Do you find it hard to balance your time, health, wealth, relationships, career, and happiness? It is because you’re not sure how to manage and maintain your important tool. The secret to managing your life well is learning how to handle your tool! I learned this lesson from my mentor, and it changed the way I see things.
Let me explain with a thought-provoking story. Once upon a time, a king wanted to cut down some sandal trees, so he looked for the best tree cutter in the country. They found the best person, and at first, he cut down a lot of trees quickly. But as time went on, he couldn’t cut as many in the initial days.
The king was confused, so he sent people to see what was happening. They saw the tree cutter working hard, but the trees weren’t getting cut. They checked again to find the root cause and found out that the axe had become blunt and wasn’t sharp anymore. Even though he worked hard, the tool wasn’t good enough to cut the trees properly.
The key point here is that even if a person is highly efficient, they may not achieve the desired results if they lack knowledge on how to maintain their tools. For example, consider a workshop person with inadequate tools for repairs or an electrician struggling with a dull cutting blade that makes it challenging to cut wires.
Similarly, as humans, we possess an incredible tool known as the mind, responsible for managing various aspects of our lives, including time, money, health, wealth, leadership, and happiness. The critical question to ponder is: did you consistently invest effort in maintaining this tool each day to ensure it performs at its best?
If not, that is the root cause of all your worries, tension, and struggles in your life. Mind management is the mother of all other management like time management, money management, relationship management, etc. If you don’t know how to manage and maintain your mind, problems will start popping up in all other areas of your life!
The secret to managing your life: Learn to Manage your tool!
So we understand that maintaining tools is crucial. To manage our tool called the mind, it involves three steps:
- Mind Diet
- Mind Exercise
- Mind Sleep
To maintain a healthy body, we all know that diet, exercise, and sleep are very important. Similarly, to have a healthy mind, these three are very important.
Mind Diet:
Just as the food we consume shapes our physical health, what we consume through our senses—our mental diet—plays a pivotal role in shaping our mental well-being. Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin serve as portals for information intake, influencing our thoughts and ultimately determining our actions.
Every image we see, every word we read, and every emotion we feel contribute to our mental diet. The content we expose ourselves to on a daily basis has a direct impact on the thoughts that take root in our subconscious minds. These thoughts, in turn, guide our actions, and collectively, they mold the path of our lives.
From this moment forward, analyze the content you consume every day. Whether it’s the news we read, the social media we scroll through, or the interactions we have with the world around us, each piece contributes to the composition of our mental diet. Recognizing that our mental health is our responsibility empowers us to be discerning consumers of content.
In a world where information flows abundantly, remember: people will serve whatever they want, but the choice of what to mentally consume remains entirely ours. Take charge of your mental diet from now on!
Mind Exercise:
Much like physical exercises keep our bodies fit, mental exercises are equally essential for a healthy and resilient mind. These exercises help you to make better decisions and maintain a sense of calmness, regardless of the challenges life throws our way every day.
Consider your brain as a chemical factory, and these mental exercises as regulators for the stress hormones it produces. Engaging in activities such as meditation, breathing exercises, creating to-do lists, journaling, setting intentions and goals, affirmations, visualization, chanting, etc. act as powerful mental exercises. These practices, when performed consistently, empower you to effectively manage stress and enhance your overall well-being.
Meditation allows you to cultivate mindfulness and inner peace; breathing exercises bring focus and calmness; and creating to-do lists and journaling help organize thoughts and priorities. Setting intentions and goals provides direction, affirmations foster positivity, and visualization allows you to picture your desired outcomes. Chanting can be a powerful tool for relaxation.
If you’re eager to dive deeper into how to do these mental exercises, consider exploring my book, “Just Restart.” In it, you’ll find a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to incorporating these practices into your daily life. Building a routine of mental exercises is an investment in your mental health, ensuring you are better equipped to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and composure.
Mind Sleep:
We are well aware of how frustrating it can be when our sleep cycle is interrupted, impacting our mood and productivity the following day. Studies indicate that individuals with irregular sleep patterns often experience various health issues related to their lifestyle. Similarly, our minds are tirelessly working as slaves to your thoughts 24/7. Give it some rest without any thoughts.
Incorporating these moments into your day or week to achieve it:
Observing Clouds in the Sky
Simply take some water, tea, or coffee. Take some time to look at the clouds floating by, allowing your mind to wander and appreciate the beauty above without any thoughts.
Looking into a Waterfall
Just observe the rhythmic flow of a waterfall, letting the sights and sounds provide a soothing experience for your mind. When it’s the rainy season, I used to simply observe this water coming from the sky and landing on the ground. Simply observe it and feel the relaxation inside you.
Get a massage.
Go for a head massage or a face massage. You will feel relaxed. Every month I used to go for a head massage and just observe the feel of relaxation, which always made me so relaxed for the rest of the day.
Observing Something Beautiful Around you Without Judgment
Simply take a moment to observe something beautiful in your surroundings without passing any judgments. I love to simply observe the play of my pets and their actions, and sitting with them really relaxes me.
Connecting with Nature:
Spend time observing the wonders of nature around you, embracing the calming influence it can have on your mind. Every morning when I open my window, I just observe something in nature, feel the abundance, and try to hear the sound around it, which is a beautiful feeling.
You can do any practice that does not create many thoughts, which is basically daydreaming time. At least if you can spend 1 minute a day, that will make a difference! Just as your body benefits from a good night’s sleep, your mind also thrives on moments of peaceful rejuvenation.
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