Becoming Lighter: A Heartwarming Tale of Birds and Personal Growth.

1. Bird Watching +
Mindfulness
Becoming Lighter: A Heartwarming Tale of Birds and Personal
Growth

3. How
It
Started
Embarking on nature walks in
the state of Rhode Island was
the beginning of my
adventure! With nearly 400
trails beckoning, I set a spirited
goal to conquer them all.
That’s when I discovered the
world of bird watching – an
easy way to connect with
nature during my walks.
Unaware, I began my journey
of self-improvement, shaping
a lighter, more resilient version

5. Birding and
Mindfulness
It didn’t take me long to realize
that if you never look for
something, you’ll most likely never
see it. Non-birders will tell you,
“there’s nothing here.” But
sometimes, something you never
knew existed is right in front of
you. All you need do is observe.
BIRDING LOG BOOK
DATE: ___/___/___ LOCATION:
BIRD: cardinal
ACTIVITY: perched on fence
WEATHER: snow
SKETCH AND NOTES:

6. Birding and
Mindfulness
Observing in bird watching
requires just two things – your
eyes and ears. Whether they team
up or fly solo, these senses open
the door to a world of discovery.
They are the keys to connection
with nature.
BIRDING LOG BOOK
DATE: ___/___/___ LOCATION:
BIRD:
ACTIVITY:
WEATHER:
SKETCH AND NOTES:

7. Birding and
Mindfulness
I didn’t realize it, but by using my
senses to connect with nature, I
was practicing mindfulness. There
are several studies that show
mindfulness meditation reduces
stress and depression, and
improves mood…but I didn’t need
to read that to know, because I
BIRDING LOG BOOK
DATE: ___/___/___ LOCATION:
BIRD:
ACTIVITY:
WEATHER:
SKETCH AND NOTES:

10. Mindfulness
+ resilience
Understanding mindfulness
“Mindfulness is considered to involve the
intentional regulation of attention with an
attitude of non-judgment, openness, curiosity,
and acceptance of one’s current experience”[1].
Resilience + its importance
Resilience has to do with how one combats
stressors and their ability to recover from
adversity. To be resilient, one needs the capacity
to adapt and change in a way that they can grow.
No matter what path you take in life, adversity
and stress will always bump into you at some
point. So resiliency will always be important.
“Research shows that highly resilient people
respond to challenges with flexibility…and even
find opportunities within workplace stress”[2].

11. Mindfulness
+ resilience
The Link Between Mindfulness &
Resilience
• “Mindfulness training may improve attention-
related behavioral responses by enhancing
functioning of specific subcomponents of
attention” [3].
• “Meditation has been shown to exert
psychological and physiological effects on
stress resilience and self-awareness” [4].
• Individuals who practice mindfulness recover
faster from stress than those who don’t. This is
because meditation trains the amygdala to be
more resilient [5].
Understanding mindfulness
“Mindfulness is considered to involve the
intentional regulation of attention with an
attitude of non-judgment, openness, curiosity,
and acceptance of one’s current experience”[1].
Resilience + its importance
Resilience has to do with how one combats
stressors and their ability to recover from
adversity. To be resilient, one needs the capacity
to adapt and change in a way that they can grow.
No matter what path you take in life, adversity
and stress will always bump into you at some
point. So resiliency will always be important.
“Research shows that highly resilient people
respond to challenges with flexibility…and even
find opportunities within workplace stress”[2].

14. Mindfulness
at home
Stress Reduction
Maybe it’s the walking. Or maybe it’s letting go.
Either or both, bird watching helps me stay calm.
Spotting a new bird brings a wave that washes
away the scum at the bottom of my mind. When
I’m bombarded with thoughts, the chatter in my
head is easily replaced with the sounds of nature.
Improved well-being
The little gaps in my life have been replaced with
purpose. When I add a new bird to my app, my
satisfaction goes up- I’ve accomplished
something!
Enhanced emotional intelligence
Patience develops emotional regulation skills.
And bird watching requires LOTS of patience.
The skills I honed on the trails proved
invaluable when my first baby arrived this

17. Mindfulness
at work
Increased focus and productivity
When I’ve finally learned to let go and hear the birds around me, it
transferred to my work performance. Having that experience and
knowledge to re-focus my mind helps me stay on task. And like I
mentioned before, strong resiliency leads to faster recovery. Long
burnouts are a thing of the past!
Better-decision making
My calm and focused mindset has enabled me to assess
situations more objectively, allowing me the ability to make
informed, adaptive decisions in various circumstances.
Improved Interpersonal Relationships
What do you know?! Tons of people are into bird watching.
The best part of the birding journey is sharing it with
others. And, suddenly, I had a shared interest with senior
leadership, leading to improved camaraderie in the
workplace.

20. Connecting
Studies
Several studies have proved that resiliency is related to
improved job performance, work-life integration, and
organizational commitment.
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/positive-psychological-capital-
measurement/docview/220134815/se-2
https://scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2404426
Birding in Rhode Island
The Audubon Society has locations all over the US. The society
in RI has meetups and more information on local birds at
https://asri.org/
Logging Birds
Identify and track birds in the new Merlin app
run by Cornell University.

22. The End