As I have been looking at what should be cleared out of my life (and eliminated from my Circle Of Concern), I noticed that some of my discussions (and much of the national dialogue) were creating "contra energy". It was hugely depleting, caused the wrong emotions (even if not intended to do so), and it lasted into canceling out some of the future energy for the day! Bad idea! Bad practice!
So, it seems that I was essentially doing the old Peter Seller's routine in Dr. Strangelove, where his regular arm wrestled violently with his black leathered arm - using lots of energy, but with each cancelling the energy put forth by the other.
In life, if one stops that energy cancellation, and switches it to being applied in the direction one wants to go, it can easily boost net results by 2 to 10 times what they would be otherwise - and all with no extra effort. (See how this is calculated in the piece.)
You might wish to read Contra-Energy - Stop Cancelling Energy.
And, while you're at it, you might look at, and then adopt for the rest of your life, the One-Minute Break Commitment. I will be using it forever. I mean forever!
Now if you do both, your Power In Life is bound to be awesome...
My best wishes for your happiness and effectiveness in life,
Keith
Showing posts with label Practices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Practices. Show all posts
Friday, August 3, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Necessary Readings For Handling "Mis-thinking"
I read over the weekend a small book that looked deceptively innocuous, with a title of The User's Guide To The Human Mind, by Shawn T. Smith, PsyD. But it is a masterpiece of clarity and what works.
It clarifies that we should never "fight" the mind for its never-ending fight for our survival, but it shows how to "train the elephant" and how to work with it.
I think this is an essential lesson - and this book is great at dealing with it.
Also, The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook For Anxiety, by two Ph.D.s Forsyth and Eifert, goes through a clear (at first in cartoon form) way of dealing with anxiety.
It also, as in the other book and lots and lots of other resources, points out that delaying your reaction to discomfort is essential to your getting out of the pattern of seeking immediate relief and, thereby, reinforcing the anxiety's neuronal pathway, to come back later in a stronger form.
In both books, it asks you to identify your actual values - and to be driven by them. Without that clarity, you only get to live a life driven by your mind, which is solely evolved to seek survival, at any cost, with exaggeration, superoverdoing to protect you, etc.
In both books, the old idea is repeated of looking at thoughts as just thoughts, with no reality. And both suggest that the answer to the vagueness of the mind is to CLARIFY what is going on.
And no one can possibly get to the other end, where anxiety only becomes a small, but temporary signal, without observing in detail. People will dismiss that and keep on seeking some other magical solution, but there is no way around this.
It is slow, methodical. It gives some relief in the short term, but it also builds a strong system that allows one to do something akin to what the Dalai Lama does: note the thought, decide if there is any immediate true physical danger, dismiss the thought, experiencing an instant disappearing, feeling as if there was no anxiety at all.
An excellent form in the latter book is "Living In Full Experience - The Life Form", where you can quickly check-off any sensations you are having, identify the emotion (labeling it is "required" in all curative strategies!), and then a few descriptions you are asked to complete. This is a bit like journaling but with a more directed system.
I recommend buying both of these books and using them as a basic means of educating yourself and implementing what will work for you to live an "anxiety-free" life!
Keith
Relevant on the site:
Feelings - Manage Them Or Be Run By Them?
Thoughts, Beliefs, Recordings Of The Mind - A fairly long piece, with necessary basic understanding!
It clarifies that we should never "fight" the mind for its never-ending fight for our survival, but it shows how to "train the elephant" and how to work with it.
I think this is an essential lesson - and this book is great at dealing with it.
Also, The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook For Anxiety, by two Ph.D.s Forsyth and Eifert, goes through a clear (at first in cartoon form) way of dealing with anxiety.
It also, as in the other book and lots and lots of other resources, points out that delaying your reaction to discomfort is essential to your getting out of the pattern of seeking immediate relief and, thereby, reinforcing the anxiety's neuronal pathway, to come back later in a stronger form.
In both books, it asks you to identify your actual values - and to be driven by them. Without that clarity, you only get to live a life driven by your mind, which is solely evolved to seek survival, at any cost, with exaggeration, superoverdoing to protect you, etc.
In both books, the old idea is repeated of looking at thoughts as just thoughts, with no reality. And both suggest that the answer to the vagueness of the mind is to CLARIFY what is going on.
And no one can possibly get to the other end, where anxiety only becomes a small, but temporary signal, without observing in detail. People will dismiss that and keep on seeking some other magical solution, but there is no way around this.
