Donald Altman - 101 Mindful Ways To Build Resilience: Cultivate Calm, Clarity, Optimism & Happiness Each Day

Donald Altman, MA, LPC

Bestselling author of
The Mindfulness Toolbox and One-Minute Mindfulness

Delightful. Wise. Practical. Altman immediately brings the reader into a mindful moment. He makes the cultivation of calm, clarity, optimism and happiness not only doable but invitingand its one minute at a time. Nurture resilience and joy not by blocking whatever may be difficult, but through acknowledgment, acceptance and appreciation. This book helps us remember that where we place our attention makes a difference. It empowers us to build resilience every day.

Elana Rosenbaum, MS, MSW, BCD, pioneer teacher of mindfulness-based stress reduction, psychotherapist and speaker, author of Being Well (even when youre sick): Mindfulness Practices and Here for Now: Living Well with Cancer Through Mindfulness.

Donald Altmans 101 Mindful Ways to Build Resilience is the essential resilience toolkit for business leaders or anyone wanting bold and practical methods for turning obstacles into success. This book provides real-world advice about how to turn self-doubt and negative thinking into affirmation of ones own abilities. It is filled with innovative and engaging mindfulness methods for enhancing people skills and building resiliency. Whether reinvigorating your career or striving for excellence, this must-read book will enhance your attitude and life with greater clarity, confidence, and optimism! I highly recommend it!

John Baldoni, author of bestselling MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership and Lead with Purpose.

Each minute-long chapter will help you create that special mindful space to enrich not only the rest of your day, but the rest of your life.

Jean L. Kristeller, PhD, author of The Joy of Half a Cookie: Using Mindfulness to Lose Weight and End the Struggle with Food

Copyright 2016 by Donald Altman

Published by:
PESI Publishing and Media
PESI, Inc.
3839 White Ave
Eau Claire, WI 54703

Printed in the United States of America

Cover & Page Design: Matt Pabich

Edited by: Karsyn Morse, Hillary Jenness
& Marietta Whittlesey

ISBN: 9781559570466

All rights reserved.

The information in this book is meant only for educational purposes, and not as a substitute for mental health professional care or medical advice. No implied or expressed guarantee regarding the effects of these recommendations or practices can be given, and no liability assumed.

Donald Altman, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist, former Buddhist monk, and award-winning author. A past Vice-President of The Center for Mindful Eating, he serves on the TCME advisory board. Donald is currently an adjunct professor in the Interpersonal Neurobiology program at Portland State University, and has also taught at Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling.

Donald conducts mindful living and mindful eating workshops and retreats internationally and has trained thousands of mental health therapists and healthcare workers on how to use mindfulness as a tool for managing depression, anxiety, pain, and stress. He is known as Americas Mindfulness Coach for the way he integrates timeless mindfulness tools, neuroscience, and spiritual values into modern life. Donald trained with the venerable U Silananda, author of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, at a Buddhist monastery located near the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. He is a member of the Burma Buddhist Monastery Association.

A prolific writer whose career spans more than 30 years, Donalds The Mindfulness Toolbox won two gold Benjamin Franklin awards as the best book in the mind-body-spirit and psychology categories in 2015. The Mindfulness Code was selected as one of the best spiritual books of 2010. Donald has also written for an Emmy Award winning childrens television program, and has had numerous articles appear in print. An avid motorcyclist, Donald enjoys riding along the Oregon coast. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

For information about Donald Altmans books, guided meditation CDs, workshops, speaking, and consulting services, visit www.MindfulPractices.com

content

acknowledgement

My deepest gratitude extends to all those individuals who have dedicated themselves to sharing teachings of peace and mindfulness with others. I thank my late teacher, the Venerable U Silananda, who was a dedicated mindfulness guide for many years; Ashin Thitzana, a spiritual friend and monk brother who lives and inspires others through his teachings of the dharma; U Thondara and the monks and community of the Burma Buddhist Monastery; Maria Brignola, a dance movement therapist and teacher, for helping me recognize the need for a book blending mindfulness and resilience, as well as for her on target guidance and feedback along the way; Randy Fitzgerald, a friend and talented writer whose insights and intuitions always prompted new creative leaps; Friends Greg Crosby, Jeff Horacek and others who acted as sounding boards and provided useful feedback.

I want to thank Linda Jackson, Publisher, for always being supportive and collaborative every step of the waya writers dreameven brainstorming initial concepts for the book as we walked through Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota; The PESI Publishing & Media family, including Mike Olson, Karsyn Morse, Claire Zelasko, Emily Bauer, Marnie Sullivan, Anna Rustick, Matt Pabich, and others too numerous to mention, who have worked tirelessly to help my books and workshops reach healthcare professionals and others.

This book would not have been possible without so many the friends, colleagues, teachers, clients, acquaintances, students, etc. who have served daily as my gifted and courageous co-explorers of resilience. I am particularly indebted to my father Norman, and mother Barbara, who always had an encouraging word and continues to support my creative work.

Especially, I wish to thank Maria Brignola for helping me open and heal my heart, and for inviting me on a journey to the heart through her kind and loving support of this project. Maria, you are my Baku del cuore.

introduction

How important is a minute? How many minutes did you really pay attention to today, even before reading this? Did the little in-between moments slip by unnoticed because you were caught in distraction? Or, were your minutes populated by thoughts of worrisome stories or fears? Did you ever stop to think how a single minute, this very next minute, holds the potential to change the direction of your thoughts, your life? How this next 60 seconds can act as a storehouse of resilience to help you bounce back from daily challenges, difficulties, and hardships?

No one is immune from lifes many obstacles. To live with a human body and a human mind means having to confront grief, loss, disappointment, frustration, and even illusion. Fortunately, that is only part of the story. While you cannot control the cards you are dealt your in life, you can decide how to best play your handin this upcoming minute. It is this truth that is fortifying and encouraging.

How you respond to lifes stumbling blocks and hurdles right here, right now, in the next 60 seconds, can make all the difference.

To explore if there might be a better way, take a moment to ask yourself the following: