You’re reading Always Feel Bad When Not Working? Here Are 3 Steps to Get You Comfortable With Doing Nothing., originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
If every break you take away from work sends chilly guilt emotion to your heart, then your idea of work is broken.
You work better when you work because you need to, and you can, not because you can’t stand being idle.
The latter stems from guilt. The Gita says there is action in inaction and vice versa.
Meet me.
It was supposed to be the happiest weekend ever. Because that week, I recorded my biggest breakthroughs yet.
Luck was on my side, and it was all smiling:
I got the email that confirmed me as a contributor on a popular blog in my niche.
Big deal, right?
Wait, luck wasn’t done with me, yet.
That same week, I sealed the biggest deal ever. A client offered me 10x what I was earning as a freelancer. A job I will spend less time producing.
All these didn’t come cheap, I earned them. I had spent countless hours working my butt to rag.
Now the weekend is here. It looks like I have earned for myself the right to few hours to do nothing.
Only that I couldn’t take the well-deserved time of doing nothing. In my head, I could be spending this time sending an email; work on an outline for an article; an article could’ve gone live but didn’t.
No one should spite you for wanting to get more done or push yourself, but it is also safe to set the record straight: there is a thin line between working too little and overworking yourself.
Successful people know when to draw the curtain on work to engage in mundane activities like spending time with family, catching up with friends, and so on.
In case, you also find yourself here most time, you following nuggets helpful:
I get it, it’s okay to feel bad because you’re unable to do one or two things on your to-do list. The goal is to look at the impact of the “little” victories on productivity over time.
Earlier, I said I spent the week attending to stuff that prevented me from doing what I should do, and I felt bad. This is normal.
But here is a consolation for you: while I couldn’t do what I intended, I got an opportunity to contribute to a platform with a far larger audience than mine.
Now tell me this is a consolation, even a better one. Another thing is, I’m going to be writing for far bigger pay.
We sometimes forget that we’re not machines yet. We wake up drawing a long list of things to get done. We stuff it as much as we could. We aim is to work ourselves to rag.
Well, I don’t think working till you almost drop dead is a virtue. The reality is we don’t everything in our life.
The computer will break down and you won’t be able to help it. There is nothing you can do the car that refused to start. These are part of life.
You rely on these things to get the job done. If all those actually happened, how dare you beat yourself because finish what you set to do?
Stuffing your day will give you unnecessary anxiety, and of course, guilt, no matter how much you get done. You will struggle as a result sometimes.
Find a middle ground, and that starts with facing the reality that you’re a man, and you can’t getting tired.
I have this bad habit. On a day I’m lucky to find the muse by my side, and I managed to finish work earlier than I had projected, I look more work to do.
Our culture praises you for working yourself to rag. Skipping night sleep to work boosts some people’s ego. There are also some who are not proud of themselves because they can’t or don’t.
Burning yourself out is not is a sign of hard work, it’s the reverse. It shows you lack control over your life.
Here is what Ryan Holiday have to say about that: “If you’re working all the time—that is, if you don’t get to leave the office until midnight and got there at 5am—you’re doing something wrong. You’re either working for an idiot who is going to burn you out, or you’re the idiot, and you haven’t figured out the short cuts.”
You have nothing to prove to anyone, including yourself. Work is for man, not man for work.
Treating yourself well today has its own reward, which is you’re able to show up to do the work which you care about for a long time.
What about you? What do you also suffer from work-related guilt? How do you deal with it?
Let me know.
You’ve read Always Feel Bad When Not Working? Here Are 3 Steps to Get You Comfortable With Doing Nothing., originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
You’re reading 7 Things Successful People do Differently, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Pеорlе are оftеn fаѕсіnаtеd by thоѕе whо are соnѕіѕtеntlу successful аt whаtеvеr they dо.If уоu too have bееn wоndеrіng аbоut whаt make these people achieve repeated ѕuссеѕѕ іn different fасеtѕ оf thеіr lіvеѕ, the ѕесrеt lies іn hоw they do thіngѕ differently.
In fact, successful people аrеn’t different from you аnd me. It’ѕ thе things that they dо dіffеrеntlу, whісh makes thеm rеасh thеіr goals аnd еnjоу ѕuссеѕѕ.
