If you are feeling depleted, exhausted, and uninspired by your work, consider taking a sabbatical to create a quiet space for healing and reconnecting with yourself.
Regularly engage in activities that are not reward-driven (atelic), such as listening to music or birdwatching, purely for enjoyment, as they help manage stress and bring purpose and meaning.
Actively seek out and prioritize experiences of awe, even in mundane places, as it can evoke deep emotions, make you feel connected, and ultimately improve well-being.
To ground yourself in the present moment and manage stress, intentionally and actively notice new details about your environment.
If traditional meditation makes internal thoughts ’louder,’ find an external activity, like birdwatching, that allows you to focus on something outside yourself and connect to something greater, serving as an alternative form of mindfulness.
Instead of vaguely trying to ‘be present,’ actively practice ’listening as a verb’ by fully taking in and being open to what others are saying or what is happening around you, which can be a more concrete way to feel grounded.
When practicing skills like listening or mindfulness, be compassionate with yourself, recognizing that perfect execution is unrealistic, and view it as a skill that improves with practice rather than a pass/fail endeavor.
When you find yourself ‘falling out of the moment’ or getting distracted, gently guide yourself back to the present task or observation (e.g., ‘Just look at the bird’) rather than self-criticizing, as this is a more constructive approach.
After merging with a difficult character all day, consciously leave the character behind at the end of the day and return to your own identity to transition back to yourself after emotionally draining work.
After an emotionally draining day, sit and watch birds to relax and transition back to your true self, similar to how an ‘afternoon martini’ was used in the past to leave the job.
To make a strange or foreign place feel like home and less overwhelming, set up bird feeders, birdhouses, and water trays to attract birds, creating a sense of connection and making the environment feel friendlier.
When in a new place, observe local birds as they can act as guides, providing a sense of connection to the environment and helping you understand the local ecosystems and geography.
Get to know the birds in a new location to understand the environment better, which can make a lonely place feel friendlier and more meaningful by revealing hidden habitats and natural features.
When feeling burned out, intentionally quiet your surroundings to create space to notice subtle details and sounds you might have previously overlooked, leading to deeper insights and connections.
View attention as ‘reaching towards’ something, actively engaging with it, rather than a passive state, to foster deeper observation and connection.
Watch and observe natural elements like birds to generate questions and lead to further exploration, fostering a sense of wonder and engagement.
When faced with frightening or overwhelming emotions, ‘plant your feet’ and allow yourself to be open and receptive to them, understanding that they can wash over you without causing lasting harm.
Actively ask yourself ‘Am I savoring right now?’ to slow down and check if you are truly present and appreciating the moment, especially if you tend to move fast to avoid internal feelings.
Observe birds’ continuous forward movement and apply this mindset to your internal state, striving to move forward in your mind rather than stagnating or resenting.
When facing obstacles, observe the resilience of migrating birds who keep moving forward despite challenges, and use their example to inspire yourself to ‘keep going’ and avoid fretting.
When feeling overwhelmed or defeated in a task, surrender the need for immediate success and break it down into small, manageable steps, such as identifying immediate surroundings to re-orient yourself.
When searching or observing, maintain an open, loose, and focused mindset, allowing for flexibility and preventing ‘myopia’ (tunnel vision) to increase receptivity to new discoveries.
Once you’ve achieved an initial goal or discovery, resist the urge to immediately disengage; instead, extend your observation to learn more deeply about what you’ve found.
Understand that both positive and negative experiences and emotions are fleeting, which can help you soften into discomfort and appreciate good moments more fully.
Choose activities, like birding, that allow you to enjoy them purely for their own sake without needing a goal, results, or external rewards, to counteract a results-driven mindset.
Allow yourself to appreciate things purely for their beauty without feeling the need to justify it with a reason or purpose.
Recognize that social connection is a key ingredient for happiness and actively seek opportunities to connect with others.
Foster social connections by creating inviting spaces for nature (e.g., bird feeders) in shared environments, as this can naturally bring people together and facilitate shared moments of appreciation.
To start birdwatching, simply step outside, observe your neighborhood, stay in one spot for a few minutes, and if you hear or see something, try to follow it for a few extra minutes, pushing past the initial urge to stop.
Regularly look out your window to observe the birds in your immediate vicinity, treating them like neighbors to get to know them better.
If you enjoy initial bird observations, put out a bird feeder to attract more birds to your space and encourage repeated sightings.
Download and use the Merlin app (Shazam for birds) to identify bird calls and songs, which can reveal the rich bird life around you and enhance your listening skills.
After using an app like Merlin to identify a bird sound, actively use your senses (sight, hearing) to locate the bird in the trees or environment, engaging more deeply with your surroundings.
If you develop a passion for birding, acquire a pair of binoculars and a Sibley guide to enhance your ability to identify birds and learn about their behavior.