Three Rules To Get Your Life In Order: Warrior Mind Podcast #347

Over four years and going strong!  With over 500,000 downloads from over 9 countries and 5 continents’…. this is the Warrior Mind Podcast.

In this episode of the Warrior Mind Podcast I’m going to talk about the essential rules to get your life back in order.

As I work in the field of human potential, I keep current on the most recent information about the damage persistent stress can cause to a person’s mental and physical health. Chronic diseases can be caused or made worse by this stress (AHA 2012). You have observed and recommended mind-body exercises and physical exercise to restore vitality, improve mental and physical health as well as help in the reduction of stress.

I know too that there is an ever-growing number of technological devices with their associated tools that do amazing things and these items cause a level of distraction unlike anything ever seen before. It is most likely that you have seen clients stop in the middle of an exercise session to check an email, answer a phone call or respond to a text. This Distraction Epidemic is considered by some to be psychologically equivalent to the Obesity Epidemic.

Poor health and medical conditions show a connection to disorganized minds based on the existence of very convincing evidence. A report presented by researchers shows there is an association between ADHD and excessive weight. According to one study, patients being treated for obesity had a high rate (27%) of ADHD patients. Patients being treated on an inpatient basis for class III obesity (body mass index >40) had a rate of 43% ADHD patients (Altfas 2002)

There is little understanding of the cost to us when we multitask. The price of negative emotions, impulsiveness and chronic stress is better understood. A large number of jobs consider multitasking a desired skill and some even require it. All too often, it is not seen as a detriment to a person’s wellbeing. We frequently view our ability to multitask as something to be proud of, as though there is a competition to see who is the best multitasker around.

Is Multitasking a Sign of Strength or Weakness?

It is time to re-evaluate how we view multitasking. Our minds function far better when we can focus on just one task at a time (Hammerness & Moore 2012). We can be more creative, productive, connected, more organized and may even be brilliant upon occasion if our attention is on just one conversation or task at a time. We make more mistakes, miss emotional signs and miss important information when our attention is spread out too thin on too many things at one time. It is sort of like a split second kind of focus that doesn’t allow us to accomplish much.

When something disturbing happens or we have a long to-do list, we can get caught up in emotional negativity that robs us of the ability to put our full attention on a task even when we have the chance to do so. This results in the brain being hindered in its capacity to learn and focus. Fortunately, it is possible to train the brain so it can focus in a satisfyingly productive manner.

Enjoy this podcast on the three rules to get your life in order.

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The Rules of Order

I will briefly cover these three rules of order. Since you…or a “friend” likely have many of the same issues, share these rules and use them in your own life.

Rule 1: Take Control of Your Negative Emotions

You will need to take control of your negative emotions before you will be able to focus your mind on just one thing. These negativities include anger, irritation, anxiety, worry and sadness. The “commander-in-chief” of your brain lies behind your forehead and is called the prefrontal cortex. Negative emotions cause harm to this area of the brain just as they also damage your health. Focusing and thinking straight are not possible when there is too much negative stress present. Fortunately, improving your ability to better control the effects of this stress is managed in the same way you work to improve your overall health. How is this done? Simply be slowing down even for a few minutes now and then, breathing slow, deep and even, doing a mindfulness exercise, getting regular physical exercise and getting enough good sleep.

Try out various combinations of activities in your approach until you find the combination that works best for you in your quest to calm your negative stress. This personal formula you develop will let you sharpen your ability to focus your attention and use your mental resources as you connect with your clients.

Rule 2: Sustain Your Focus

Once your mind’s peace and vigor are restored, it is time to choose just one task to focus on. You will find that the most productive and gratifying times of the day occur during focus sessions. During these times, your brain’s resources are zeroed in on one task to the exclusion of other tasks. A person’s psychological health is heavily contributed to by full focus, which is also known as flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1990; Moore 2008).

As you start your focus session, be sure you tell your brain the object of the exercise. This could be meeting with a coworker, a new program design or leading a training session. Schedule several focus sessions for each day. If you lead an exercise group or are a personal trainer, you already have them built into your day because of your appointments with clients or classes. If your job has you sitting at a desk all day, you will need to work them into your day. You can use your personal mind calming formula to move your mind into a peaceful, vigorous and productive state to focus on a task you need to accomplish. At home when the workday is finished, use the same focus to give your full attention to friends and family. You will see how they respond positively when they know they have all of your attention.

Rule 3: Step on the Brakes

Have you noticed how your car stops at a traffic light when the brakes are in top shape? Your brain needs to be able to do the same thing when the right signals occur. Humans face distractions of all sorts on a daily basis. You have to know when and how to step on the brakes of your mind to keep your focus where it should be when you are working on something important.

Request an Introductory Consultation right now if you wish to learn additional information on expectations, confidence and acceptance.

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