Mind Management Tips For Better Performance At Work

How does your state of mind impact your performance at work or in your business? If you are in a poor
state of mind you will find that your performance suffers, whereas when you are in a good state of mind
your performance will be much better.

Your state of mind is a reflection of the quality of your thinking at any given time. How you think impacts
how you feel and in turn this impacts your performance. You often blame how you feel on outside
circumstances or other people but actually how you feel is a result of what you think about what is
happening and your reaction to other people. Hence different people react to the same circumstances in
different ways. Your mood and behaviour is a direct result of what you are thinking. This can explain in a
business context why the performance of individuals can vary dramatically depending on their state of
mind and in a sporting context how even the best at their sport can lose a match when they are not in
the best state of mind.

So what can you do to manage your state of mind to improve your performance at work:

Notice your state of mind and be aware of your thoughts. When things are not going well at work or in
your business you don't often consider your state of mind as a possible cause. You may be looking for
external causes such as technology problems, other people, market conditions or lack of resources.
However in these circumstances notice your state of mind and become aware of your thoughts and
understand how these may be impacting your performance.

Take a break and understand why you are feeling like you do. If things are not going according to plan or
nothing seems to be going right take a break from what you are doing. This may mean moving out of
your environment or just stopping what you are doing. Focus on what you are thinking, how you are
feeling and how this may be impacting your performance.

Remember you have a choice. Many people think that they cannot change how they are thinking at any
given time and that it is just the way they are. However you have a choice how you think and by
choosing to change how you are thinking you can improve how you are feeling and your performance.

Identify unhelpful ways of thinking. How you think impacts how you feel, so if you are feeling bad and
your performance is suffering, you have probably been thinking in an unhelpful way. The way you think
can cause you to make inaccurate assessments of your experiences, to get the wrong end of the stick, to
jump to conclusions, to think the worst, to distort the facts and it can get in the way of your decision
making, goal achievement and performance. For ideas as to how to change unhelpful ways of thinking
read our article Considering the way you think.

Consider how to improve your state of mind. Once you understand your state of mind and why you are
feeling like you are consider different options as to how you can improve your state of mind e.g. You may
be frustrated with a colleague so it may help your state of mind if you chat things through with them.

Focus on what is within your control and accept things as they are. Focus on what is within your control
as you can't control those things that are outside of your control. Our article Don't try and control the
uncontrollable may help you with this. Accepting things as they are can also improve your state of mind
and your performance.

Think positively and adopt a positive attitude. Thinking positively will help you feel positive which will in
turn improve your performance. Adopting a positive attitude will be infectious and customers and those
around you will pick up on your positive energy which will lead to you maximising your performance and
the performance of your business. With a positive approach you will feel in control and confident and
you will perform at your best, whereas a negative approach will damage confidence, harm performance
and paralyse your mental skills. For more tips in this area read our article The importance of a positive
attitude in business.

Take action and keep focused. Thinking too much and over analysing can result in you getting caught up
in your thinking which can negatively impact your state of mind and hence your performance. Try taking
action and keeping focused on what you are trying to achieve. This will help to control mind chatter,
improve your state of mind and is critical for improving your performance and that of your business.

Take control of worrying. Worrying and anxiety can negatively impact your state of mind and your
performance at work. To improve your performance take control of worrying using the tips in our article
Take control of worrying.

Talk to someone. You may not be able to improve your state of mind and hence your performance
without support from someone else. Discussing your situation and how you are thinking and feeling with
a third party may help you, whether this be a friend, colleague, mentor, coach or a counsellor.
Hopefully the above will have given you some food for thought as to how your state of mind can impact
your performance and how you can manage your mind for better performance at work or in your
business.

There are several different techniques to program your subconscious mind for success. Many people
allow their lives to be controlled by their emotions instead of taking control of their thoughts and
processing them accordingly to make good decisions. Our minds are powerful and were designed for
success as long as we can manage what we allow to come in and what we allow to go out. Here are 4
reasons we should start managing our minds immediately.

