emotions, changing your past memories and your future reactions. What
would it meant to you to leave go of all unwarranted fear? Or anger? What about sadness?
Watch this clip showing Richard demonstrating how to do just that using the power of Time Line Therapy techniques in one of his recent trainings.

Keep In Touch!

Make sure you receive future newsletters and check the contact details we have by following this sign-up link. To get the articles on The Physics of Happiness, sign up on this blogsite (above right).

the basic idea

Hi! Great to talk t

Introducing the Physics of Happiness

I’m really excited about the idea of speading how to do happiness. It's about making use of what you enjoy. What age can this make most difference? I believe it's when we are young... it's easier to learn then isn't it? So this blog is about how to help your kids survive growing up. By your efforts. Are you willing to do what it takes? Because this is not an easy path to follow. You will be stepping out of the norm; thinking differently from other parents, and quite probably teachers and almost everyone you hear.

I got seriously interested in happiness as a result of my working with private clients and teaching coaches and therapists for some 15 years. Even governments are getting interested in happiness. What I really like to do is sniff out really potentially important topics and put them into words that any of us busy people can easily and quickly grasp and understand.

This is just the beginning. So enjoy what’s here for now, and subscribe to news from my new Blog for what’s to come.

Happiness Blog Coming soon

Loads of inspiring, fun and relevant information

My blog will include guidance, tips, research, articles, past newsletters, surveys, self-assessment questionnaires, video clips, pictures, audio. Sign up for advanced notice of the new Physics of Happiness blog updates now.

Is happiness good for you?

This common notion is tested in studies on happiness and longevity (how long you live). This statistical research found that happiness does not help you live longer if you are sick, but it does extend the lifespan of healthy people. In other words, happiness does not so much cure illness, but it does protect against becoming ill. (And I reckon it must make the extra years worth having!) Source: Journal of Happiness Studies. Read more.

Golden handcuffs less effective than loving it?

Emotionally committed staff, even unpaid, feel more loyalty and obligation to the organisation than do paid staff. This is especially true where there is a close fit between their personal values and the values of the organisation. Whilst this surprised the researchers, those of us who have studied ‘values’ in NLP training will understand why this is the case. Source: BPS Blog. Read more.

Wales has happiest county?

Powys tops the list of 273 districts, with Edinburgh apparently the most miserable place in Britain. Eight of the top 10 districts with the highest levels of wellbeing are in Scotland or the north of England. But the team from the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester stress that happiness is more a product of personal circumstances than physical location. I would say that your world goes where your head goes. Source: BBC Website. Read more.

Measure your happiness now

Using this quick five-step test, psychologists say it is possible to measure your happiness.This test, designed by psychologist Professor Ed Diener from the University of Illinois, takes just a minute to complete. Source: BBC Website. Read more.

Video & Audio

Magical properties of happiness?

Scientists claim that happiness can make us more resilient and creative, harder working, healthier and even live longer.

Mark Easton reports for BBC Two's The Happiness Formula. Watch Clip.

Music and how the Brain works

Music is found in every human culture and one theory is that it was an evolutionary precursor to language. Whereas language allows us to make propositional, "information rich" statements, music is far vaguer but arguably provides a superior means of conveying emotion. This podcast describes how this emotional power is being harnessed to help people with Alzheimer's. We also hear how singing can help stroke patients rediscover their lost voices. It has some lovely moments. Source: Guardian Science Weeky Podcast. Listen here.