Positive Neuroplasticity @ work with Dr Rick Hanson?

Without a shadow of doubt, Rick Hanson’s Positive Neuroplasticitiy Training (PNT) I attended lately, was the most powerful course I have ever attended in my working life.

The course was a practical and hands-on training over several days where participants journeyed through a lot of practices (meditation, analysing our own understanding of success and balancing the good versus the negative bias, to name but a few).

It was the type of course that leaves participants inspired to share the work of Dr Hanson with the world. Full of enthusiasm about his work, I want to take this opportunity to share with you just a few of the points I learnt:

• The root of inner strength comes from turning positive experiences in our lives, such as resilience, feeling loved or confidence, into a strong mental structure for success.
• Our problem lies in the fact that many positive emotions we feel are outweighed by negativity – anxiety, worry and conflict. We convince ourselves that the negative overpowers any positives.
• But there are practices to help ‘wire’ our brain to react and think differently so that the positive thoughts win through. Once of these practices is Dr Hanson’s HEAL process.
• HEAL breaks down to mean: Having the good, Enriching the experience, Absorbing the experience and Linking the positive and the negative. In short, what we have here is a way of adapting to negative thoughts and approaching them pro-actively.
• By doing this, our experiences become our own inner strength and coping mechanism. Our brain provides our very own resource to turn to when we are stressed or sad. It gives us something internal to reach for, such as self-worth and compassion, when we need it most.
• This process of ‘coping’ is known as Positive Neuroplasticitiy Training, or PNT for short, and can be mastered by anyone – young, old, individually or as a couple, family or workplace, with a little time, practice and patience.

Of course, these short bullet points just cover the tip of the iceberg. As part of my business, I offer coaching to anybody interested in learning about sustainable well-being, coping with stress using the PNT process as well as other tools (positive engagement, emotional intelligence).