1. Manage your thoughts

When you think of management, what do you think of? A manager right? And what do managers do?
They manage people’s time, quality, performance and productivity. In essence, we are all managers
because we’re all managing our own lives. To accurately manage these four things ask yourself:

· Am I making good with my time or am I spending it on things that are irrelevant and unnecessary? For
example, if your mind is telling you to spend time on social media, the action will soon follow if you
entertain the thought long enough. Every thought will become an intended action. The good news is,
you have the power to control your thoughts and your actions. The first step then begins with telling
yourself how much time you are willing to spend on a particular task, event or project. Don’t allow
distractions to deter you. Believe me they’re out there and will suck your time from right under your
nose. Once you’re focused, you’ll have the mental stamina to dominate and excel in all areas.

· Am I telling myself a quality story about myself? Do you wake up every morning with a positive attitude
and tell yourself that you’re going to crush the day? It might be helpful to start by affirming yourself
before you leave the house, to set the tone for the day.

· Am I performing at maximum potential levels or am I slacking and just getting by and “doing just
enough?” (The mindset of a successful person is one that crushes everything they do and they never get
outworked.) Dwayne Johnson aka “The Rock” says, “Always be the hardest working person in the room.”
· Am I being productive with my day? Are my goals getting accomplished or am I allowing myself to get
distracted and not getting anything done?

I believe so passionately in mind management that I dedicated an entire chapter to it in my new book
titled “Don’t Let Your Struggle Become Your Standard, How To Be Indispensable Even When The Odds
Are Stacked Against You.”

2. Initiate action

We all know someone who talks about their dreams or goals and what they want to do in life but very
seldom do we see them act upon it. Are you a “fire starter” and enjoy initiating projects, tasks and
teams, with the hopes of them growing exponentially?

Don’t be the person with the mindset that says, “Well, that’s not my job or it’s not my fault!” That’s a big
NO NO in any industry.

Entrepreneurship is not only about taking action, but it is the epitome of taking massive action. They say
that there are three types of people in the world. Those that watch things happen, those that let things
happen and those that make things happen. Which one will you be this year?

3. No negativity

Have you ever had a negative thought or encounter with someone and your whole day was turned
upside down? Cleveland Clinic did a study that shows thinking negatively can become a habit and can
actually create additional problems such as anxiety, depression and excessive worrying thus decreasing
productivity. It went on to say that we think approximately 50,000 thoughts per day and 85% of those
thoughts are negative. If that’s the case then mind management is definitely a necessity.
If we are to become successful in crushing negativity then we must protect ourselves from what we
allow our minds to absorb. That means avoiding negative talk, negative radio and TV, and definitely
negative people (yes, including friends and family.)

One of the world’s leading motivational speakers who happens to be my friend and mentor, Les Brown is
always saying that he hangs around “only quality people” (OQP.) He said he doesn’t even engage in a
conversation unless it’s positive, productive, or profitable. Great advice!

4. Determine to add value to yourself and others

Being an entrepreneur means you had a vision of helping or serving others by adding tremendous value
to them and the market place. However you can never add value to others unless you value yourself
first. Do you know that you are valuable and the gifts you were born with are needed in this world
today? Are you affirming yourself on a daily basis? Do you believe in yourself and are you thinking
positive thoughts? If you answered no to any of these questions, the good news is you can change the
way you think and manage your thoughts today.

Conclusion

Never downplay your abilities, I did that for many years and it got me nowhere. It wasn’t until I changed
my mindset and my thought processes, that I was able to reach a greater level of success and peace of
mind. Having the ability to control your thoughts and your mind is one of the best forms of freedom
anyone can have. I encourage you to start today if you haven’t already.

Suffering From The Restless Eyes And Mind?- Trātak The Solution

Meditation / August 01, 2012

Suffering From The Restless Eyes And Mind

Trāṭak is a way to meditate by fixed gazing on a single point such as an idol of God, a black dot, or candle
flame. The main intention of practicing this is to aide the practitioner to halt the restlessness of his eyes,
pursuing something every moment; by concentrating his eyes, he can halt the restlessness of his mind
too.

