Pat Armitstead - harness your authentic self expression

Wednesdays Wisdom

2/18/2020

I was talking today to the producers of this TV Show in NZ PHUNK NATION. I was contracted some time back to mentor members of the cast as they toured New Zealand and worked on their addictions. My contribution was teaching them positive psychology principles and building self awareness to get them present to the cost of their current lifestyle. We did coaching behind the scenes and then some live coaching and ongoing live feedback to track progress. As a speaker when we choose a specialty area ...mine was "Joy when it seems there is none"...we don't know where it will lead us. I committed to be published every month and that is how the producers found me. I had prior to this a huge number of years developing my expertise so it now had a place to land.

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Mike Hutcheson on Business at the speed of Coffee

9/9/2019

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If you want to change someones life there are 2 things that will do it. Find a mentor and be a mentor. Do both together and you are up and running! Choose a leader who epitomises where you want to be and find the courage to ask for their support!

Mike Hutcheson featured in this NZ Series "Business at the Speed of Coffee" was my mentor when I founded Joyology. Back then he was MD of Saatchi and Saatchi Auckland. He said to me many times "You're a hard woman to say no to Pat Armitstead! Remind me and I will tell you why one day!! A man of great geniality and a love of english and art !!

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Resolving the Unhappiness Epidemic

3/28/2019

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"Across the globe, many people lack joy, harmony, trust and are prone to doubt. They have become despondent and depressed, fail to be their word, sit in overwhelm, others are resigned and intolerant. Others show cynicism and act confused , and many lack confidence all of which results in emotional flatlining, lack of engagement , poor productivity and more recently, unresolved grief, poor mental health and suicides." Pat Armitstead
I believe "You cant lift your bottom line if people are down"
1:5 people are medicated for depression, costing us up to 200 billion per year, and in Australia alone there are 3000 suicides per year .
That's 8 people every day !
Johan Hari and I agree on a couple of principles. For almost the past 100 years, mental health professionals have told us that that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. However, there's a much more realistic theory that depression happens due to an imbalance happening outside of your cranium. Johann Hari, author of "Lost Connections", believes that depression these days stem from societal issues. Johann offers some staggering statistics showing that antidepressants seem to be doing much more harm than good — among them, that one out of every four middle-aged women in the United States is taking a chemical antidepressant in any given year.
If we want to get rid of modern-day depression, he says, we have to change society.
We can begin to do that by using :-

a strengths based approach
principles from elite performance and positive psychology
emotional and conversational intelligence

These tools and principles can help build resilience and shift thinking, and I am joined by many other notable business leaders in this belief

"Human beings are meant to be joyful, light-hearted and happy. And yet at the start of the new millennium we, in the so-called sophisticated Western world, are witnessing an overwhelming epidemic of unhappiness like never before. In recent years we have medicalised this unhappiness – in 2008, more than 164 million prescriptions for antidepressants were written by doctors in the USA. This in my humble opinion is silly – very silly. Because the roots of our problems are not chemical – rather they are to be found in our strained relationships with others, our world, and ourselves. We are in danger of losing sight of our souls."
Dr Robin Kelly

Up to now we have not explored grief in the workplace. Its been a bit of a taboo subject, but huge shifts are being made now with in house Domestic Violence Support programs in place in businesses, and even Gary Vaynerchuk has now appointed a Chief Heart Officer, whose role is to build empathy!! Feeling comfortable and learning to relate at this deeper level in the workplace requires the creation of a high trust environment and a willingness to feel uncomfortable !

Over the years I have seen how becoming agile, embracing change, taking risks, communing intimately, and lighting people up has transformed individuals and teams. I interviewed James Greenshields this week and in this powerful video we share we share wisdom and insights on grief, depression and emotional expression. ( This is a longer video and you might like to use it as a discussion point for your leaders when you next meet )

We can make a difference and I am supporting leaders to step into this new place that I call joyful empowerment. You can access a complimentary discovery session by phoning 0061 487105785 to make an appointment !

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" Me Highs" for the times when you feel a tad deflated

1/26/2019

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Once upon a not so joyful time I did a program with a man who called himself a Maverick. His name was Bill Potter, and his book was called "Mind your own damned business", and half of it was written upside down!!!

He says "The greatest hindrance to creativity and progress, is the ‘same old, same old’ (no change, no change) factor. This is true for your personal life, relationships and business. It is not about your ‘comfort zone’. It’s about your ‘status zone’. For starters, you must clear the ‘olde fartitus’ defined as Getting stuck in the past doing things that used to work."

You have to love the Olde Fartitus !!

Bills motto was...and is...DuitDammit....

Doing his course back then was timely for me as I had been through the wringer with life events ( not so joyful) and was on a recovery path. I left his course with the intention to create a Me Highs folder.....documenting in there at least 150 times in my life when I had been successful.

WHY?

