In Partnership with… Blank Canvas Coaching

As part of a new partnership we would like to introduce Jade Mitchell and the work of Blank Canvas Coaching. Jade Mitchell set up Blank Canvas Coaching after a long career working in the art industry. This prior experience has enabled Jade to understand the pressures and challenges faced by individuals working in arts organisations and creative roles. Jade is passionate about providing a confidential, non-judgemental space to facilitate self-discovery and set clear goals for the enhancement of work performance, life experience and personal growth. 

Positive Intelligence – the answer to improving your Mental Fitness 

Are you a glass half full, or half empty person? We tend to think we are wired a certain way and that’s it, but actually we can train our brains to think differently. We all suffer from differing levels of stress and anxiety and controlling and managing it is vital. Brain training plays ​a fundamental part in this. We know that exercising is key to physical fitness, and the same is true with mental fitness. Regular mental work outs improve our ability to think positively, resulting in more happiness and success.  

I facilitate a six week course called Positive Intelligence during which my clients learn how to build up the neural muscles that channel calm positivity, and at the same time, weaken those that carry feelings of stress and negativity. We are literally re-wiring our brains. Sound implausible? It is actually very possible, doesn’t require hours of meditation and it’s not just a fad you’ll forget about, like gym membership! The results are peak performance, greater peace of mind and wellness, healthy relationships, and increased creativity and productivity. 

“Every circumstance can be turned into a gift and opportunity” (Shirzad Chamine). This is something I firmly believe in, and is the main mantra behind Positive Intelligence, the mental fitness methodology developed by Shirzad Chamine which I’ve incorporated into my coaching practice. With my Blank Canvas Coaching clients, we explore personal and professional situations, and I help them to gain clarity and set goals for change, but it is usually self-sabotage that jeopardises progress. We make habitual and unhelpful judgements about ourselves, others and situations, and we are ruled by fear, such as fear of rejection or failure. Through personal experience I’ve found that Positive Intelligence offers an accessible, straightforward way of getting to the root cause of the problem. If you can get to the source you can work out ways to control and improve the mental processing, so that the mind is working for you, not against you. 

Our minds can be our best friend, and also our worst enemy.  Positive Intelligence measures the relative strength of these two modes of your mind. Having a high Positive Intelligence Quotient (PQ) means your mind acts as your friend more than your enemy, lower PQ is the opposite.  It starts with naming and shaming your internal enemies, the “saboteurs” that live inside all of our heads. Saboteurs are a universal phenomenon spanning all cultures, genders, and ages. It’s not IF you have them, it’s WHICH ONES you have and how strong they are. They’re the voices that tell you you’re not good enough, you’ve failed, and all other negative stuff. They are associated with our survivor brain which has helped us succeed, get out of trouble and live to see this day by making us respond to danger for example. But, over time some of these instincts become overused, the muscles become unnecessarily strong, making certain behaviour habitual and counterproductive. The ability to calm these saboteurs first requires finding out who they are, then noticing when they show up and catching them before they do any damage.  I invite you to do a Saboteur Assessment (quick questionnaire) to find out about yours: 

 https://www.positiveintelligence.com/assessments/ 

The mental fitness courses I run, teach ways to weaken the saboteurs in your mind, and strengthen the true you. It enables you to bring out your innate wisdom, clarity and voice. After trying other forms of meditation and mindfulness, I found this practical, results driven training has changed my life. This isn’t about learning to passively go with the flow, this is about gaining control over your mind, so you live more positively, with purpose. MRI brain scans have shown that after 6-8 weeks of mental fitness training there is increased grey matter in the PQ Brain region, home to your positive mental muscles. When you learn that most anxiety we experience is self-created (we wouldn’t treat our loved ones the way we treat ourselves sometimes!), it seems natural to want to challenge this. Let´s boost your ability to command your mind to work for you, not against you, and learn the Positive Intelligence approach to mental fitness.  

Each course has only 5 spaces. Please contact Jade to register your interest or ask me any questions.  

+44 (0) 7825 439 234 
jade@blankcanvascoaching.co 

More information available on: www.blankcanvascoaching.co