Home Working

HAPPY WORKERS

Flexible hours = flexible workers = creative workers = productive workers = happy workers. And that all equates to a successful thriving business. Or maybe not?

A lot of the technology we use today, can be taken out of the office and used on the go or at home. Yet, we are stuck in a kind of paradox. Companies are trying to utilise the modern technology and combine it with what they believe to be a work environment conducive for great creative thinking and high productivity. They add in adult slides, astroturf and play areas, beanbags and fuss-ball tables - and expect the magic to happen. It doesn't. You can't just add all those distractions and pointless toys 'n' gimmicks and think there'll be award-winning creative ideas flying out of the door.

Thing is, creative people need quiet space and time and then even more time, to conceive of great ideas. These thoughts come to us through quality moments when we've shut ourselves off to outside influences allowing the thought synapses to fire off freely and do their thing. They come from a stilled mind - one free from other cluttering thoughts and any prompts for action on lower-ranking actions. They usually come to the front of our conscious minds in the quiet of the morning or during a walk around the park when the distractions are turned down.

That Eureka! moment we experience, is the result of our brain working across both hemispheres to find a solution. The left side of the brain, which deals with logic - will strive for a solution. If there are no immediate logical answers, it's simultaneously passed through the right hemisphere. The right hemisphere (operating the left side of the body), is our creative brain.

The region where our inspiration or insights come from is known as the anterior superior temporal gyrus. Studies carried out into how insight works in the creative regions of the brain, have shown that our 'ah ha' moments stem from the right part of the brain, which helps us to access farther-reaching connections (sometimes also the bigger picture) that we couldn't formulate with logical, formulaic/systematic types of thinking. Between the two spheres, we have greater scope for allowing us to solve more complex problems and formulating ideas, as this informative documentary shows.

The studies have also shown where brain activity clearing Alpha rays are emitted in the short time before synapses fire gamma-rays. This process happens in the brain to create neural pathways - linking up knowledge/inspiration and allowing new ideas to form from this complex brain function. We essentially need silence, or freedom from distractions to first switch on these neurons in order to work their magic. Apparently, they only do this after around 15 minutes of quality thought immersion. And when do we get 15 minutes of undistracted time in an office, especially the modern version of an office - the ones that are open-plan, noisy and full of a whole multitude of distractions? Rarely. We know this, yet, we're thrashing around in this work quagmire - slowly drowning.

Time And Space (and playfulness)
I love these great videos (click for link to vimeo) from John Cleese, of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame (amongst other great shows, sketches, films etc.) - who is arguably, one of the best comedy writers of the 20th century, talking about what it is to be creative.

He firstly tells us something that a lot should already realise, that creativity isn't a talent - it's a way of doing things. He cites confirmation of his understanding with the work of Donald W. MacKinnon. He also understands the importance of being in a creative space - he calls it, 'in the open mode' - with space in your mind, time for being receptive to ideas forming, more time to explore these formations and the importance of being in a place where you can be shut off from outside distractions to allow all this to happen.

Home Working - Not Working
So, we've identified the right way of going about the creative process. The work environment has been been greatly modified for the 21st century. Flexible hours, working from home options and connection with the world in the 24/7 'always-on' technological revolution should all be giving us the freedom to move in greater and more productive spheres.

Unfortunately, we're not getting it right and it's strangling the creative process. Dave Coplin has written a couple of books - one entitled: Business Reimagined: Why work isn't working and what you can do about it - and in it, he talks about the modern day issues that are holding back the creative process. By increasing process and further complicating process with ineffective uses of technology plus seeding a fear that if you're not seen to be busy, you're not busy and so you had better be visible. This is why WFH - 'working from home' policy has been back-tracked in a lot of modern office environments. A very large percentage of the office workforce are disengaged, ineffective and fruitlessly expending their efforts. Employees are being left run ragged, trying to appear productive, working at breakneck speed to clear menial tasks (but important to some people) like emails etc. and consequently NOT allowing time/space/isolation for (as John Cleese puts it) 'the right way of doing things'. The very kind of environment we get at home.

The audiobook can be purchased through Audible on Amazon (US only) or via iTunes.

