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Passionate about Your Job? Here’s Why That Might Not Be Good for You

Positive senior man in eyeglasses showing thumbs up and looking at camera
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
You might wish you were more passionate about your job. Or that you had the kind of job you could at least imagine being passionate about. Something that made you jump out of bed in the morning, excited about a new day filled with fist pumps and joy. But psychologists differentiate between two types of work-related passion – and they may not both appeal, even if you’re more than a little fed up with your current role.

How to Reduce Digital Distractions: Advice from Medieval Monks

Monk drinking from a bowl and filling a pitcher
Image: Easily distracted; from the Sloane Manuscript 2435, f. 44v. Courtesy the British Library
Medieval monks had a terrible time concentrating. And concentration was their lifelong work! Their tech was obviously different from ours. But their anxiety about distraction was not. They complained about being overloaded with information, and about how, even once you finally settled on something to read, it was easy to get bored and turn to something else.

Body Scans and Action Crises

Man in green shirt and blue knit cap sitting on floor
Photo by Mulyadi
When we encounter difficulties in the pursuit of our most important goals, we must decide to either continue our pursuit or give up. These moments when we must make a choice are called "action crises." At these key points in our life, people make lists of pros and cons, talk to trusted friends and family, or perhaps carve out some time alone to just think. Another method for coping with goal-related difficulties is to practice body scan meditation.

Managing Stress with Body Scan Meditation

Peaceful lady sitting in meditation
Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Stress is a physical and emotional reaction that people experience as they encounter changes in life. Stress is a normal feeling. However, long-term stress may contribute to, or worsen, a range of health problems including digestive disorders, headaches, sleep disorders, and other symptoms. Stress may worsen asthma and has been linked to depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.

Is Group Meditation Right for You?

Diverse group of people meditating together
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Meditation offers a wide variety of benefits, whether you use an app, watch recorded videos, live streams, or practice alone. Meditation with a group can provide a useful support to your practice and amplify the benefits of meditating alone. When you practice in a group, you might feel accountable to other members of the group or less likely to drop your meditation practice when life starts to get chaotic.

Mindfulness of the Body

Buddha in Meditation Posture
The first foundation of mindfulness is contemplation of the body (kayanupassana). When you learn to listen to your bodies and stay with sensations, you can become more grounded and less reactive. Contemplation of the body helps you make friends with your body, and accept the fact that this body is not "your" body, but rather just a temporary form. A large body of scientific research suggests that simply paying attention to your body helps ward off disease, improves cognitive and emotional functioning, and much more. However, simply staying present with the sensations in your body is as simple as it is challenging.