LIONMIND - STEP 6

Strengthen your Mind and Spirit with the LionMind Agenda - 8x mental skills for a calm mind, free spirit and brave heart.

LOWERING BARRIERS

”Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them.”

Elizabeth Gilbert

 

When faced with high demands, the most common impulse is to do more, increase resources and pace. However, the most successful way through challange is to lower restraining forces, instead of pushing driving forces. Only it´s much harder since it requires patience and mental toughness.  You have to face your frustration and be still in the eye of the storm. You are required to find the words to describe the obstacles and talk about them.

To organize your energy more wisely, try to rephrase your problems as challenges. Instead of framing them as things that are wrong or bad, see if you can name how they are stopping you and keeping you from reaching your goals. Once you have defined the restraining forces, you can find ways to lower them. Work smarter, not harder.

We live in an industrial culture where the belief "MAKE MORE = BECOME MORE". It comes from an age when we needed to keep up with the pace of machines. Today the deal is completely different, where human needs should be at the center; it is the time to BE more, not do more. To let creativity, personal development and teamwork flourish.

MENTAL toughness

To stop, become present in the moment and take a look at what is holding you back, instead of just pushing through, requires courage. To do something to lower the restrainers takes even more courage. But a restraining force that is not addressed steals your energy.

It is always easier to adopt and do what you always do, to push harder or go into denial than to do something about it, since new behaviors involve risk and uncertainty.

OPTIMISM

Training your mental toughness means dealing with resistance. What you are dealing with is invisible, involves pain (emotional or physical distress) and is often complex. The work will come down to your inner dialogue, your selftalk and intention. To the attitude you choose. In fact, the core of mental toughness is Optimism. Actually believing that it will work and be worth it.

With clear intentions (# 1), a well-rested stable mind (2), A clearly meaningful goal (3) A good inner dialogue and strong thoughts; "I am willing to do the job" and "I can handle difficult things" (4) In contact with the power of emotions (5) and with a recurring routine of challenging yourself daily, you strengthen your ability to grasp what is challenging you and holding you back.

Distraction radar:

A major obstacle to living our most valuable life is when we lose focus and mental presence. Are you clear on what usually makes you lose focus? Do you know your weakness? What triggers your negative self talk and what people drains your energy? Get strong in your distraction radar, become an expert on what can steer your attention  away from what’s stopping you from standing in your light.  

Common distractions are as follows:

  1. Inner primitive needs. Being hungry, tired or under-stimulated, your brain will search for quick solutions. By eating regularly, sleeping well and having a plan for your social life you can undermine this distractors.
  2. Digital aids (as it is so nicely called). E-mails, phone calls, social media, sms or noisy environment with screens that attract attention. It never takes 3 minutes to check an email. It will start a new chain of behaviors. Research shows that our attention when driving a car is impaired as much by getting a text message as if we had smoked marijuana.
  3. Relationships. The dominating part of our brain is the social one. If you are in conflict with someone, if you feel anxious about a person, insecure or even deeply in love - it will dominate your brain. It is not possible to have a dispute at home in the morning and then have full access to all of your attention for the rest of the day. Take care of your relationships and how you end conversations. Always try to work out your relationships or conflicts. If you are in love - congratulations! It is clearly a distraction that you should enjoy fully.
Exercises:
  1. Identify 3 daily challenges in your life that you would like to handle differently. It can be anything from getting up early in the morning, changing your eating habits or changing jobs.
  2. What skills would you need to strengthen to handle them differently?
  3. How can you challenge yourself more, every day?

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