Teaching

LEARNING TO ENJOY LEARNING

When I think back to my early school days (many moons ago now), I can remember enjoying the act of learning new things. I liked going to school and being taught new things. As a consequence, I excelled at art, was good at maths, ahead in reading and imaginative with writing stories. My pictures were on display, I read out my stories in front of class and often helped others with their sums/spelling. There were rewards for learning. Gold stars and ticks along the way. The teachers would smile and say how clever or creative I'd been. And, whether what I'd created was any good or not, I still have the memory of being acknowledged as someone who was capable or greatness. 

As the years roll by, I'm still left holding fond memories of my teachers and my time at junior school. I have a sense of confidence instilled in me. And, even though I was a bit of a handful at times, being given a lot of positive encouragement to learn more, has helped motivate me in life. 

Encouraging greatness

While I can't pertain to be a head of state, a modern day Leonardo Da Vinci or even a self made man in business - I feel lucky to have had such great teachers. I have confidence to learn, apply what I've learned and the right mindset to get on in life. Yet, I could have so easily become a different person. I put a lot of this fact down to being shown the right way to act from a young age and encouragement from great teachers. Thankfully, there's people out there that understand the importance of good teachers and are willing to take on this role. A lot of people aren't as fortunate to have had such great influences in their lives and without such an encouraging start - particularly from that very young and impressionable age, they struggle to get on.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart - Ms Grealy and Mrs Sellick.

Getting Away From It All...

DUBNOBASSWITHMYHEADMAN

Spring is upon us. You can feel the energy coming through from having the longer days. The jumpers are coming off and it's time to come out of the cave again. And it's worth looking farther afield for some inspiration, fun and adventure. Holland is one of my favourite destinations - but usually it's Amsterdam that I head for. However, there's more to be had by looking at some other less well known places too. So, for this weekend, we made a decision to head off for somewhere new and to see Underworld play a gig at the very cool STRP venue in Eindhoven last night. 

They were playing a set to their first album in commemoration of the albums 20th anniversary - Dubnobasswithmyheadman. The gig was cool. I loved this album 20 years ago, and it still has legs even now - hence their European tour. It was great to get away from it all. We could have scrabbled for tickets in any of the British venues where Underworld were playing - but what I got from this experience, is that Europe - and in particular, the Dutch, have got such a great way of doing things. It's a reminder to get away from the UK a bit more and explore some of the other European cities to see what they have to offer...

I made the most of the two days - and the 5am club was adhered to, except it was at the end of the day rather than the beginning. Luckily, the spa, pool and bar in the Pullman hotel were happy places for respite. They have some other cool looking hotels all round the world and they are well worth a visit on the next city adventure...

Travel

EXPERIENCING LIFE

I was talking to someone about travelling last night. Not just a holiday, you understand, but an immersive experience in another country. The type of trip where you've been away from your every day environment for enough time, where you can feel like you've always lived this other life - one of new horizons, adventure and possibilities. A place full of life-enriching experiences. It feels like such an age ago when I travelled to a place like that where I could experience adventure for a decent length of time...

The last time
It was 2007 when my girlfriend and I took a month travelling through Rajasthan & around southern India. We hired the Indian version of Ryan Gosling, our trusty driver in an Austin Cambridge, to take us on a journey of discovery through the northern delights of India through Rajistan. We embarked on a magical trip to catch the Taj Mahal at sunrise, engage in some diamond dealing in Jaipur, camel racing in Pushkar and Tiger hunting in Rantambore. Travelling on the trains down to Goa and riding an Enfield Bullet down through Varkala in Kerala, we really covered some ground in those 4 weeks and complete with bindis, pashminas and the pair of us adorned with Hindu kalava bracelets and other Indian trinkets and jewellery, we found ourselves on a beach at the southern most part of India, Kanyakumari - where the Bay of Bengal, The Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea all meet. A place of spiritual significance and somewhere to watch both the sunrise and sunset over the sea in the same day while contemplating life and the fruits of travel.

