If You Have Found Mindfulness, Consider Yourself Lucky
June 16, 2017 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec · Leave a Comment
Sometimes what is most obvious can be most impactful. This post is quite simple – nothing profound or earth shattering. Rather quite simple: “You are so lucky to have found mindfulness.” During a recent retreat with the monks and nuns of celebrated meditation teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, that observation was made.... Read More
Effective Ways to be Mindful: 5 more “mindful pause” activities
March 1, 2017 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Have you heard of the mindful pause? It is a mindfulness strategy I introduced last year that focuses on taking action right away, tapping into your natural strengths. There are two simple steps: 1.) Pause for about 15 seconds to feel your inhale and exhale. 2.) Ask yourself: Which... Read More
Research Proven Ways to Manage Your Stress
February 8, 2017 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
You have more stress-management tools than you may think. As I discussed in a previous post (see here), we need to learn to “get good at stress” and there are a lot of ways that we can manage high anxiety situations and events. In this post I’ll review 10... Read More
Your Engagement At Work Depends on Your Positive Personality Traits
January 25, 2017 by VIA Institute on Character ·
Our Education Director, Dr. Ryan Niemiec, was recently interviewed about the importance of character strengths and how they can help millennials become more engaged in their work. See full interview below. 1) Dr. Niemiec, can you tell us about yourself and how you became interested in strengths and positive psychology? Positive... Read More
Find Happiness in Unfamiliar Ways
July 18, 2016 by VIA Institute on Character ·
I’ll start this blog with a little courage by admitting my lowest character strength. The strength that comes in last for me is… well… bravery. Yet this weekend I had the opportunity to try something that was out of my comfort zone, and not only did my bravery get... Read More
A Simple Mindfulness Exercise To Use With Clients
May 3, 2016 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Practitioners are always on the lookout for new tools to help others overcome challenges, find peace, and be at their best. Mindfulness research clearly shows meditations and mindfulness practices can help but the quantity of meditation choices these days seems infinite. In a previous post, I discussed how an... Read More
A Mindful Pause May Change Your Day
April 25, 2016 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Nobody wants to admit that they are “going through the motions” of life, but sometimes we are all guilty of it. One simple exercise that will allow you to slow down, take an inventory of your emotions, and re-connect with your strengths is below. This easy strategy can help... Read More
Do You Know The Difference Between Savoring and Mindfulness?
March 17, 2016 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Many people in my mindfulness courses have commented that they enjoy practicing “mindfulness” because of they are able to relish “tasting” a piece of chocolate or that first warm drink of coffee. However, this is not practicing mindfulness and is instead the act of savoring. The distinction here is... Read More
Leadership on the Football Field. What We Can Learn from Mark Dantonio.
January 6, 2016 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Leaders must know themselves – their personal drives, desires, hopes, abilities, flaws, and most important – their character strengths. One of the most important principles for any great leader to remember is: “leader, know thyself.” The latest research takes this “leader, know thyself” mantra a step further – one... Read More
Happiness Strategies to Use in the New Year
January 3, 2016 by Dr. Ryan Niemiec ·
Since 2015 flew by in a flash, you may have missed some of these posts about boosting happiness and well-being. These are my top 5 blogs from the past year. Each article deals with character strengths and/or mindfulness strategies that you can use to start your new off on... Read More