Archives for January 2011

Zen habits are simple lifestyle habits that have the potential to radically alter the efficiency of our minds and the potential of our lives.  We can easily integrate these habits into our daily routines to keep our minds sharp and efficient for years to come.  Here are seven ways to keep a great head on your shoulders:

First we form habits, then they form us.
– Rob Gilbert

1.  Challenge your mind with new activities, skills and information.

The primary function of the human mind is its ability to absorb information and adapt to challenging unfamiliar environments.  Do you remember the old saying ‘use it or lose it?’  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  If you don’t use your mind, you will lose your mind.  So broaden your horizons, learn new skills and challenge your mind every single day.

2.  Your mind is part of your body.  Fuel, exercise and rest your body properly.

The human brain accounts for roughly 2% of the total mass of the human body, yet it consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients the human body intakes.  Therefore, it makes sense to fuel your body with healthy food and keep your blood oxygen levels high with regular exercise.  Also, a tired mind is rarely productive, so get yourself enough sleep every night.  For a practical guide on maintaining a healthy, fit body I recommend The 4-Hour Body.

3.  Pay attention now.  Concentrate on the present.

People often obsess themselves with the past and the future.  But life is happening right now.  You can’t learn something or remember something that’s happening now if your mind is stuck in another time.

It takes about eight seconds of intense focus to process a new piece of information into your long-term memory.  So don’t let your life and your mind slip away.  Instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, practice being and living in the present moment.  Remember, right now is the only moment guaranteed to you.  Right now is life.  Don’t miss it.  The Power of Now is a brilliant resource on this topic.

4.  If something requires your attention in the future, write it down in a trusted location.

The more miscellaneous commitments you try to juggle in your mind, the less efficient your mind becomes.  There’s absolutely no reason to memorize to-do lists, general reminders and most supplemental information.  That’s a huge waste of brainpower that could be spent more wisely on learning something new (see bullet #1).  So put your mind at ease by writing down these bits of information in a trusted location that can be easily accessed in the future.

5.  Rehearse information frequently – ‘over-learn.’

In a nutshell, over-learning is the continued practice of material or skills long after the material or skills have been mastered.  The primary goal is information retention – to practice something until it becomes second nature to you, like an automatic function of who you are.

Over-learning is frequently used by people who make public speeches or those who must perform certain functions on the spot with little support or external assistance.  For example, a concert pianist doesn’t stop learning a piece of music she will perform once she initially masters it.  She keeps practicing it so that it’s automatic and there’s little possibility of forgetting it when she performs in front of a large audience.

You can easily apply the concept of over-learning in your own life by reviewing what you’ve learned the same day you learn it and at regular intervals thereafter – something researchers call ‘spaced rehearsal.’  And once you over-learn whatever it is you’re studying, you’ll always be prepared to employ the information or skill at a moment’s notice.

6.  Develop and nurture long-lasting, stimulating relationships.

Human beings are social creatures.  Regular interaction with close friends and family is regarded by most mental health professionals as the number one source of happiness in a human being’s life.  When the human mind is happy, it is less stressed.  And a less stressed mind is a more efficient mind.

7.  Be motivated, keep a positive attitude and find something to smile about.

Each one of the six points above has the ability to make your mind more efficient (and change your life).  But when you combine them with positive thinking their beneficial effects increase exponentially.

Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  The mind must believe it can do something before it is capable of actually doing it.  So be aware of your mental self-talk.  We all talk silently to ourselves in our heads, but we aren’t always conscious of what we’re saying or how it’s affecting us.  Start listening to your thoughts.  If you hear negative thoughts, stop for a second and replace them with positive thoughts.

As the Dalai Lama once said, “The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.”  For some practical positive thinking guidance, I recommend reading The Power of Positive Thinking.

Final Thoughts

Now remember, what counts the most is not what you learned by reading this article (or any article for that matter), but how you apply this knowledge.  You must take action.  So start small, but start now.

Choose one of the seven bullet points above that speaks to you the loudest and practice it for a few minutes today, tomorrow and every day for the next several months.  Eventually, one day, without even thinking about it you’ll start doing it automatically.  And you’ll suddenly realize that these short practice sessions have evolved into a permanent, internalized, zen habit.

Photo by: Epi Longo

This guest post was written by Celes Chua.

Do you know that most people never utilize more than 0.1% of their true potential in their lifetime?

It’s true.  The thing is, human potential is unlimited.  Unlike computers, you’ll never come across a situation where your brain says the hard drive is full.  You can constantly push your limits, reaching greater heights, only to find that you’re not even reaching a fraction of your true worth!  Believe it or not, you harness more power than you can ever imagine.

Unfortunately, many do not utilize their true potential, and lay it to waste by engaging in tasks that are a poor use of their time and energy.  Here are 10 sure-fire ways to live below your true potential:

1.  Harp on the past instead of focusing on the present.

Some people spend their lives living in the past.  They lament about what has been, what they could have done, and why they didn’t do that.  However, the past is the past, and no matter how much time we spend thinking and lamenting about it, it doesn’t change anything.  To spend time moping about what has been is to waste the person you can be.

There were times in the past when I wondered how things would have been if I did X instead of Y.  Or if I did Z instead of Y.  However, after that I’d ask myself, “How would this change anything?”  Me sitting here and thinking about the past does absolutely nothing to change things and improve my life.  Instead, it is only by thinking forward and taking action that I’m able to live a truly fulfilling life.

What kind of future do you want to create?  What actions can you take to create this ideal future?  What have you learned from the past that will help you in this journey?  Asking and acting on questions like these will help you to maximize your present moment so you can live your best life going forward.  For some practical guidance on living in the present, I recommend The Power of Now.

