Jimmy O’Hara: A Month of Mindful Beginnings
Hi everyone! I’m Jimmy: a coach at NFR, a creative, and a Norwalk native. When I’m not supporting others through their own recovery journeys, you can find me working as a Facilities Manager at The Southport School, spending time with my niece and nephew, watching sports (football/baseball), singing karaoke, dancing, being creative with tools/building things, engaging in deep conversation, or reading.
My coaching style is centered around empathy and tough love. I come to the table with an open heart. I have been in the darkness and had help and shown the way out. Through love, I work together with clients to really uncover the deeper issues and empower them to get themselves back on track. I have an optimism that is rarely matched and instill positive thinking and confidence into the people I work with. And the bottom line is I love what I do. If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
I’ve had the experience of starting over in recovery January myself, just over four years ago. It was the hardest, yet best decision I ever made in my life. I’d given the past decade and a half away to something that I thought helped me not feel so much like me. I didn’t realize I was running from the human experience granted to me.
To me, mindful beginnings is about bringing this awareness to intentions by breaking them down; starting at a year glance, then to a month, continuing to a week or day, and finally to hours or single moments. It’s easy to struggle with looking at my ‘feet’, being in the here and now, because of my fast-paced life and society. It’s rare to sit with my feelings in the moment without intention, because life keeps moving.
To help me with that intentionality, I have a few practices that bring my ‘feet’ into view, slowing myself down. I like to use the 6-6-6 method for this purpose: six second inhale, six second hold, followed by a six second release. Breathing in this way can center and protect from allowing almost any situation to get to me in a negative way. It only takes 18 seconds to be exact, to ground myself and allow for dealing with the here and now. After I feel centered, I follow up with a self check-in. Am I in any type of pain? Is there something that’s not working? Answering these questions tends to give me the sense that everything is quite alright and manageable once I can break the problems down into smaller parts.
For more extensive goals, I find it helpful to make various types of intentional lists. Sometimes mental lists help, but when the tasks get more intense, I take to the old notepad or computer. I find it helpful to make a checklist of things I want to accomplish and what help I will need to get to the goal. Knocking things off the various list allows me to visualize and realize the positive steps toward the outcome desired. It’s also important to allow for some wiggle room, as most things don’t go exactly according to our plans.
Above all, I remain grateful. I don’t stare, but I glance back at the life I’ve led to where I have manifested today. This always leads to the crack of a small smile and feelings of accomplishment. I also keep in mind how goals have had some added obstacles in the past but I have always managed to make it to where I need to be.
If we don’t set out for a destination, I believe we are just wandering. Wishing you many accomplishments in this year and the years to come. Hoping you remember at times that it’s not so much in the end goal, but the journey towards it that brings the most growth. Be mindful of your feelings and emotions this year and try not to let any situation, event, or occurrence gain power over your serenity and peace.
With love, Jimmy O’Hara