Dear all,
Quite some people have asked me how the sailboat metaphor, the framework of all our masterclasses, can be used to teach and explain mindfulness.
I have written a brief addition to the handbook that explains exactly this. I hope you will it useful!
You can download the document in the download section of the “Introduction to Positive Psychology” course or directly:
All the best,
Hugo
I love that idea of the anchor as it has not been incorporated into the Sailboat Metaphor and is a very useful part of life’s journey. Dropping anchor to rest, reflect, recalibrate is an important part of valued living, in my view. Your thoughts?
Hi Nancy,
You’ve identified something very important which occurred to us recently too! The idea of the captain dropping his or her anchor while sailing parallels the idea of pausing and re-anchoring oneself to the present moment through mindfulness. That is, when you notice you’ve become emotionally overwhelmed or are swept up in a stream of unhelpful thoughts, anchoring attention to something emotionally neutral and oriented in the present moment, often the breath or our five senses, is very powerful.
From this place of stillness, it’s much easier to listen to ourselves, connect with what’s really important, and know what to do next in pursuit of our dreams and goals. It’s also useful to regularly anchor and reconnect in this way to ensure we remain aware of how we feel in the moment-to-moment ‘doing’ of goal pursuit (i.e., enjoying the journey), rather than having our sights constantly set on our destination and feeling dissatisfied with things as they presently are before we’ve reached our goals (which is a recipe for unhappiness!)
– Nicole | Community Manager
Thank you Hugo, you and Steph are always giving value added insights and materials!
Faustine
Thanks so much for putting this together. I’m very interested in using mindfulness tools alongside other coaching tools so this was quite helpful to break down the WHY and HOW these can be beneficial!
Hi Sharon, you’re most welcome. I am always eager to learn from others, so feel free to share your feedback on my interpretation of mindfulness in terms of the sailboat metaphor. I am sure there are many creative additions that can be used to draw a link between the two, such as an anchor that helps to pause and get of out the “doing mode”.