We are at an all-time high of mental health being a mainstream topic. My experience is people are either fairly tuned in to it, or they just don’t have much thought towards it. Similar to spirituality. And in neglecting to audit and tend to our individual mental health we are missing out on key aspects of our performance. I know I have and it’s a constant challenge to make it a priority. Culturally we stay very busy and have very little margin and downtime, if any, in our day to day lives. We think getting a brain-break with entertainment or exercise or sleep is enough. But we’re seeing that this is more like being on a long road trip and stopping for 5-10 minutes at a rest area. It’s a little break for the engine, but not hardly enough for it to cool down. What most of us need is a daily tune-up. Not just to let the engine cool off, but to get fresh fluids, check for leaks and make sure the tires are rotated and balanced. This is what meditation offers. And let me start by admitting this is possibly my least favorite health and wellness effort. I’d honestly rather fast from food. So we’ve brought in a guest. Ariel Garten. Ariel is a neuroscientist, innovator, and entrepreneur on a mission to help people understand how the mind works and empower them to live their best lives through meditation. She is the co-founder and visionary of a highly successful tech start-up called Muse, which tracks your brain during meditation to give you real-time feedback, guiding you into true rest and letting you know when you are actively allowing your mind to recover. Muse is a multi-sensor meditation device, a headband, that syncs with an app on your phone and provides real-time feedback on your brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements to help you build a consistent meditation practice. I use the “desert” mode and as I try to rest, it tells me how I’m doing by the level of the wind. As I slow down and settle my mind I hear the tell tale birds chirping. The app monitors my progress day to day so I can see my accumulative results and progress. It’s really ingenious and takes the guesswork out of wondering if you really have your mind at rest. This episode is about the benefits of resting your mind and being present, not the Muse app and technology, though you can check it out at choosemuse.com. The Self-Help(ful) podcast is brought to you by Ziglar, your premier source for equipping coaches to help leaders and top performers excel professionally and personally. Visit Ziglar.com and let them inspire your true coaching performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices