I’ve just been reading through various articles on linkedin as I find it a good source of information, and sometimes I do get a bit distracted in all the fascinating pieces of information I find there!
Having read through Deepak Chopra’s post on ‘How to turn the tables on your brain’ I found myself checking off which of his mental habits I already do, almost without even realising.
Deepak talks about positive and negative input and explains that the difference between positive and negative input isn’t a mystery. For example, good sleep, moderate exercise, meditation, stress reduction, a balanced diet, and the absence of toxins like alcohol and nicotine should be seen as positive input to the brain. He also suggest that if you want to directly impact your brain to optimize its function, there are mental habits that make a huge difference, the important mental habits are;
- Remain open to as much input as possible.
- Don’t shut down the brain’s feedback loops with judgment, rigid beliefs, and prejudices.
- Don’t censor incoming data through denial.
- Examine other points of view as if they were your own.
- Take possession of everything in your life. Be self-sufficient.
- Work on psychological blocks like shame and guilt – they falsely color your reality.
- Free yourself emotionally – to be emotionally resilient is the best defense against growing rigid.
- Harbor no secrets – they create dark places in the psyche.
- Be willing to redefine yourself every day.
- Don’t be judgmental of yourself and others.
- Don’t regret the past or fear the future. Both bring misery through self-doubt.
- Pay attention to one thing at a time. Avoid distractions and multitasking.
- Cultivate self-awareness through meditation, contemplation, and self-reflection.
Being able to develop these mental habits requires firstly a recognition of your current mental habits. If you’re new to reflection then it can be a difficult process to identify your positive and negative input, but can have instrumental life changing rewards once you start to develop the skills of reflection. Consider yourself from the view point of others, imagine you are looking at yourself on television, how do you look to the world, how do you act?
As I check off some of my current mental habits against those that Deepak considers, I feel a sense of progress, but perhaps not completely perfected my habits yet, and more work required. It does help me to see that I am some way towards consciously making change to optimise my brain in an attempt to become more focused. However, now I’m tempted away by more interesting articles that offer ways in which I can become more focused.
Potential (very interesting) information overload!
Do you have True Ambition? 