The Practicing Mind Podcast

Discover the power of the four 'S' strategies: simplify, small, short, and slow. Learn how breaking tasks into manageable parts can reduce feelings of overwhelm and boost motivation. Explore the impact of mindfulness on performance, showing how a slower approach can yield greater focus. New parents will find practical tips to maintain presence amid daily chaos, highlighting the importance of mindfulness over frantic productivity. Dive into effective ways to work towards your goals without getting bogged down!

Discover the hidden power of Thought Awareness Training and how it can transform your mindset. Explore the emotional impact of language, like the negative connotations of 'mistake' and 'struggle.' Learn to harness thought awareness for personal growth, enhancing communication, and fostering emotional understanding. Uncover techniques for observing your thoughts mindfully, and see how these practices can lead to greater happiness and control over your emotions in everyday life.

Discover the transformative power of being process-oriented instead of goal-driven. Immerse yourself in present moment functioning to combat stress and enhance productivity. Hear engaging metaphors, like that of an archer, emphasizing that fulfillment lies in the journey, not just the destination. Explore how prioritizing the process can unlock potential and improve performance, illustrated through fascinating examples like piano manufacturing and Olympic sports. Embrace the joy of the journey and elevate your experience!

Welcome to The Practicing Mind Podcast! In this first episode of The Practicing Mind Podcast, the theme is "If you could sit down and have a drink with anyone that's ever lived throughout history, who would that be and why?" Be sure to listen to the end to hear my answer - it may surprise you! I'll also be discussing the show's format, a bit more about my background, the core realization that everything in life is a skill, and If you want to be good at something that makes you uncomfortable and who doesn't when those times come? Tell yourself "This is where the fun starts". This way you can learn to see these moments as an opportunity to learn a new skill that you haven't yet mastered. Coming up on the show interpretation creates experience. What does that mean? Many things we experience during the day, we don't realize that we create the experience through our interpretation and how does that work? I'll be giving you some examples on that and how you can change it so that your interpretation serves your happiness. Also, what is deliberate thinking VS compulsive thinking, which one is better? Are you the "thinker" or are you being "thought" by your subconscious mind?   In the next episode we're going to talk about DISCIPLINE. Discipline is power & freedom, it's real currency you might say. Without it, you have no control, but what is discipline? Is it doing what you don't feel like doing when you don't feel like doing it? Be sure to listen in to find out! Please send in your questions on something we haven't yet covered, or an aspect of something that was covered in a previous episode that you want to learn more about. Feel free to email your questions & comments to me at asktom@tomsterner.com. Now sit back, and enjoy episode 1 of The Practicing Mind Podcast! 

Hey, everyone. This is Tom Sterner, author of The Practicing Mind: Developing Discipline and Focus In Your Life, here to talk to you about my upcoming podcast. My first book, The Practicing Mind was published in 2005, and it reflected over three and a half decades of research into just how to maximize our mental performance while at the same time feeling patient, focused and content. Being right here, right now in the present moment. In other words, being "in the process" of achieving any goal. The research took me through everything from Eastern thought systems that were thousands of years old to modern sports psychology and neuroscience. The success of the book launched a second career for me. Over the past 16 years of lecturing, being interviewed and coaching so many individuals from all over the world, I have been asked a lot of questions and asked to solve a lot of personal struggles. Somewhere in there is information that you need to hear. And so The Practicing Mind, what I learned from coaching podcast is here. There is even a way for you to contact me with your own questions, so check it out and see what it's all about! Talk to you soon. - Tom M. Sterner