Danger travel
After spending four enjoyable weeks with my other half, I then found myself between jobs. I was now getting into the travel mindset, and definitely not wanting to go home at that point. So I decided to extend my trip for another three weeks and travel north to meet a friend in Delhi - where we would then head off to Gulmag in Kashmir for some snowboarding. It was during these last 3 weeks that the real adventure kicked in. Kashmir has been at the centre of struggles between Pakistan and India for many years. There has been much conflict and it's on the FCO (Foreign Commonwealth Office) list of unsafe areas to visit. My friend was held up at gunpoint on a bus when he visited previously in 2000 and likely, only just avoided a hostage attempt by refusing to get off the bus. So, it was a risk going back - and hats off to my friend for taking the second pilgrimage knowing what possibly laid in store again. Kashmir is now more geared up for winter tourism. They have a French-made gondola, which is the highest in the world but it's only recently that they've been making the area safer for more tourism. I hope they haven't taken too much risk away as it's the thrill of surviving a danger trip that fuels the soul and has kept me in good stead since 2007.

No guts no glory
I like to use this saying when there's a risk of losing. I normally use it when playing cards with friends, but it's the same feeling you get when you undertake a risky task that could result in serious injury or even death. Making the decision to come through a war-torn nation to get in some of the best snowboarding in the world at the risk of being hijacked or killed in an avalanche was not really a tough decision for that reason. The attacks in Kashmir have largely been indiscriminate - like lobbing hand grenades on to a crowded bus. The chances of having this happen in London are probably just as high, plus you can get run over crossing the road outside your house. So, it was a decision to take a measured risk of being somewhere remote and therefore tricky to get help if you really needed it. I actually found the people from the region to be extra tolerant, considerate and accommodating. Even the army guys, who were a bit ominous and serious with their Kalashnikovs ready to hand, were helpful when it came to buying beer - selling to us from their own reserves. War is generally not good for business (unless you sell weapons, of course) or conducive to happiness, so things had calmed down considerably since the most recent fighting from 1999 it seemed.

Raja's Tea Hut
The first place we stayed at was a small and hospitable hotel run by a great guy called Raja (pictured below), who is the friendliest and most hospitable ex-mujahideen in Gulmarg (you'd definitely want him as your friend though...). It was in here one night where we were sampling some of the local delicacies with an eclectic mix of people from different religions and backgrounds including a Sikh, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu two Muslims, and Agnostic, a couple of Atheists - all from different backgrounds - that we collectively put the world to rights. That night, in the cold hut, sitting huddled round the Bukhari heater, with my new worldly friends, I truly felt the magic of being a traveller.

Kashmir did feel however, like there were many opportunities to get caught out and come to a grizzly end. On the first day of arriving, we learned that someone had gone out for a hike the previous day and hadn't made it back. A group of us went up the gondola the first day and one guy put a hole in his hip and twisted his knee so bad, he would need surgery. But he wasn't immediately able to get down the mountain again and back to Srinagar for a flight home, because the roads were snowed. So, considering there were only about 30 people in the resort - that's a 1 in 15 chance of serious injury or death just there in the first day!

Riding the deep and fluffy snow, through the trees - all unmarked runs and with no avalanche prevention, all the thoughts of death were outweighed by the sheer exhilaration of being in the mountains. Being amongst just a select group of adventure travellers, I really felt part of a kindred rag-tag bunch and now feel very privileged to have met some of the craziest and greatest guys - those that are willing to go that extra mile, to discover the special places in pursuit of that live-enriching feeling. The thrill of being alive.

Following The Herd

HERD MENTALITY

Blindly following the herd. Understanding the herd mentality and why just a tiny percentage of people can influence the masses - studies by a Professor Jens Krause found that in a group, most people end up blindly following one or two people who appear to know where they are going.

Starting A Trend
Don't be a follower - be a leader and start your own movement.

The Pledge Commitment

JOINING THE BOXING CLUB

Boxing training is fun and the best way to get in shape. If you're based in London, UK and would like to take on a 6 week challenge to improve physique ready for Summer. Contact me: fitclubbox@gmail.com

Check out Floyd's website - read the testimonials and see what great results can be achieved through taking up boxing.

Cultural engineering

MASS CONTROL

I'm watching this great BBC series called The Century of the Self (link plays film) focusing on the work of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud and Edward Bernays which looks at ways corporations and governments have analysed and controlled people - especially citizens of America after the second world war. This eye-opening documentary should be watched by everyone, so they can better understand why they are making decisions of a group mindset to conform and obey. Bernays was a genius at 'public relations' - a phrase he coined in favour of the word 'propaganda' because it's then recent connotations to Hitler's Germany.

