Our thoughts are helpful. We need them to make sense of the information around us and to take action.

I used to believe this wholeheartedly, but is it really true? Is the stream of words in our heads really necessary?

As far as we know, animals don’t talk to themselves and they seem to manage. Some of our actions are prompted by our thoughts but most of them are the results of outside stimuli and our feelings.

Your Mind in Action

When something triggers a response in us, our subconscious tries to come up with a proper course of action. Its final decision is reinforced by feelings and thoughts that leak into the conscious. These 2 combine to form the motivation for your response.

For example, let’s say you found a mountain of dishes in your sink.

Your brain (the subconscious) analyzes the situation and comes up with a solution (leave them). Your feelings guide you towards the couch and you start thinking about your favorite show.

Again, your thoughts worked against you.

But this is not always the case.

Sometimes, the subconscious comes up with the decision to clean your dishes and so do your thoughts.

Also, you are not at the mercy of your subconscious. You can say no to certain “solutions” by recognizing the feelings and thoughts that are rejecting them.

See Also: The Profound Effects Of Meditation On The Mind

Don’t Argue with the Mind

When you feel like doing something you shouldn’t, become aware of this fact. Take a deep breath, relax your body, and start focusing on your task.

Most of us try to argue with our minds and the brain always wins.

Stop arguing.

When you’re feeling and thinking something you shouldn’t, simply ignore it.

If you think you can’t, you are wrong.

You’ve done it before. At one time or another, something triggered a messed up thought in you, like murder, suicide or rape. It happens to all of us.

We cannot control the thoughts we have, as they are simple reactions to the outside world.

If you watch enough news about murder and rape, these thoughts will inevitably end up in your mind. But they are disgusting, so we reject them immediately.

That’s what keeps us sane.

However, we do not reject thoughts of donuts and coca cola which make us fat. We do not reject thoughts of television and YouTube that keep us mediocre.

So, how do we do it?

How to Control Your Thoughts

To fully understand how this works, I recommend reading “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.

An incomplete summary of what he speaks about is the following:

• Thoughts come and go but you don’t have to accept and ruminate over all of them.
• Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Open them and become deeply aware of your surroundings. Become present.
• In this state, you have no thoughts. You enjoy being. When one comes into your head, make a quick decision: Is this thought useful/necessary or not? If it’s not (most of them aren’t), eliminate it and return to the present.

These steps will not only remove the pointless thoughts in your head but they can also force your subconscious to come up with better, superior ideas. What you’ll basically be doing is analyzing your thoughts, keeping only the good ones, and terminating the rest.

See Also: The Secret Mind Hacks That Can Change Your Life Today

Thinking vs. Being

Most people are stuck in their heads. Instead of admiring the sunset or having a moment with their friends and family, they’re busy thinking about nonsense.

Are you doing the same?

If you are, accept it and start working on it. You can try it out right now or when you’re taking a walk or a shower. If there’s nothing useful going on in your head, simply focus on the now and the present.

By training yourself to get rid of the useless thoughts in your head, you will build the discipline you need to succeed at work and your daily life. The more you do it, the easier it will be to remain in the present.

So, stop thinking. Just listen. Just see. Just be.

The post How To Clear Your Thoughts And Why Do It appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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The Golden Globes was more electrifying than ever this year and it wasn’t the flashy outfits, comedic host or latest Hollywood scandal that took the show.

This year it was Oprah Winfrey’s Cecil B. DeMille Award speech that shot everyone out of their seats into a standing ovation. It was an ovation that was heard around the world.

The award may be for outstanding contributions to entertainment but her speech went beyond the industry. It’s filled with lessons that one can apply in every aspect of his life, particularly when it comes to career.

If you’re curious to know, below are some of the most important points she made that day.

Remember the career that built you

“And I tried many, many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door bone tired from cleaning other people’s houses.”

Climbing up the ladder to success is exhilarating. As you knock out each goal, it becomes easier to forget the small victories that came early in your career.

It’s those moments that shaped you into the person you are today. Every success, failure, hardship, and victory is crucial to your story.

Take a moment to consider your first real job.

Think about how you felt that first day, how many mistakes you made, the joy of getting acknowledged for a job well done, and how you felt moving into your first promotion or a new career.

Expand your leadership skills and try to become a more empathetic and approachable leader. When employees make mistakes, need words of encouragement or are hoping for that next big promotion, have a higher understanding of what they need.

