Christa Lannom – Page 41

MAX Mindfulness: Action Addiction

by Dave Wine, President & CEO

Most of us suffer from what I would call “action addiction”. That simply means that we feel best when we are doing something. We love to accomplish, get things done, cross things off of lists, and feel a sense of accomplishment. Much of that is just fine. But action addiction also keeps us from focusing on those things that really matter. And it keeps us focused on the small things we can achieve quickly rather than the bigger things that take time and energy or the key issues in our lives. In the workplace, action addition can mean we get so busy doing our tasks, crossing off our ‘to do’ lists, managing the routines of work, that we forget we may not be focused on what is most important and what we really need to be doing. We climb the ladder but forget it is leaning against the wrong wall!

Don’t get me wrong. We need activities in our lives. We have to answer the phone, write emails, cook, clean, care for our families and others, file things, open mail, etc. And we like staying busy and accomplishing because that literally releases dopamine in our brains which provides a sense of gratification. So the more we get done, the more dopamine which feels good for short periods of time. But that gratification can hide from us those things that are most important or that we really should be doing instead and studies show the highest and longest lasting gratification comes from accomplishing major projects or life focus. Why mindfulness becomes so important is that it slows us down enough to focus on those priorities, making sure our ladders are leaned against the right wall or doing the right things for the right reasons.

The best test to see if we are ‘action addicts’ is this: Stop at times during the day for a full three minutes. See if you can quiet your mind for that length of time. Can you keep awareness on your breathing or any other object you choose? Can you stay focused on just being? Can you let your mind ‘do nothing’? How hard is it for you to do? It is important to practice this because as we learn to do this we learn to slow down to speed up. Speeding up is doing the right things, the priority things, staying focused on what really matters. That is not done by crossing things off a list or moving quickly from task to task, but by attentively allowing space to happen between tasks and activities. It is listening rather than doing. Sometimes “doing nothing” is the most important thing we can do!

David Wine

David is the President and CEO of the MAX enterprise, having served in that capacity since its formation in 2001. He has forty plus years of leadership experience in the business and faith-based worlds, being an ordained minister, having been elected to the highest position in his denomination, and receiving numerous awards and recognition for his leadership in the insurance industry. He currently serves on numerous boards in the church and insurance sectors. His hobbies include hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing as well as being an avid reader. David and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.

Exercising at Work? Ways to Stay Active and Healthy

by Terri Mooney-Hooker, Administrative Coordinator

Our Wellness Committee at MAX hosted a fantastic lunch and learn event where team members discovered we could perform stretching and strengthening exercises in the office. While most of us do not feel like we have time to “workout” at work, we actually can take a few moments throughout the day to stretch and renew. It’s so important to stay active in order to stay healthy.

What if you could get a little strength workout and stretching at your desk while you work? If you stare at a computer screen, as most of us do these days, try keeping your head straight, your neck still, shoulders relaxed, and with just your eyes – look left, look right, look down, look up. Do this several times. Believe it or not, your eyes need to “stretch” too.

If you do a lot of typing, and feel your wrists get stiff – try bending your wrist down, then apply a light tension to the top of your hand. You can also stretch your arms out in front of you with your palms facing up. Apply slight tension downward on your fingers; slowly and very slightly until you feel a tug.

There are other ways you can work in movement to your day by just parking your car a little further away or taking the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator. Try walking over to someone, rather than calling their extension if you need to talk with them. And if you can get a quick walk in during your break or lunch – just do it!

Source: Exercises provided by Stretch and Strengthen at Work by Cigna.

About Terri

Terri is the Administrative Coordinator at MAX. She performs all administrative duties, and helps out in other areas of the company when needed. Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband, her children, two cats, her extended family and friends. She is huge movie goer and an avid animal lover.