Procedure

i. Sit in any meditative asan.

ii. Place either an idol of Radha Krishna, or your favorite form of any God such as Ram, Shivaji, etc. on the
table or wall, in front of your eyes.

iii. The distance between you and the idol must be about 3-5 feet (the distance depends more on the
size of the picture).

iv. The bigger the idol, the greater the distance one should sit away from the idol for proper Trātak.

v. Perform each of the eye exercises five times successively:

a. Sideways Viewing

b. Front and Sideways Viewing

c. Up and Down Viewing

d. Scattered Viewing (defocusing)

e. Rotational Viewing

Stage – 1

Procedure

i. Gently open your eyes and look at the place below the idol.

ii. Slowly move your eyes to look at the picture, and start gazing at the whole idol effortlessly.

iii. Although in the beginning, you may feel an irritating sensation in the eyes, do not leave the
performance.

iv. Using your will-power, do not blink; if tears come, let tears flow from your eyes.

v. Maintain this for about one minute.

vi. Then, close your eyes totally and rub the hands together, and place them over your eyes (Palming
process).

vii. After 15-20 seconds, release your hands; then open your eyes with a few blinks.

viii. This is one round; do this for five rounds.

ix. End the final round with palming for a bit longer period (about 30 seconds).

x. Finally, release the hands but do not open your eyes instantly.

Stage – 2

Procedure

i. Slowly open your eyes, and look at the place below the idol and then carefully move the eyes to look at
the idol.

ii. This time, just stare at one part of the picture like the eyes, nose, etc.—intensively.

iii. Your eyes may feel a burning like sensation at first, but control your eyes with will-power so that the
eyes do not blink.

iv. If tears come, let them flow out freely as they purify the eye muscles.

v. Remain in this position for about one minute without straining the eyes.

vi. Then, close your eyes for a few seconds; rub your hands together, and perform palming.

vii. After 15-20 seconds, release your hands and open the eyes with a few blinks.

viii. This completes one round; repeat for five rounds.

ix. End the final round with palming for a bit longer period (about 30 seconds).

x. Finally, release your hands, but do not open your eyes immediately.

Stage – 3

Procedure

i. Slowly open your eyes and look at the place below the idol.

ii. Slowly, move your eyes from the place below the idol, to the idol.

iii. This time defocusing will be practiced; expanding your awareness, collect the details of the idol such
as the colorful clothes, the posture, facial expression, the beautiful eyes, etc., in your mind.

iv. Now, while expanding your awareness more and more, observe the aura around the Lord.

v. Maintain the process for one minute, again close your eyes and try to visualize the image

in your mind, remembering all the details you have collected. But try to visualize the sentient and
dynamic Lord, as if He is smiling or playing on a flute or dancing with His pals in Vrindavan.

vi. When the image disappears, perform Palming process.

vii. Now, Bhramari can be practiced with palming; giving a gentle press over the eyes, breathe in and
produce “Mm…” sound and feel the vibrations throughout the body.
viii. Perform Bhramari for five times.

ix. Then, release your hands; sit peacefully for some time and feel the changes in the body.

x. Realize that your mind has now become tranquil and your concentration, will-power, and eyesight
have improved as well.

Benefits

This meditative process, Trāṭak, purifies the mind, maintains good eyesight by cleansing the eyes, and
also relieves the practitioners from tension, insomnia, restlessness, depression, etc.

It also stimulates the nervous system, which helps enhance the ability to concentrate.

It increases memory and mental power.

It also decreases the rate of breathing.

This method exercises the centres—olfactive and optical; it also controls ciliary’s reflex and helps in
stimulating the pineal gland.

Precautions

It is preferable to practice in the dark, especially in the evening time.

One should sit comfortably in one of the meditative asans with the head, neck, and spine erect; for this
reason, it is better to remove wrist watches, eye glasses, belts, shawls, chains, etc.

While performing the palming process, the palms should not touch the eye balls.

At the time of palming, breathe slowly.

Palming should be done in such a way that there should be complete darkness.

The face should remain relaxed—preferably keeping a gentle smile.

One should not strain the eyes.

Persons with insomnia should not go to bed for at least an hour after doing it as it awakens the mind,
and it is really difficult to sleep just after practicing.

In case of tension or headache, it is better to avoid this type of ṣhaṭkarma.

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