After studies conducted on Americans returning from the war, Bernays feared that the public's democratic judgement was not to be relied upon and therefore had to be guided. The rise of having psychiatrists monitor and assess the nation was based on the discoveries that we all have this uncontrollable darker side to us. To stop societal problems from occurring, Bernays learned to swap our primal 'needs' for consumer 'desires' using clever marketing & advertising. His thinking was also on a par with another advocate for swaying cultural opinions and guiding mass culture - Walter Lippman. The techniques used to influence popular opinion and bring about a culture of consumers are in use today, greatly enhanced for modern times - and still effective for keeping equilibrium in society.

The manipulation of the Americans (and everyone else in the world) reminds me of a favourite horror film by John Carpenter - They Live - you can watch the whole film from below link.

Universal Energy

THE POWER WITHIN

There's some real-life X-Men/Women out there that have learned to harness the power of the universe to do great things. Through their focus and dedication to self mastery, they can use their body and minds to achieve seemingly supernatural feats. Monks practicing ancient energy harnessing techniques, appear to have these supernatural powers. They repeatedly train their minds and bodies to do some amazing physical acts through using Tummo breathing techniques and energy harnessing Qi Gong.

Meditation techniques have shown that we can raise our body temperature to withstand the cold. This isn't just exclusive to monks either. Anyone can do it through practice. Dutchman, Wim Hof has trained (and actually changed) his body over the last 20+ years to withstand extreme cold through using meditation. He's proven that we can obtain supper human powers through the practice & learning the techniques, focussed/applied training, and shown that we can even survive in extreme life-threatening temperatures, as his climbing mount Everest in just a pair of shorts and sandals shows!

These monks demonstrate the Tummo technique which is used to raise their core temperatures enough to dry a wet shirt - even in a cold environment:

Other masters have chosen different ways to harness and accomplish super-human feats. Take this real life ninja who can chop a pellet in half with his Samurai sword that's been fired from a gun:

There's many other examples of people with super powers out there - either inherited or developed through dedicated training. Some masters like Iron Shirt and other martial artists have closely studied different fighting styles to emulate the speed, balance and strength of animals like tigers, snakes, cranes and in this bizarre example, a praying mantis.

Whether it's in the realm of difficult to explain phenomena like telekinesis & echolocation, practiced feats of strength, endurance, speed, flexibility or just a dedication & focus for a longer life through eating/exercise for increased wellbeing, it's evidence that we all have the capabilities to learn how to absorb universal energy and potentially become super humans ourselves.

Reality

WHAT IS REALITY?

To you and I, reality is what we've inherited from our parents, society, the environment and our senses.

We follow our realities. We fit in and don't question too much what alternative realities could be. Things like where we're brought up, the school we attend and friends we keep, will mould our realities. If you think it's impossible to switch from one reality to another, watch this documentary on bare knuckle fighting where violent realities have been created but where one guy called James, decided to choose a different life. You can read about James Lambert who made a conscious decision to be happy. I just bought his book: Be Happy in 24 Hours (available for only £3.44 on Kindle). We all have the power to change our realities. By understanding our surroundings and others, we learn that everything is just made up from our personal understanding of the world around us and we can educate ourselves to make better, more positive decisions.

Quantum Reality
I watched this BBC documentary: What is Reality (full version), and this programme has completely warped my perception of what reality is! In it, they talk about wacky scenarios, like for instance, how our existence may just be a reflection of a hologram projected from a black hole or our existence. This universe being just one of an infinite number of existences from parallel universes. Well if this has any solid foundation to it, anything is likely it seems. It certainly poses two ways of looking at it. Either the answer is too far out of comprehension that we cannot ever understand - or it's so absurd that we should laugh it off and just get back to trying as hard as possible to enjoy as much life as we possibly can. Whatever the case may be, quantum theory discussed in this doc indicates that we still have a lot to learn but ultimately, mathematical equations may one day have the answers.

So, if these scientists are throwing such out-there concepts of reality at us - what's to say that other cosmic realities don't exist? I watched a video of a man setting fire to paper by focussing Chi (or Qi) energy from his palm and pushing a chopstick through a thick wooden table yesterday (full doc available here 24:50) - so, it pays to keep an open mind to what reality is...

Solar And Lunar Energy

HARNESSING TEACHINGS FROM THE COSMOS

Cosmic energy and how it affects us. This is a subject I've never really given much thought to. I've tended to be a bit of a cynic when it comes to astrology. I also struggle with the concept of harnessing power from mystical energy sources like those emanating from energy lay-lines and precious stones.

