Summary: In order to build a successful and satisfying personal career path, we need to be paying attention. What’s going on around me? How am I doing? What do I want?I This week, our guest is Adam Liss, and he has some very useful skills for figuring out “what’s next”. Adam teaches the skills of mindfulness, which has been defined as paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. In the tumult of economic and organizational upheaval, it’s hard to pay attention. So many things distract us: worries about money and job security; endlessly expanding to do lists; “what if” analyses as we try to predict, prepare or prevent something in the future. Techniques for mindfulness are more important during changes in our lives than ever before. Adam, Director of Cape Stress Reduction and Optimal Health in Cape Cod Massachusetts, understands that the mind is known to be a factor in stress and stress-related disorders, and that mindfulness meditation exercises can positively effect a range of autonomic physiological processes, lowering blood pressure and reducing overall arousal and emotional re-activity (that "fight or flight" response). Adam Liss graduated from of Amherst College with a BA degree in Cultural Anthropology. He established a personal meditation practice back in 1975, when “meditation” had a reputation of being “far out" of the mainstream practices of health and wellness. His center offers workshops and classes in weight management, stress reduction and smoking cessation. He partners with Cape Cod Youth Suicide Prevention Project, teaching mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and an Inner Resilience training class for students, teachers and school-based staff members. Adam trained at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center's Stress Reduction Clinic founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn Professor of Medicine Emeritus and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Take a listen to our in-depth audio interview and discover how awareness of your breath, and paying attention to to your emotions, can give you a trustworthy compass for navigating your personal career path.
