Feeling the past to see the future.. One small step
for man… One giant step for….
We all would like to walk on the moon like Neil
Armstrong and his Apollo crew but sadly, the nearest most of us will get is on
a 737 airbus to our next work destination or vacation spot of choice! As we get
older our dreams augment to a point where reality salvages what dreams are
plausible to circumstance and leaves the rest for the garbage collector to
remove as they are unassigned to our greatest variable, which is our reality!
Sounds familiar eh? As we all reach that point, how successful are we in coming
to terms with our “reality” and staying mentally flexible for best possible
outcome each and every day??
I would wager a minority are successful in creating a
yellow brick road of strongly focused thought that creates new opportunities
through the axiom of mental agility. It’s no surprise many don’t given economic
crises, redundancies, career, family and life. The average person has enough on
their plate to last them a lifetime! Getting through it all is reward enough! I
won’t argue that point as life can be very harsh for so many, but I humbly
submit, we have more control over our destiny then we think!
Imagine a world where we get up in the morning, are
filled with energy and enthusiasm about the day and nothing will stand in our
way! We are a force of nature and nature does not step aside for life, she
forges her own path! Mindset, health and happiness are great starting metrics
to taking as much charge as one can over our future. Is one burdened by
pressures they cannot reconcile to physical events and/or measurements? Is one
in good health, bad health or anything in between and is that individual
happy??
If you feel happy, are of a positive mindset and in
good health, then you are well positioned to dream your future and plot a
course for a longer term happiness that only you can make happen! With mind,
body and purpose at a good starting point, becoming mentally flexible is about
sharpening the mental pencil whilst at the same time living a healthy lifestyle
that supports your aspirations and your mental agility.
So, we have a sense of where we are at from our self
evaluation, let's get started on next steps:
Sharpening the mental pencil
- IQ exercises like the workout on mensa.org or any IQ testing site is a must
to regiment the mind into certain types of processing. Its a mental workout
that sharpens deductive reasoning and mathematical ability. Doing it daily for
30 mins is a must, expect mental agility improvements after 8 weeks or so. After
that, 30 minutes twice a week is enough to keep that mental pencil sharpened.
Free the mind
- learning mindfulness was a big learning step in my own self discovery and
development. I recommend it for everyone BUT be warned, there are allot of
snake oil salesmen and women out there looking to sell you nothing at a profit.
Be sure your mindfulness vendor is recommended and effective. If you are a good
fit for it, you will learn it very fast!
Develop your focus constantly
- Primary attention (full attention) doesn’t last long past 35 minutes at a
time so keeping high level focus is a task best served with regular breaks from
high level mental activity. A 2 min break to do something else or get a glass
of water is all that is needed. The more you do that, the better regimented
your mind becomes in being focused. This focus can deliver you to new heights
of mental performance!
So, with focusing on your mind under way, lets think
about good advice for the body:
Exercise - 30 mins a day,
3 times a week. In addition, a 20 min walk daily is a good addition to any
exercise regime. A healthy body breeds a healthy mind
Sleep - Don’t skimp on
sleep, you will never become mentally agile sleep deprived! 6-8 hours a night
and try to get to bed around the same time every night. A good routine
increases the benefits of sleep.
Food - Fresh food
regularly taken in 3-4 meals of reasonable size is the best fuel for you. A
good breakfast, a healthy dinner and an evening meal that is light is the best
formula for good health. High fibre (apples/pears/green vegetables) should be
part of the daily diet and junk food along with alcohol should be taken in
moderation. You would be surprised how impacting digestion related illness is
to mental acuity and overall wellbeing.
Eye
Test – as we get older, our vision detiorites and those of
use married to our laptops <<<cough!!… programmers,
cough!!>>>, slight double vision can set in with accompanying
headaches. Don’t strain your eyes and become distracted with headaches, get
tested and use glasses if necessary.
Socialise
- Call a friend, grab a coffee and talk about the weather. Small talk matters
as it gives the brain a rest and embraces our group nature. We are social
creatures!
Needless to say, our path to mental acuity and strong
focus is an individual one. We don’t all sail in the same slip stream as each
other! However, when we are mentally agile, our focus is a powerful tool in
discerning our environment, the moving parts in it and the opportunities we
have to chisel out our own future… If we surmise that our preparation, training
and readiness for the life ahead of us is in place, we can then set about
charting its course.
On a final note, we can do whatever we want within
reason so why not build a career on a ladder that leads to happiness, loving
without boundaries those closest to us and decades from now, leaving this
world a slightly better place? That is what I have concluded in my latest
career change where my passion has been ignited for technology. It embraces my
mind in enjoyable detail and delights my intellect in problems that need to be
solved! It’s also frustrating, hard and overwhelming at times, but where it’s
easy to give up, my passion stirs me onwards and with it a new day is born with
greater understanding and commitment! Why not join me and celebrate this
marvellous innovation together, it’s our life, our focus and our dream!!..
Credits/Sources:
Pics;
Credits;
Hieu Le on Unsplash.com for feature pic.