However, the universe is made up of energy. It's all around us. Everything is connected with this energy, including ourselves. So it makes sense that everything happening in the cosmos will have a knock-on effect with us. These next couple of weeks will see two significant cosmic events. There's a solar eclipse on the 20th March (the last one we will see in our life time - next one 23rd September 2090) and a lunar eclipse on the 4th April.

Solar Eclipse
My yoga teacher explained on Friday that whether we wish to believe it or not, effects will be felt from the solar eclipse days before and for some time after. Coming round to the ideas of spirituality and energy flowing through our bodies taken through my yoga teachings, I decided to look up some information on a zodiac website about what a solar eclipse means.

Essentially, all good news as they symbolise change. They also mean beginning something new and committing to making efforts for greater challenges. I have to say, I felt a little anxious on Friday - likely a week of hanging out with a deer friend, drinking and late nights contributed to these feelings. But also, as I have some big commitments that need to be addressed, I felt a little overwhelmed and worried about delivering on these priorities over coming weeks. Interestingly, another zodiac website also mentions these factors including those about the build up of emotions, so maybe there is something in this theory.

Lunar Eclipse
There's also a lunar eclipse happening on the 4th of April. Traditionally these eclipses have been seen as a bad sign, but apparently, this one - a positive omen, signifies new birth. The horoscope talks of putting all unresolved issues to rest. Literally, this means letting them die and trying not to save them.

Well, if this eclipse also has something in it, I will indeed be putting one particularly troublesome episode to bed around this time and maybe another issue that has been hanging over me for some time too. One can only hope so. Here's a list of all the other eclipses happening for the next 50+ years so we can prepare for more changes coming up.

Practicing Daily Rituals

MORNING RITUALS SET UP YOUR DAY

If you start the day on the right track - the rest of your day has a better chance of success. Try forming morning habits and rituals that you can stick to and they will help with forming other positive habits. I watched a few video clips on martial arts yesterday and became really interested in learning more about harnessing life energy (Chi or Qi). I'm now doing this 10 minute QiGong morning practice (below) every morning. I'll be checking my local yoga centre for when the Qigong sessions are on - looking at doing a couple of classes to complement the yoga as it really seems to help get the body energised.

Qigong Master
If you want to see what powers harnessing Qi energy can give us, do a few internet searches. I watched this video clip on Qi the other day and now have the 4-part series called: The Ring of Fire in my list of things to watch. One of the series talks about this martial arts master John Chang (video below) who uses Qi to heal people - amazing footage....

Don't Rely On Others

DOING THE JOB PROPERLY

You may have heard the phrase: If you want a job done properly, do it yourself. I've been realising this increasingly more as I deal with large organisations who are so inefficient and therefore incapable of doing a job properly that I've had to take matters into my own hands. A few weeks back, I wrote about how my car had been crashed into. Since then, I've been dealing with insurance companies, the police and local government. None of them have proved very capable of sorting this out with a positive outcome for me - so my involvement has been paramount for success.

Do It Yourself
Without my intervention and investigations, the driver of the other vehicle would have gotten away scott free. The situation as it stands now, through knocking on doors and speaking with workmen - I have two witnesses, a signed statement for the police, CCTV footage and a brand new replacement hire car - an AMG 350 CDi Mercedes cabriolet to get me through while the repairs are being made - and all because I made the effort to investigate, put in the calls and argue my case.

Mind Control

OUT OF OUR HANDS

As humans, we think of ourselves as rational sentient beings, masters of our own minds who only make rational decisions based on sound reasoning. Not so. Research concludes that we are greatly influenced by our environment, the value we place on other's opinions and swayed by subversive messages, particularly when our minds are low in blood sugar.

I wrote earlier in the year about a BBC Horizon series called: How You Really Make Decisions. In it, Nobel Prize winner Professor Daniel Kahneman reveals to us the truth about how our brains are making irrational, biased and lazy decisions more often than we realise. His book (available to download in audio format too) goes into greater detail on the subject and helps us to understand why and when we make the wrong decisions. Essentially, when we are making these decisions, we're pulling resources from two brain 'systems'. The two systems are: (1) fast and the other (2) slow. The fast system (1) intuitive/unconscious decision maker, accesses pre-learned ideas & cemented 'truths', making quick associations to construct easy explanations. Our 'slow' system (2) which we align to our Ego and is the conscious & reasoning part of our brain, often get's left behind as the fast brain kicks in first, telling us 'I've got this covered' and then, 'move on to the next task'.