It is slow, methodical. It gives some relief in the short term, but it also builds a strong system that allows one to do something akin to what the Dalai Lama does: note the thought, decide if there is any immediate true physical danger, dismiss the thought, experiencing an instant disappearing, feeling as if there was no anxiety at all.
An excellent form in the latter book is "Living In Full Experience - The Life Form", where you can quickly check-off any sensations you are having, identify the emotion (labeling it is "required" in all curative strategies!), and then a few descriptions you are asked to complete. This is a bit like journaling but with a more directed system.
I recommend buying both of these books and using them as a basic means of educating yourself and implementing what will work for you to live an "anxiety-free" life!
Keith
Relevant on the site:
Feelings - Manage Them Or Be Run By Them?
Thoughts, Beliefs, Recordings Of The Mind - A fairly long piece, with necessary basic understanding!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
The Pause...And Happiness
When I "discovered" that one of the two top primary practices in life was to purposely take a pause to check in, I then was responsible for implementing it in my life.
So, I made a point of it, having as a 'cue' any time that I felt tired or off in any way, or when there was a break in activity. At first, I missed some opportunities or wanted to 'keep going' or 'keep stimulated'. But that was just a bad choice on my part, for it didn't get what I really wanted.
As I got better at it, I found my energy stabilizing and my brain working better - and my productivity went up considerably, as I was no longer being distracted by being "out of homeostasis". (Keeping oneself in homeostasis balance is the other key primary practice, for it allows the brain to be functioning instead of being in a state of low resourcefulness or living in a fear response mode where the brain is largely shutdown.)
Actually, as I continued my studies, I began to think of The Pause (and the option of going to the Time Out) as a form of mindfulness - which seems to me to be superior to operating in the mode of mindlessness. (A friend of mine insists that a big anxiety attack 'just occurs' out of nowhere. But the scientists suggest, and have had alot of success, per the studies, that learning 'mindfulness' actually prevented most of the anxiety!)
I invite you to join me in implementing, for the rest of your life, The Pause and the Time Out, and the practice of maintaining homeostasis, for a calm coherence, "feeling good", functional life!
Yours toward HighSanity,
Keith
Note that The Pause is part of Attentional Training, which when engaged in on a regular basis actually physically increases the size of left prefrontal cortex, which is your happiness center. It is also the part of the brain that screens out negative crappola, automatically, without your even thinking about it. The other side effect is that people's amygdala emergency system actually shrinks in size, thereby reducing anxiety and fear. It all fits together, into a good upward spiral!!!! (Instead of the normal downward spiral people get caught in if they don't pay attention and stop it!)
So, I made a point of it, having as a 'cue' any time that I felt tired or off in any way, or when there was a break in activity. At first, I missed some opportunities or wanted to 'keep going' or 'keep stimulated'. But that was just a bad choice on my part, for it didn't get what I really wanted.
As I got better at it, I found my energy stabilizing and my brain working better - and my productivity went up considerably, as I was no longer being distracted by being "out of homeostasis". (Keeping oneself in homeostasis balance is the other key primary practice, for it allows the brain to be functioning instead of being in a state of low resourcefulness or living in a fear response mode where the brain is largely shutdown.)
Actually, as I continued my studies, I began to think of The Pause (and the option of going to the Time Out) as a form of mindfulness - which seems to me to be superior to operating in the mode of mindlessness. (A friend of mine insists that a big anxiety attack 'just occurs' out of nowhere. But the scientists suggest, and have had alot of success, per the studies, that learning 'mindfulness' actually prevented most of the anxiety!)
I invite you to join me in implementing, for the rest of your life, The Pause and the Time Out, and the practice of maintaining homeostasis, for a calm coherence, "feeling good", functional life!
Yours toward HighSanity,
Keith
Note that The Pause is part of Attentional Training, which when engaged in on a regular basis actually physically increases the size of left prefrontal cortex, which is your happiness center. It is also the part of the brain that screens out negative crappola, automatically, without your even thinking about it. The other side effect is that people's amygdala emergency system actually shrinks in size, thereby reducing anxiety and fear. It all fits together, into a good upward spiral!!!! (Instead of the normal downward spiral people get caught in if they don't pay attention and stop it!)
Monday, July 2, 2012
The Homeostasis (Balance) Checklist
If we let ourselves get out of balance, we become dysfunctional, slipping into bad habits and bad thinking and not feeling so good about things.
When that happens you might want to consider using this Homeostasis Checklist to see where you are "off" and which things you should have done but did not.