2.  Get caught up in the details vs. the big picture.

If you’re a perfectionist, you might find yourself caught up with perfecting details on a regular basis.  If so, you’re not alone – I’m the same way.  I spend a lot of time editing the nitty-gritty, so that everything can be perfect and the way I envision it to be.  For example in my articles, I can spend an hour or more looking for the perfect photo that expresses the exact intention of my article.  I can spend hours just improving my blog and forums so that my readers can get the perfect experience.

However, I have come to realize that by spending all my time on the details, I’m not making the best use of my time.  According to the 80/20 principle, 80% of the results we can achieve comes from 20% of our actions.  In trying to achieve the remaining 20% to get the perfect 100% outcome, we have to spend 80% more effort!

Some of us may think that we should do everything to achieve the best outcome.  While I agree with this, it fails to hold true outside of certain situational contexts.  For example, while it may be gratifying to get the best picture for each blog article, the extra time spent looking for that best picture prevents me from working on higher value tasks, such as writing new books or creating new challenges for my readers.  It goes without saying that one hour spent on the latter adds more value than one hour spent looking for a picture.

By looking at the big picture, it helps you realize what does matter and what doesn’t so that you can then channel your energy accordingly.  The Gifts of Imperfection is a good read on this topic.

3.  Let yourself be affected by minor issues.

Sometimes we may be affected by a hurtful comment or discouraged by a small setback.  While these emotions are justified, often times these events are insignificant in the long run.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  5 years?  10 years?  30  years?”  If not, then it’s probably not worth your energy to think about these things.  Concentrate on things that do matter in the long run instead.

4.  Blame others for your plight.

Is there anything you’re blaming others for in your life?  Are you blaming the economy for not getting the job you want?  Your parents for giving you “fat” genes?  Your boss for your workload?  The world for lack of opportunities around you?  The universe for not giving you the life of your dreams?

The extent to which you can live your dream life depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame someone/something for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility.  You give others power over that part of your life.  For example, if you blame your parents for your obesity, you’ll continue to remain obese because in your mind they are the reason why you’re obese.  You’ll never have the power to change the situation until you take responsibility for it.  When you take 100% responsibility for your life, be it your career status, your health, your relationship status, your finances, your friendships, etc, that’s when you’re set to achieve the life of your dreams.

5.  Complain.

It’s okay to complain once in a while as a way to vent, but doing it too often makes you a magnet for negativity.  Whenever you complain, you give your power away to the universe.  For every second you spend complaining, that’s one second you could have spent creating the life you want.  Rather than lament, think about the actions you can take to improve your situation instead.  Every time you do, that’s one step toward the life you’ve been dreaming about.

6.  Try to do everything by yourself.

Are you someone who likes to do everything yourself?  So do I – but over the years I realize that this prevents me from achieving more.  In trying to do everything, including the nitty-gritty, less important details (see #2), that means you’re not able to do the higher level, important things like your biggest goals and dreams.  Start by delegating, outsourcing or removing the less important tasks and scaling yourself up to do the more important ones.  You’ll notice a big difference in your productivity.

7.  Set small goals.

Many people set small goals because they’re afraid to fail.  Actually what they’re really afraid of is to realize that they’ve always had all the power to achieve everything they want and that they have wasted their own time and dreams.  You have all the potential and power in this world to achieve everything you want.  Stop settling for less and set your highest goals today.  You owe it to yourself.

8.  Bottle up unhappiness.

Bottling up your emotions is like creating a bomb that will eventually self-implode.  Every time you bury an emotion, you’re weighing yourself down with baggage.  The best way to deal with your emotions, whether happy ones or unhappy ones, is to lay them out on the table and face them.  Don’t hide from your problems.  When you do you’re just hiding from yourself.  I found a great way to clear emotional baggage is to use the brain dumping exercise, where you dump your emotions in a journal for about 10-15 minutes.  Try it – you’ll feel lighter almost immediately.

9.  Think that you cannot do it.

As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”  There is nothing more powerful in the world than our beliefs.  Our beliefs are the lenses we use to see the world.  If we think we don’t have the power, then our minds will find the evidence to support that thought.  If we think we have the power to achieve what we want, then similarly, our minds will automatically lock down on all the evidence that supports that thought.

Our limitations have little to do with the world, society, people, or anything like that – our limitations have always been within us – our beliefs.  My personal motto is that as long as there’s the will, there’s always a way.  Nothing is impossible to achieve in this world.  For some practical positive thinking guidance, I recommend The Magic of Thinking Big.

10.  Procrastinate on your goals.

Procrastination is the best way to bury your potential.  Do you want your goals to never come true?  Sure, procrastinate on them.  I’ve never in my life seen a happy procrastinator.  Everyone I know who procrastinates usually holds a heavy heart, because deep down they want to achieve their goals.  Deep down they know they are meant to live their dreams.  So stop procrastinating.  Start by first identifying what you’re passionate about, then go from there.  As long as you’re doing what you love, you can never go wrong.

Be sure to check out my past guest posts on Marc and Angel:

• How To Be The Best You Can Be – 10 Important Steps
• 30 Ways To Live a Life of Excellence

About the author: Celes writes at The Personal Excellence Blog, for people who are passionate about achieving their highest potential and living their best life. Get her free ebook 101 Things To Do Before You Die by signing up for her free newsletter. Check out her articles: 101 Ways To Live Life To The Fullest and 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself in Life.

Photo by: Norma Desmond – Book recommendations by: Marc