All too often, we'll let the quick (1) 'gut instinct' decision-making part of our brain take over in favour of using (2) deep, rational thinking, as the (2) takes a lot more energy and we have just a finite amount stored, we are wired to use the quick access memory more, to free up brain power for other tasks and conserve energy at the same time.

Some of our (1) fast-decision making decisions are based on hard-coded rules learned through the evolutionary process - ie. knowing when to run/fight is integral to our survival and this fast brain can give us an advantage for success in other situations too. But not knowing when to give extra focus on making decisions when we're faced with more complex tasks/problems, can lead to errors made through cognitive biases - ie. falling into the trap of making assumptions without thinking things through properly. It's this assumptive mind state that gets us into trouble and stops us from really understanding the world around us.

Studies carried out by psychologist, Roy Baumeister, into our brain's fast/slow system switching and will-power or ego depletion centred around glucose levels being a major contributing factor, have shown clear instances of this effect occurring at higher levels within our society. It was demonstrated for example, that Judges granting parole before and after lunch, awarded parole to a greater percentage of prisoners after lunch than those just before or closer to the end of the day. This is something that knowledgable/well-educated, responsible/powerful and all too self-confident people fail to understand in themselves. Try challenging the reasoning of your doctor next time and possibly you'll witness this phenomena - as they'll often sooner take offence than admit they've jumped to conclusions based on pre-learned information or assumptions.

So, back again to the case of parole decision making for judges....timing was more likely a factor in the decision making process in this example, because of glucose levels. The judge would have unconsciously been conserving brain glucose/energy - as lower levels of glucose were required to make a decision to 'put-off' parole until a later date, rather than make a complex analysed decision requiring more brain power. Additional studies on brain energy have also shown the levels of self-control can diminish - to the point where the 'self' is devoid completely. This is when the emotional, irrational & primitive brain makes itself known - generating unhelpful, unhealthy and at times, just plain crazy outcomes....and good reason why we should always have a brain-boosting refreshment to hand!

We have just a finite amount of glucose energy available over periods of time which can still be replenished, but just like a muscle, the brain fatigues and rest/sleep is required to repair and replenish for full functionality to resume. Good news - the brain can be worked-out like a muscle and focus, required for taking in information, processing and making complex decisions, can be improved/stretched over time by practising some techniques - like these found in Leo Babauta's book (free version here).

I also discovered a couple of easy tricks that worked this morning.
Set timers for focus: Tell yourself, you're going to dedicate some quality time to something ie. blog/read/meditate etc. for a set time, eg. 30 mins. Any other thoughts/distractions, push out till after. Have a break - then repeat for the next task. Your brain will stack each and wait.
Adjust your lens: This really simple technique works! Cup your eyes for a tele-focus lens. SO, reading something that requires concentration - laser-in on it. Do this every time and a pavlovian response for conditioning yourself is triggered over time.

Mind Control
If you've ever watched a magician or illusionist perform at a live show or on TV - chances are you've already witnessed the power of suggestion. A friend of mine was on a Derren Brown episode where, as part of a creative duo, he had to come up with the idea for an advert in just 30 minutes. Unbeknownst to him and his colleague, the show's production team had conceived a clever plan to strategically place visual triggers along the route for the taxi drive in to the TV studios. These strong visual messages, fresh in their minds, would play a part in steering them towards creating a very similar advertising campaign to that which Derren himself had scamped-up before they strted. What is amazing about this clip (shown below), is that something so 'complex' like an advertising campaign, which requires experience and creative thinking to achieve well, can be so easily primed in these guys minds to obtain predicted results as the experiment in this illusionist's episode clearly shows. It's this kind of 'priming' that we unconsciously pick up throughout the day which affect and ultimately, make our decisions!

The Power of Suggestion 

Something that I'm noticing more and more - are the suggestive messages from adverts and junk emails that I'm receiving. I realised just recently (how naive) that if you use Google, Yahoo or MSN mail - buzz words will be scanned from your mail and your profiling will be tweaked to ensure your next adverts are adjusted to fit your preferences. If you don't believe me - try it yourself. I prefer to use adblock and watch TV shows and documentaries without advertising in them which can be streamed/downloaded and your browsing choices hidden from marketeers through use of a VPN.