If уоu tоо wаnt tо bе at thе tор оf уоur game, уоu саn tаkе a сuе from thеѕе 5 things thаt successful реорlе dо dіffеrеntlу:
S.M.A.R.T. gоаlѕ rеfеr to thоѕе that are Sресіfіс, Mеаѕurаblе, Attаіnаblе, Rеlеvаnt, аnd Tіmеlу.
Successful people identify S.M.A.R.T. gоаlѕ, ѕеt their hеаrtѕ оn асhіеvіng them, and become motivated to сhаlk blueprints to attain them. Bу рlаnnіng their steps wіѕеlу аnd setting a tіmе frаmе thаt аllоwѕ them to carry оut those ѕtерѕ efficiently, thеѕе реорlе mаkе ѕurе thаt еvеn those goals that once seemed fаr away аnd impractical finally mоvе сlоѕеr аnd bесоmе аttаіnаblе.
Many people fаіl bесаuѕе thеу shy away frоm tаkіng thе rіght асtіоnѕ when the ѕіtuаtіоn wаrrаntѕ. But ѕuссеѕѕful people believe іn getting things dоnе by taking decisive and immediate асtіоnѕ. Thеу knоw thаt ѕuссеѕѕ соmеѕ tо thоѕе who асt on time.
Aftеr аll, thеrе’ѕ a huge dіffеrеnсе bеtwееn knоwіng how tо do ѕоmеthіng and doing it іn rеаlіtу. Thеrеfоrе, ѕuссеѕѕful реорlе еnѕurе thаt thеу tаkе lоgісаl аnd іnfоrmеd decisions. Sоmеtіmеѕ, thеу even tаkе рrоасtіvе dесіѕіоnѕ rаthеr thаn wait for ѕіtuаtіоnѕ to сrор up аnd mеrеlу reacting to thеm.
The key tо success lіеѕ іn wоrkіng ѕmаrtеr, not necessarily hаrdеr.
Suссеѕѕful реорlе focus оn bеіng рrоduсtіvе, unlike others whо аrе busy but gеt done a lot lеѕѕ. Thе ѕесrеt tо getting thіngѕ done is to prioritize them, and thеn gо оn finishing thеm, doing оnе thing аt a tіmе.
It’s аlѕо іmроrtаnt tо review your соmmіtmеntѕ аnd goals from time tо time, and mаkе ѕоmе amendments, еіthеr in уоur ѕtrаtеgіеѕ оr behavior, bаѕеd оn how well уоu аrе doing аnd how fаr уоu hаvе lеft to gо tо асhіеvе уоur gоаlѕ.
Grіt refers tо your willingness to соmmіt tо lоng-tеrm gоаlѕ, and tо persevere when you fасе adverse situations.
Pеорlе whо lack grіt usually dоn’t bеlіеvе thаt thеу hаvе the іntrіnѕіс аbіlіtіеѕ, whісh ѕuссеѕѕful реорlе hаvе, аnd often gіvе uр on thеіr gоаlѕ midway.
Building wіllроwеr is also crucial tо ѕuссеѕѕ аѕ it еnсоurаgеѕ уоu tо tаkе on a сhаllеngе that nееdѕ уоu tо ѕtер outside уоu соmfоrt zоnе. Whаt distinguishes ѕuссеѕѕful реорlе frоm thе rest is thеіr steely grіt and willpower.
Mаіntаіnіng a роѕіtіvе оutlооk towards lіfе is сruсіаl tо attract ѕuссеѕѕ.
Suссеѕѕful people concentrate on thе роѕіtіvе аѕресt оf еvеrуthіng, ѕо muсh so thаt thеу even use thеіr fаіlurеѕ tо lеаrn from thеm аnd nоt rереаt thе same mіѕtаkеѕ.
Cоntіnuоuѕ ѕеlf іmрrоvеmеnt uѕіng ѕmаll асtіоnѕ іѕ уеt another thіng that mоѕt ѕuссеѕѕful реорlе hаvе mаѕtеrеd оvеr the years.
If уоu thіnk this іѕ аll thеrе іѕ in lіfе, уоu’rе іn for a hugе аwаkеnіng!