Its a chronology of success
It helps you identify trends and....
Its a powerful anti-depressant - better than Viagra!!

For 12 months on a particular project I added thankyou cards, feedback, and endorsements from other businesses. Its a tome I use to this day to connect people back to their greatness so they can begin to own who they are in the world and their contribution to humanity.

So the invitation today is to begin your own list! I know, the first 50 might seem hard but once you get to that point you will just be in flow!! Pop it all in a folder with plastic sleeves and start adding the endorsements you receive.

Love you to share with me some of your list !! Pop them on my FB page or email me pat@joyology.co.nz

Some of my MeHighs below!

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How do you know when you are a legend?

6/19/2018

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For me the notion began back in the year 2000. Around about the 11th of June. I had become Junior VP of The National Speakers Association of NZ, ( joyous moment ) !and the current President commended me on a piece of written communication I had done. Like she wrote a whole page! And so I kept it and then on the 26th June I received another from a speaking colleague Michelle Comeau. I kept that too! Then Genevieve Westcott
( International Newsreader and TV Journalist ) sent me one after she had interviewed me!

Then speakers bureaus started writing to me! It was at this point I started noticing the feel good factor about all this and put it in a folder. I began to have some compassion for where I had been and experience some joy for what was coming in. 12 months later I had over 1000 including mail from international professional speakers of great note from all over the world!

As I gathered these wonderful tomes they filled a hole for me ; a part of me torn apart by a series of losses, and I started to see my worth reflected in the feedback I received. My first mentor had on his first book cover an endorsement that said "Hutch rocks" And so I called my Legend Collection "Proof that Pat rocks!"

Hard to think back that I needed so much encouragement ....indeed...even coaching, before i found the courage to get the appt with him at the Saatchi and Saatchi Auckland office!!

So my invitation to you all is to begin your own collection. Oh...I hear you saying, You dont have any? As soon as you put yourself into a place of being a contribution people will be compelled to make responses of appreciation. And if you would like support to advance this, please do be in touch. I am up for a conversation about this big time!

You see it brings joy......for both parties!!

Last count there were 5000 and rising !

Phone 0487105785 or email pat@joyology.co.nz

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I am the message

6/6/2018

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CLAIMING THE SPACE AS A VISIONARY ARTIST
Those of you who know me well will be aware that "Doubting Thomas" has been my alter ego. For quite some time! He was my clown persona when I travelled with Patch Adams, and will feature in a childrens book series and animation in the near future.

However today I take great great joy in informing you that Doubting Thomas has met Enduring Faith! I had a creative strategy session with Alexis Cohen today and was able to draw in so much more around my own full creative self expression. I have been dancing it in for many years but its full expression has eluded me till now.

What do I mean by that?

It has been happening in a piecemeal fashion, beginning with using the body painted Monarch, who danced to "You are the wind beneath my wings" in 2002 to close a keynote in Auckland. I still get phone calls from people who were there that day!

And it has grown with other forms being created, like the aboriginal dancer who performed to " I am Australian".

My old coach Sally Anderson said to me "Pat, how would it be if you took on that you are a 21st Century Shaman who is here to raise the consciousness of the planet?"

Then my PR lady said "So Pat really you are like a spiritual midwife delivering people out of the darkness".

Other people can so be a gift to us, by giving us the language to give voice to that which we cant quite grasp on our own sometimes!

So today I add Visionary Artist to my descriptors!

My art has always been informed by my encounters with humanity and for a long time I asked myself :-

" Am I a speaker who paints, or am I an artist who speaks?"

I even made a lecturn to depict that!

There is no answer that question for I am both.

It is time for me to now be witnessed in that place
and to own that "I am the message"

I can't and won't go another year not shining my full light!

My invitation is for you to join me on the journey
and step into your own light

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Over 300,000 views on 101010 Pill or Perception

6/2/2018

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In 2010 I was invited to be a guest on this documentary produced and directed by Theresa Grainger. 8 years on and the content is equally as valuable for anybody wanting to manage the stressors in their life and examine other ways to achieve wellbeing.

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April 05th, 2018

4/5/2018

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By Bruce Daisley

4 April 2018Could laughing be a way to build a stronger, more creative team culture in the workplace?
Since the global economic downturn in 2008, many of us may feel that laughing in the office might send a signal that we don’t have enough to do. Discussions that might previously have been conducted in person at a colleague’s desk increasingly take place over e-mail or Slack.

In that context, office chatter can at times seem unnecessary.  But what if, rather than signalling inactivity, laughing together is something that improves team collaboration and stimulates innovation?
After years of not paying much attention to laughter, scientists are starting to reach that very conclusion.

Funny science
So what is laughter? In the past two decades, probably the most work to understand this has been done by American neuroscientist Robert Provine, currently a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He reminds us that laughter is akin to our animal call sign, saying in his 2001 book Laughter: A Scientific Investigation: “Laughter is the quintessential human social signal. Laughter is about relationships.”

