Little Things That Matter

Learn From The Past, Live The Present and Have An Open Mind to Face Tomorrow

How To Control Your Mind?

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I had to wake up at 4:30 am, on Wednesday, for an early morning call, and I was dreading it on Tuesday. I don’t sleep until late and thus waking up that early in the morning is not my cup of tea. I was working on some deadlines on Tuesday and throughout the evening, I was frustrated that these on-line webinars almost always suited the U.S. time zone, despite international participation.

My mind was brooding on this so much, that I became stressed. This continued on for probably a little over 2 hours. I suddenly realized that I was unable to focus my attention on what I was doing. and I hadn’t done much. I had to snap out of this.

The timing of the early morning call was not something I could choose. What I can choose is my state of mind and how I appear at this moment of time and also at the webinar. I also reminded myself that I had on several occasions delivered training till 10:30 pm and taken a red-eye flight thereafter to deliver another training at 9 am, the following day, without a wink of sleep.

I made myself a cup of coffee and settled back into what had to be done.

I woke up this morning and I was fully present and had no issues concentrating and being an active participant.

Our state of #mind dictates who we are at any moment in #time. #EI #stress #health #leadfromwithin

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As a leader,

→How do you show up when things happen against your will or expectation?

→How do you react when you are feeling overwhelmed at the number of things that need to be done?

→What are some of the things you consciously let go of to keep yourself at peace and appear calm in front of your team?

→We are emotional beings and the strongest of us go through moments of overwhelm, frustration, and stress. Do you apply the brakes before it is too late to consciously get out of the agitated state of mind leading to stress and frustration?

What are some of the ways to control our mind and be present

1. Be aware

Self-awareness is the first step. You consciously recognize you are in that agitated state of mind. Before your mind takes control of you, take a step to come back into the present. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings and what they are doing to you and your actions.

2. How strong are you?

Encourage yourself by reflecting on how well you did in a similar circumstance. How did you get over the perceived challenge or your state of mind. 

Visualize #positive images to generate positive feelings and calm your thoughts. #leadfromwithin

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3. Acknowledge

Never ignore your emotions. Be aware, acknowledge and find ways to get over it. For me, taking a walk, engaging in meaningful conversations (with myself or others) to foster understanding or even venting out to a friend or my family helps. Take steps to generate optimism.

4. What can you do?

Everything that happens to us or with us is not within our control. However, the way we show up is within our control. EI can be achieved by any of the above methods and by deep breathing. Deep breathing is difficult when your mind is agitated and it takes a conscious effort on your part to do so. Once you start that deep breathing, you essentially are able to control your Amygdala hijack and thus think rationally.

I have four more Wednesdays when my day will start as early as 3:30 am and I have told myself no matter how my previous day is, I will be present and enjoy the two-hour session and not stress about it before.

How are you controlling your mind?
What are some of the ways you try to calm your mind in moments of overwhelm and stress?

Until, we control our mind that which is within our self, our #perception of our external world will merely be a #reflection of it.

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A key question you can ask of yourself is, why am I doing what I am doing ?

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Top 10 Routines to Adopt and Lead By Example

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Do you engage in physical activity ?

Do you go running or go to the gym or yoga on a daily basis ?

Do you plan your day and make time for the things you want to do ?

What if I told you not to take a shower on a daily basis ?

These were the questions that the lady, who was doing an orientation on Mindfulness, fired off to her audience and I was one of them.

She remarked that “If you can make time to clean up physically and look good, you also need to make time to do a mental clean up on a daily basis!”

Get into a routine and that is a matter of consciously setting time for it and for that you intentionally need to believe it as a priority. Routines, often perceived as boring and dull is a necessary part of our lives. You don’t need to think of routine as boring especially if it is something that helps you be who you are. You need to leave enough scope to be flexible and adaptable to unplanned things.

Following a routine is a matter of discipline. I’m a juvenile diabetic and have followed one routine, among other routines, diligently to date in my life. I inject insulin injections three times daily and am disciplined about my diet and health, from the age of eight.

There are many routines that each of us follow. However, no matter who you are, there are some routines which need to be adopted and maintained along the journey of life.

As a leader and as a person who wants to continuously grow and step out of your comfort zone, you need to think about adopting the following routines

1. Listen

No genuine connection happens without listening. There is not a moment in your life where you can stop listening. Listen because it engages you as a leader and as an empathetic human. Listen to understand and not necessarily listen to respond every time.

2. Reflect

To reflect is to give credit to yourself on what you did well, what you could do better or differently and what you could stop doing. Reflection can be in silence or by journaling. Reflection can be on your day, the way you were, your behaviors and what you did.

3. Hope

Be an #optimist, instill #hope and provide encouragement to all those around you or whose lives you touch.

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 A realistic optimist is inspiring and it is a great trait to cultivate and have.

4. Reading

Read, learn, unlearn and discover. 

#Reading enables you to #discover, gain #knowledge and expand your thoughts and grow.

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5. Influence

The skill to influence, convince and persuade people to a common cause or vision, is one that never stops being useful. It is one characteristic that each of us can continue to develop, no matter how good you are at it already.

6. Resourceful

This is one routine that is not paid particular attention to. In this dynamic world that we live in, resourcefulness helps you to step out of your comfort zone and find solutions to the challenges.

7. Exercise

Exercise helps you to be energetic, release stress and get the creative juices flowing and be mentally alert. Don’t we all want that on a daily basis?

8. Mindfulness

The importance of mindfulness cannot be underestimated. There is overwhelming research and scientific data proving the benefits of mindfulness. A routine that I am cultivating as part of my life from now, slowly but surely.

9. Empathy

Empathy allows you to be kind, to be committed to your word, to not take others’ feelings for granted, to be engaged and committed to your work and overall understand your team and those around you better.

10. Emotional Intelligence

We are emotional beings and to cultivate a routine to be aware of your emotions, understand what they are telling you and realize how your emotions affect people around you is a lifelong commitment. EI encompasses many other routines mentioned above and helps you to be empathetic, listen and connect with people.

Sticking to some routines is beneficial and not boring. The 10 routines listed are not exhaustive.  Would you like to add some? Please do so in the comments section.

⇒Which of these routines are you going to make it part of your day and yet make it interesting?
⇒What routines do you need to let go off to make space for the top 10 above ?

For training, group coaching, one-on-one coaching, speaking and workshops let’s connect