Why Should You Choose to Receive Your Insurance Policy Documents Electronically?

by Deana Richardson, Regional Sales Manager

It’s 2017 and going paperless is everywhere. Why not choose electronic policy delivery for your insurance policy too? Here are some reasons why you can opt in for electronic policy delivery at MAX:

Lessen the clutter of paper in your home.
Print only what you need.
Log in any time of day, 24/7, to the MAX Member Care Center for access to all of your policy information.
Access your new policy immediately vs. waiting for the paper policy to arrive via snail mail.

Have we convinced you yet to opt-in for electronic policy delivery? Reducing not only paper use, but also printing costs, is a win-win for MAX and our carbon footprint. Create your account today. Thanks for being a member of MAX!

About Deana

Deana Richardson is the Sales Manager for Virginia, West Virginia and the state of Montana. She has been with MAX over 4 years and has 24 years of experience in the Insurance Industry.

She is also the Music Director / Praise and Worship Leader where she attends church and is very active in her community. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, camping, fishing and traveling. She feels that her greatest success in life has been raising two wonderful sons. Deana is looking very forward to Summer and the excitement of pulling that camper out of the driveway.

MAX Mindfulness: Personality is Not Heart

by Dave Wine, President & CEO

Instead of a mindful practice today, let me share something you might want to be ‘more mindful of’ in your life with others. Here it is: Personality is not Heart! Or you could, instead of heart, insert the words soul, inner being, spirit and get the same sense of what I’m writing about today.

Each of us has a very distinct and unique personality. Some of us are warm and others cool. Some outgoing, others reserved. Some smiling and outwardly happy, others more reflective. And our personality, being what it is, is attracted (and sometimes repelled) by other personalities. Without mindful attention, it can be pretty easy at times to dismiss or judge others based on their personalities (which again our own personality aligns with or not) and not on who they really are as persons. If we are naturally upbeat, happy, enthusiastic, etc. we will likely be attracted to personalities that feed those aspects of ourselves. And when other personalities don’t match or feed our own personality, we can judge them harshly as persons without even taking the time to understand what it is that is causing us to react the way we are. “That person is too flippant.” “That person is not a deep thinker.” “That person should be happier.” “That person needs to loosen up.” “I don’t like that person because…”. And on and on it goes.

Personality is only one aspect of us. More important than personality is who we are authentically as persons. That is a heart or inner issue. We might be all happy, bubbly and a person people like to be around, but our heart condition may not match our outward condition. Or we might be quiet, reserved and even come across to others as ‘a bit cool’ but our heart might be warm, affectionate, and supportive. Again, the key is to be mindful enough, and take the time, to appreciate each personality for who it is and its uniqueness, and remind ourselves that personality is not necessarily reflective of a person’s heart and soul. Heart and soul are discovered in getting to know a person, not in quick judgments. Yet far too many relationships are formed with those quick judgments in our world and in our workplaces today.

From one unique personality,

Dave

David Wine

MAX Mindfulness: Slow Down To Speed Up

by Dave Wine, President & CEO

Several of our staff have mentioned at times to me that they would love to do more mindfulness pauses at MAX if they just had more time. In many ways mindfulness at work (or at home) does seem kind of counter-intuitive. Why would you want to take more time out of your busy schedule to try and save time when there are so many phone calls to answer and make; emails to write; conversations to have; lists to cross things off; etc.

Yet brain studies do show that by stopping or slowing down, we can become more efficient, productive, happy and healthy. Consider sleep. Most of us need at least seven hours of sleep a night to function effectively. By stopping and slowing down (sleeping) we increase our effectiveness. The same works for the mini-pauses we take during the day via mindful breathing or slowing down and moving our focus away from all our tasks and ‘to-do’s’. Our brains will become even more efficient, focused, effective at communicating with others and learning new skills.

Our pauses, studies show, are just as important to wellness as walking and exercising, maybe even more important. And they lead to us making better decisions and actions. They really do slow us down to speed up. A mindful way of working which creates benefits for everyone.

David Wine