5 Top Tips for Keeping your Mindset on Track
Mick Timpson Inner Architect and founder of Modern Meditation training enterprise beanddo describes how to keep you mind set on track to help you be more and do more...
So where are you right now.
Are you here. I mean really here, right now?
Okay. It’s not an existential question about whether you exist or not. You most certainly do. However, science tells us that although your body is here going through the motions perhaps reading this on your phone or tablet, it's very likely your mind isn't.
At least half the time your head is somewhere else.
Most of us spend a great deal of time living inside our heads experiencing an imagined life rather than experiencing real life. This can lead to all sorts of problems. Instead of living the life you are ‘actually’ living, in other words real life, your life, with all its opportunities and challenges it's likely you are living the life you ‘think’ you should be living. This disconnection from what is to what if, pushes us off track. And guess what - your nervous system can’t really tell the difference between what is and what if. That is why we feel it in the mind-body. We know when are ‘Off Track’. And if you want to know where the source of stress and anxiety in your life is then it's right there.
But there is another way. Imagine living a life where everything you do is in-line with the moment, with who you are, where you are and what you are doing. An experience of life where you and your mind is most decidedly on track. And it leads you to that sweet spot where you begin to notice that in fact you are already in the right place doing what it is you are supposed to be doing. You are on track after all. All you had to was realise and wake up to it.
Don’t think getting your mind back on track and aligning with your life is impossible it isn’t. In fact it’s very easy all you need to do is change the way you look at things - it’s really that simple.
It's all down to how you manage, train and direct attention. Living life in your head means we spend a huge amount of energy and time with our attention caught up by passing thoughts. This is called rumination and before we know it, instead of being present to what is really happening we are following a self-created mental experience of some imaged past or future event. This is an internal condition. Now add all of the constant external distraction perhaps at work such as emails (an average of least 30/hour) phone calls and interminable meetings and then from social media and it's a wonder we are ever present at all.
We might feel that we are always ‘switched-on’, but in reality you are ‘switched-off’ and distracted. This mental state in turn produces stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol to flow resulting in physiological hyper-alert, anxious stress state which is exhausting.
The key is where and how you place your attention. This is one of the core skills we teach at beanddo in our modern meditation programmes. Managing how you react to different ever changing mindsets is a real skill and it is our best defence against stress anxiety and all the physical and psychological disease that comes with it. But that is not all. When we learn to realign mental patterns and habits, change how we see them we empower ourselves too. We begin to notice those negative mindsets that hold you back.
You will find a new mindset that is was yours all along - it will set you free. And you will know it because you will feel it you’ll know when your mindset is back on track. You’ll have an increased mental clarity, a sense of purpose and more energy. You will feel an effortless flow in your actions. Your body will feel light and you might even notice a passing tinge of joy. - that’s your award for being back on track.
So here are five key ways to get yourself back on track.
Decide to change. Just making that decision will start the mental rewiring into a better mind set. It's all about noticing how you react to events and then changing habitual responses. Consciously release yourself from your usual habitual physical and mental reactivity. For example - put your smartphone down. Only choose to respond to tweets and emails and even calls at predetermined times during the day. Don't react habitually on autopilot instead respond purposely.
Take it easy on yourself - You already have all the skills and resources to succeed. Try not put yourself under pressure and minimise expectation, wants and desires. Notice when you find yourself mentally going over the ‘What Ifs” which then leads you to negative ‘should have’ or ‘could have’ thinking. These thoughts are not real and they will keep you locked in negative and unhealthy spiral of stress, fear, anticipation and regret.
Be present - Activate the above points and you will notice what it means to stay present with clarity, intention and purpose in your day to day life. Cultivate an ability to stay closely connected to what you are doing, where you are and who you are with. Go with what is happening. It's liberating and the key here don't judge don't assume don't expect is to go with things as they are.
Find some space - Then after awhile you will begin to notice changes in how you respond to events, things and people. Your emotional intelligence will grow and you will notice a space that will help you respond rather than react. This simple shift will help keep you and your mind on track as you learn to cultivate a moment by moment awareness which will help you stay non-attached. Its an approach that says ‘No reaction necessary” (NRN).
Change your perspective - and all the above is achieved by a simple change of perspective which is naturally cultivated by regular modern meditation practice. Having and utilising the best possible mindset will help you see the world as it really is so that you can be who you really are.
If you would like to know more about how you can keep your mind-set on track buy Mick’s latest book- “Making Happy Work. A beginner's guide to navigating the modern world with meditation”.