We are 30 times more likely to laugh when we are with other people than when we’re alone
Provine studied when we laugh, and found that we are 30 times more likely to laugh when we are with other people than when we’re alone. In his book, Provine’s critical point is this: “We tend to overlook the fact that laughter evolved because of its effect on others, not to improve our mood or health.”

When do we laugh, in Provine’s work it often tended to follow fairly mundane office conversation. It came after comments like “we can handle this”, “I think I'm done” or “there you go”. Most of us reading those triggers can probably recognise how our own office conversation might similarly be followed with laughter. These aren’t jokes so much as moments of connection – reaching out to colleagues to show relaxation.

Laughter is a subconscious signal that we’re in a state of relaxation and safety, says professor Sophie Scott from University College London. For instance, many mammals exhibit laughter-type reactions – but that they can be stopped by certain emotional states.

Professor Sophie Scott found that rats stop laughing if they feel anxious (Credit: Getty Images)

“Rats stop laughing if they feel anxious,” she says. “Humans do the same thing. It’s a sign if people are laughing that they’re not in that anxious state. It’s a marker than the group is in a good place”.
In other words, if a group is laughing together, then it suggests that our protective guard is down.
This matters because there’s research to suggest that when our brains are relaxed, we more easily achieve free idea association, which can lead to creativity.

Flashes of inspiration
Mark Beeman from Drexel University and John Kounios from Northwestern University wanted to see whether laughter could help people solve tricky logic puzzles.
They showed subjects Robin Williams delivering comedy zingers in a stand-up routine and then asked them test questions. They were interested to see whether laughter would facilitate more flashes of inspiration in the superior anterior temporal gyrus (a part of the brain just above your right ear which is associated with connecting distantly-connected ideas).

Researchers Mark Beeman and John Kounios found people who laughed at Robin Williams comedy clips were better at solving puzzles (Credit: Getty Images)

A short laugh at a comedy clip was shown to increase puzzle-solving by 20%. Why would this be? Beeman and Kounios say this laughter-linked lack of focus appears to allow our minds to juggle and connect concepts in a way that rigid concentration does not.  A laughter-linked lack of focus appears to allow our minds to juggle and connect concepts in a way that rigid concentration does not

Maybe laughter just helps us remove stress from our workplaces. Teresa Amabile is a Harvard professor who has spent 40 years building an understanding of when we’re most creative. Her observations – some of the most widely cited in the field of work psychology – are that a positive working environment is more creative than a stressful one. Stress is the enemy of inventiveness. A well-known work of hers dramatically asserted: “When creativity is under the gun, it usually ends up getting killed”.

‘Laugh-ready attitude'
Laughter then has multiple functions. It makes us feel more bonded as a team and as a consequence our creative guards come down, leading to more expansive idea generation. So how would we achieve more of this?
Provine suggests that we attempt to adopt a “laugh-ready attitude” – which means being more open to laughter. “You can voluntarily choose to laugh more by lowering your threshold for amusement. Just be willing and prepared to laugh,” he wrote.
He also suggests arranging more social events – company gatherings that are intended just to get people to together, rather than to hammer through 30 PowerPoint slides.

This suggestion seems to be backed up by one of the pioneering studiers of workplace dynamics, MIT professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland. Pentland is clear that the modern office owes most of its productivity to the oldest forms of interaction. In a 2014 talk at Google, he said “email has very little to do productivity or creative output”. But rich channels of communication, such as face-to-face discussion, have a huge amount to do with productivity: “conversation predicts 30 and sometimes 40% of the productivity in work groups”.

In straitened economic times, the notion of prioritising discussion and laughter as one of the most important things to do as a team might seem superfluous and trivial, if not to yourself, then to others. But remember that science is on your side – and perhaps, the next time you laugh, inspiration will strike.

Bruce Daisley is the European Vice President of Twitter. He runs Eat Sleep Work Repeat, a weekly podcast on improving work culture.  To comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, please head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

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What the best science says about depression today !

3/21/2018

3 Comments

For almost the past 100 years, mental health professionals have told us that that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. However, there's a much more realistic theory that depression happens due to an imbalance happening outside of your cranium. Johann Hari, author of "Lost Connections", believes that depression these days stem from societal issues. Johann offers some staggering statistics showing that antidepressants seem to be doing much more harm than good — among them, that one out of every four middle-aged women in the United States is taking a chemical antidepressant in any given year.

If we want to get rid of modern-day depression, he says, we have to change society.

3 Comments

International Day of Happiness - 20 March

3/15/2018

1 Comment

SHARE HAPPINESS AND BE PART OF SOMETHING AMAZING

Take part in the International Day of Happiness 2018.
This year's theme is Share Happiness - focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other.