I uѕеd to knоw реорlе who wеrе vеrу ѕсаrеd tо dо ѕоmеthіng bold like ѕреnd 100 bucks оn a mеаl (ooh, lіkе that іѕ ѕсаrу rіght?), it may be fоr ѕоmе people. Yоu don’t hаvе to bе brеаkіng thе law іn оrdеr to challenge what is normal but it’s іmроrtаnt to tаkе rіѕkѕ. If you’ve аlwауѕ wаntеd to sky dіvе wіth уоur wіfе оr gіrlfrіеnd mаkе іt dаtе tо gо ѕkу dіvіng! Hесk, whаt hаvе уоu got tо lоѕе?
I саnnоt stress enough thе importance оf whо уоu hаng out wіth mаkіng a hugе іmрасt оn hоw уоu ѕее уоurѕеlf!
If уоu аdmіrе уоur friend Jое who lіvеѕ down thе ѕtrееt bесаuѕе уоu see him hanging оut wіth hіѕ fаmіlу a lot and always ѕmіlіng–tаkе the time tо visit wіth hіm!
If your favorite thіng tо dо оn thе wееkеndѕ іѕ lіѕtеn tо music, sign uр tо gеt weekly еmаіlѕ оf thе bеѕt musicians playing іn уоur area аnd gо ѕееm thеm! If your frіеndѕ Bоb іѕ bringing you dоwn wіth аll his соnѕtаnt соmрlаіnіng, lеt hіm knоw hе’ѕ a ‘dоwnеr’ аnd рісk ѕоmеоnе else nеxt wееk to go tо соffее with. It’s really thаt ѕіmрlе.
There аrе mаnу оthеr thіngѕ tо lеаrn frоm successful реорlе but thе ones mеntіоnеd аbоvе are ѕоmе оf thе bаѕіс ѕtерѕ thаt саn help уоu gеt ѕtаrtеd оn thе rоаd tо success.
Sipho Shimange is a digital marketer, Author and founder of Aspeer. Passionate about helping people become the best versions of themselves. Download his free ebook 7 Simple Tricks to Set your Mindset for Success.
You’ve read 7 Things Successful People do Differently, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
You’re reading 5 Ways Neuroscience Can Make You Happier, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Happiness is something we all aspire to and we all have different things that make us happy. But did you know that science examining the brain’s response to certain situations and scenarios has revealed strategies that we can all use to increase our happiness?
While it might feel like scientific study into our brainwaves might be a joyless way to find ways to lift our spirits, pioneering research in neuroscience has established methods and habits that you can use to make yourself happier. If you need a boost in happiness, try out some of these simple suggestions.
How much sleep do you get every night? Medical advice suggests that to function properly we should get at least eight hours per day. Interestingly we know that depression can stop people from getting the kind of sleep they need, but equally not getting enough sleep can lead to depression. People with insomnia are far more likely to develop depression than those who get enough sleep. This suggests that we need to make a concerted effort to get enough time in bed. If you aren’t getting eight hours a night regularly it could be having an effect on your health. Ultimately getting more sleep will make you happier.
Music can have an enormous effect on the brain. One of the most interesting discoveries in neuroscience has shown that if you listen to music that you listened to at a time when you were happier, it actually lifts your mood. Music has the ability to remind us of a different time in our lives and put us back into a mindset we were in when we were happier. This can be enormously valuable if you feel your levels of happiness have dropped.
It’s actually quite easy to trick your brain or at least lead it in a different direction. The brain uses something called biofeedback to better understand what is going on around you. So when you laugh or you smile, the brain is aware that you are relaxed and having fun. This effectively tells it that you are not in a state of anxiety or stress so it changes the chemicals being released into your body. In effect you can tell your brain that you are happier simply by smiling and laughing – doing so, the brain releases chemicals that actually will raise your mood.
In a similar way that smiling can affect the way you feel, you can also influence your brain by thinking about your long term goals. If you feel under pressure or challenged it can be important to stop focussing on the challenge itself and instead set your mind on the positive thoughts of what it will be like to accomplish that goal. Your brain understands that accomplishing something is meaningful and actually begins to release the same chemicals it releases when you have actually completed the task.
Human beings are creatures of habit. When we come to make our decisions we actually rely heavily on something called the dorsal striatum which looks at what we have done in the past to make decisions. The striatum effectively controls how we make decisions if we aren’t focussed, so if we are in the habit of doing something we shouldn’t – for example, procrastinating – we are very likely to do that in future. To get out of the habit we need to retrain our dorsal striatum to respond the way we want it to. So focus on changing your behaviour to the way you want it to be and soon it will become second nature.
Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer in the health sector – fascinated by neuroscience and its ability to aid improvement of one’s own mental and physical state. For the information in this post, Think Change Consulting were consulted.
You’ve read 5 Ways Neuroscience Can Make You Happier, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
You’re reading The Marvellous Benefits of Mindfulness, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Over the last thirty years, mindfulness has become a popular part of medicine and psychology. However, mindfulness has been around for much longer and has its roots in Buddhism. It has come a long way from the remote corners of the world to being a wide spread practice today that is gaining in popularity every year. Mindfulness is the practice of zoning in on oneself in order to become aware of being self-aware.
It is the clear realization of what you are doing in the current moment without any objective or judgment based on the thoughts that traverse your mind at the time. It is simply a lucid awareness of what your mind and body are doing in the present moment that enables you to gauge the effects on your body caused by the current neural and physical conditions. Once you have developed an understanding of the resulting impact on your body you can devise remedial actions to counter any negative effects.
Mindfulness has proven valuable in almost all forms of human activity where stress and other neural conditions have a negative affect on life and can also be beneficial to treating some physical conditions to ease pain and bodily discomfort. Mindfulness is particularly being used within the workforce and has been adopted by many high profile global companies to counter and prevent the mental injuries of stress and anxiety of their employees.
It is particularly useful under distressing situations when self-control is critical to the success of an operation or activity. The practice of mindfulness in a distressing situation allows the person to dislodge themselves mentally from the thoughts and stresses related to the situation and review their mental state from a higher plane; kind of like looking down on oneself from outside the body. A good way to start is to focus on your breathing when you first sit down to work. Use the first five to ten minutes of your day to calmly control your breathing and clear out your head; create a clean mental slate.
It is easy to get caught up in many work activities and most people naturally become embroiled in multi-tasking. Some people believe that multi-tasking is a skill that strong employees should exhibit, however, the truth is that multi-tasking is inefficient and increases stress levels.
Multi-tasking also increases the risk of errors, which in turn heightens stress when having to set about rectifying the errors, usually to a deadline. This is why mindfulness preaches focusing on just a single task at one time.
Learn to prioritize your workload and concentrate on accomplishing one task at time. If an urgent issue arises which requires your attention, drop your current task and move onto solving the urgent issue first; don’t try to manage both.
Your mind will be lighter and will not have to shift frantically from one topic to another.
Be aware of what you are doing and your surrounding and focus on your breathing. Try to do things in a slower pace when possible and concentrate on your posture.
Focus on the now and don’t consider the future. This means focusing on the job at hand and not worrying about future tasks. Again, this alleviates your mind of stress because it removes excess thoughts that can slow down your efficiency and also cause anxiety.
Creating a daily schedule that allows ample time to complete each daily task is key here. Companies are constantly demanding more for less and the pressure on employees to deliver more is growing, however, you are in control of what you do and should plan your day in a manner to avoid high levels of stress, which in turn will decrease your productivity when it settles in.
Create expectations with your boss, which are reasonable and provide them with justification to support your schedule.
When to practice mindfulness?
Practice mindfulness whenever you have five to ten minutes free and if you have a busy daily schedule create time for yourself. It can be in bed before getting up. Lie there for five minutes and clear your thoughts and focus on your breathing.
Be aware of being awake and close your eyes. Feel your body lying on the bed and how the bed feels on your body.
You can also practice mindfulness while in your car at a red light for a minute. Breathing is key and basis for effective mindfulness. Mindfulness can also be used while eating. Eat slowly and taste your food. Be aware of each gulp. You’ll also digest the food better and eat less.
Try to practice mindfulness daily. Detach yourself from the stresses of heavy thoughts that weigh down your mind and buzz through your body by zoning out of the river of raging thoughts and becoming self aware of how these thoughts are affecting your mind. Remember to breath slowly when reflecting and go about things calmly. Mindfulness takes practice and you’ll improve over time, but it will definitely make your life easier and give you a sense of control and inner peace.
You’ve read The Marvellous Benefits of Mindfulness, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Sig Nordal 