See Also: 7 Power Habits of Great Leaders, Business Icons and Inspirational Achievers

Look at your defining moments every day

“She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history: ‘The winner is Sidney Poitier.’ Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white, and of course his skin was black—and I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that.”

We all have those moments that define us down to the core. Some are major moments in history, like Oprah’s. Others are understated, but no less important.

What’s yours? What’s that moment that made you say, “I want to do that”?

Once you’ve identified that moment, write it down on a sticky note and place it somewhere you’ll see every day. Writing and seeing it makes its impact on your leadership skills even more concrete.

When you lose confidence in yourself or are struggling to hit a goal, go back to your note. Use it to remember where your passion radiates from.

Celebrate those around you

“Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year, we became the story.”

No matter what you do, other people are involved in your journey. Don’t forget them.

When you don’t listen to employees’ stories, your leadership skills become limited because you can’t fully understand how to manage them. In each person’s story lies the key to their motivation, what encourages them, and how they’ll react to certain situations.

Get to know your own team, employees in other departments, and your customers. Ask them what their goals are or if they have special skills or interests. Get to know their favorite activities outside of work.

Incorporate all the information you’ll get into team bonding activities and future projects.

See Also: 9 Traits of a Great Leader

Push for a brighter tomorrow

“…but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights.”

Being a leader provides plenty of challenges.

As your leadership skills develop, so will your need to participate in some unhappy moments. From firing or laying an employee off to letting a client know a mistake has been made on his project, there will be tough tasks.

Don’t let these moments define you.

Instead, maintain hope for yourself and for the people you’re leading. Take a moment to acknowledge and accept those dark moments. Then, move onto the solution and new morning.

Remember, you’re not alone in those tough times. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.

The post 4 Lessons from Oprah’s Golden Globes Speech You Need to Remember Each Morning appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Living in an era of technology, we can say that most of us depend on computers and gadgets. We use them for business and even for recreation. They make our lives more convenient in every aspect.

As we depend so much on computers, files become as important as our bank accounts. Because of that, we need to be cautious and back everything up to prevent data loss.

Here are some simple ways to backup important files on a computer.

Copy Necessary Files on a CD

This process is old but it’s big when it comes to preventing data loss. For this, you’ll need to follow the steps below:

• Place a blank CD (should be rewritable) in your CD-RW. See if your PC will recognize the CD.
• When your PC has already recognized your CD, you can now select the files that you want to save.
• After selecting the files, press right click. A dialog box will appear, choose “Send To ”
• then look for the CD-RW item. Click it and the process will start.
• Wait until copying is complete.

Note:

Using CD for backup is simple but it only provides limited storage.

Use External Hard Drives

Hard drives provide a large storage space that can accommodate all your files.

The components of an external hard drive have the same risk as your computer. It is also vulnerable to fire, theft, and other incidents.

There are different brands of hard drives. The only thing that you need to consider when purchasing one is the right storage space. Once you’ve found the best one for you, purchase it and start the process.

There are two ways to create backup files in your external hard drives- the manual and the automatic process.

• Backup Manually

This process is simple. You just need to connect your external hard drive right to your computer and select all your essential files then copy it directly to the hard drive.

• Backup Automatically

You can automatically copy your files using different computer tools that are intended for such process.

For Windows, you can use Windows Backup while you can use Time Machine for Mac OS. when these tools are active, they automatically create a backup of your files.

Backup Files Using Google Drive

This process is not applicable offline. You need to have an internet connection to use Google Drive. With this method, you can upload, view, share, and edit your files online.

Here’s how to:

Turn on your computer and go to Google. Make sure that you have an internet connection.
Click Sign in and log into your Google Account. You can create your google account if you don’t have one yet.

After logging in, go to My Drive, click new, then select the files you want to upload.
Upload the selected files and wait until it’s finished.

Uploading files to Google Drive is useful not only for backup purposes but also for convenience.

If you’re traveling from one place to another, you probably can’t bring with you your work files and that is where Google Drive becomes handy. If there is an internet connection, you can manage your work whenever and wherever you are.

Takeaway

Storing computer files is too risky. That’s why you need to create backup files just to make sure you don’t compromise them and to prevent data loss.

There are a lot of ways to do that and each method has its own pros and cons. Consider them when choosing the right backup method for you and your job.

The post Why Lose It If You Can Save It? 3 Simple Ways To Prevent Data Loss appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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