As humans, we frequently go "wacko", where are bodies and our minds become really, really dysfunctional. And then we attribute that to some "condition" or some "character weakness" in ourselves. But that is in no way true - we are just using some bad strategies - which tend to start us into a downward spiral.
We want to catch ourselves as early as possible, so we can again return to a High State Of Resourcefulness.
May you use these to stay in your power zone so you can Live Life As A Life Champion!
Keith
When that happens you might want to consider using this Homeostasis Checklist to see where you are "off" and which things you should have done but did not.
As humans, we frequently go "wacko", where are bodies and our minds become really, really dysfunctional. And then we attribute that to some "condition" or some "character weakness" in ourselves. But that is in no way true - we are just using some bad strategies - which tend to start us into a downward spiral.
We want to catch ourselves as early as possible, so we can again return to a High State Of Resourcefulness.
May you use these to stay in your power zone so you can Live Life As A Life Champion!
Keith
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
FROM NEGATIVE TO POWERFUL THINKING
I was thinking this was all a bit like sports, where we want the "right" team to win.
One team has been in existence for years and year and has great and overpowering abilities. It is the "Protection Team", with its plays dependent on plays from the old days, but they are so well practiced that they work.
The other team is fresh and new, but bound and determined to be a winner in as little time as possible, but realizes its practical limitations.
The team does not have a "playbook" and has no listing of what it needs to practice to get good at, but it would seem that would be a super priority.
The playbook might not be so great at first, but it'll shape up over time as we "learn" on the playing field what works and what doesn't - and we will be sure to learn as quickly as possible, since losing to the other team is not so pleasant.
This new team realizes it will lose a lot at first, so it's main short term goals will be to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible and as well as possible. And this team knows that it may not be the best team ever (though it could be) but that it will, absolutely, learn to be a good team that will have a good share of wins with fewer and fewer losses....
The equivalent of a "playbook" and a "list of practices" is The Reminders Notebook (click on title to link).
May your "Positivity Team" prosper from its new plays and its practicing of what works!
Keith
www.thelifemanagementalliance.com
One team has been in existence for years and year and has great and overpowering abilities. It is the "Protection Team", with its plays dependent on plays from the old days, but they are so well practiced that they work.
The other team is fresh and new, but bound and determined to be a winner in as little time as possible, but realizes its practical limitations.
The team does not have a "playbook" and has no listing of what it needs to practice to get good at, but it would seem that would be a super priority.
The playbook might not be so great at first, but it'll shape up over time as we "learn" on the playing field what works and what doesn't - and we will be sure to learn as quickly as possible, since losing to the other team is not so pleasant.
This new team realizes it will lose a lot at first, so it's main short term goals will be to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible and as well as possible. And this team knows that it may not be the best team ever (though it could be) but that it will, absolutely, learn to be a good team that will have a good share of wins with fewer and fewer losses....
The equivalent of a "playbook" and a "list of practices" is The Reminders Notebook (click on title to link).
May your "Positivity Team" prosper from its new plays and its practicing of what works!
Keith
www.thelifemanagementalliance.com
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
EXTREME SELF-CARE - HONORING YOURSELF AND FEELING GOOD ABOUT LIFE
Barbara,
We slip, ever so gradually, into behaviors that hurt us by stressing ourselves out and setting ourselves up for breakdown in some way. We are like the proverbial gradually boiling frog, who doesn't jump out of the water that is heating from tepid to boiling because it is so gradual.
It is time to treat oneself with honor and careful nurturing, as suggested in this article and in Cheryl Richardson's book, "The Art Of Extreme Care". The article "Extreme Self-Care" suggests several practices and a couple of books that will lead you to that greater place of being.(Click on the article title above to link to the Peace of Mind section, then to the article. It's also in the Life Management, Practices section.)
I would suggest that this is not "optional" but that it is absolutely essential.
Take "care",
Keith
www.thelifemanagementalliance.com
We slip, ever so gradually, into behaviors that hurt us by stressing ourselves out and setting ourselves up for breakdown in some way. We are like the proverbial gradually boiling frog, who doesn't jump out of the water that is heating from tepid to boiling because it is so gradual.
It is time to treat oneself with honor and careful nurturing, as suggested in this article and in Cheryl Richardson's book, "The Art Of Extreme Care". The article "Extreme Self-Care" suggests several practices and a couple of books that will lead you to that greater place of being.(Click on the article title above to link to the Peace of Mind section, then to the article. It's also in the Life Management, Practices section.)
I would suggest that this is not "optional" but that it is absolutely essential.
Take "care",
Keith
www.thelifemanagementalliance.com
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