It's frightening to think that everything we do digitally (and also far beyond) is being tracked through computers and intelligence agencies. It's even more discerning to learn that your decisions are not your own. That's right, you and I are being persuaded through clever marketing techniques day-in and day-out. Whether it's in the form of newspapers or through TV or on the internet - we are all being swayed and primed for parting with our money or being cordoned/shepherded by mass control and the controlling elite. The media have been using a number of tricks and techniques to cajole and control the masses over the years and there's been a number of studies from the likes of Walter Lippman and Carl Jung about using mass media, propaganda and mind control techniques - a lot of which are being widely used today and something everyone needs to be aware of.

Fighting Fit

THE PLEDGE

6 weeks to get back on track with fitness and physique. Floyd, our boxing trainer from Flobox Boxing, is going to be taking us through our places over the next 6 weeks - starting after Easter holidays. I knocked up some posters and going to use the diet, PT training course and my other learnings over the last few months, to get the results I'm after and send out some weekly newsletters to help inspire other in the group too. I'll be setting up a PLEDGE page very soon...

Good Practice

REPITITION

Practice makes perfect so the saying goes. So it figures, that in order to get good at something, we need to repeat the process over and over until we know it off by heart. Intuitively. Practice needs focus to make perfection and this is where the repetition over time will get us desired results. 

In Pursuit Of Perfection

Japanese sushi master Jiro Ono - knew about the quest for perfection in making the best sushi. This film shows how even washing rice can take many years to get right. Another of James clear 's blogs also teaches us about self mastery and how focussed attention is what is required.

Boredom

The difference between a good athlete and a gold medal winning one is down to focussed practice plus an iron resolve to continue those hours of repetition - pushing through when most of us have become bored with the task in hand. I thought about this with my last swim - 60 lengths at pace is not easy to do day after day and unlike, say, running through the park, the repetition of ploughing up and down the same lane of the pool, with just the tiles at the bottom to look at, can be boring. However, it's in this time that I became really switched on. True focus can be found in the pool. Free from distractions, each stroke, each kick and each breath becomes a focus for repeated practice. Checking the reach, pull and exit of every stroke - assessing the body position in the water and timing the kicks became so laser-focussed that I barely noticed counting the laps. The swim, at only 30 minutes long, was completed without being bored at all - in fact, I look forward to the next session already. 

Unconditional Love

MUM'S THE WORD

Yesterday was Mother's Day. If there's one day of the year when we need to stop everything we're doing and focus on someone else, ie. the most important person in your life, it's this day. Mums all around the globe: thank you for giving us life, nurturing and caring for us and making us who were are. Without you showing us right from wrong and teaching us in those formative years, we may have gone on a different path.

Happy Mother's day!

Food As Fuel

KEEPING THE ENGINE RUNNING

Food is essential for our wellbeing. We know this is true. What & when we eat, can shape our day and ultimately bring success in what we're doing. Being mindful of these decisions will give us an advantage when doing physical or mental challenges.

We choose to eat certain types of food when we're tired and hungover that are high in fat, sugar and salt when what we really need are healthier options. There's a need for better understanding what our relationship is with food in order for us to better direct our decisions towards how we take on board the right food. Are we comfort eaters? Are we easily swayed by marketing? Do we chose certain foods for convenience over fresher options?

We Are What We Eat

I've made a pact with myself to avoid all 'mystery meat' - ie. nothing processed where the origins and content are not clear and avoid sauces unless made from fresh too. But on a down day, the brain dulled by alcohol, it's all too easy to make some poor choices and it's a shock to find the remnants of a kebab in the trash. When this happens, it's little surprise at how bad we feel after a night of putting the wrong fuel in...

Taking It Personal

PERSONAL TRAINING

Employing the services of a qualified Personal Trainer to help you achieve your goals, is the best way to get results you're after. Even with our best intentions and at our strongest willed, most of us just don't have the dedication to motivate ourselves to go through a gruelling and uncomfortable hour at the gym. We still have to step into the gym and put the effort in, but without the focussed training, we're going nowhere fast and that's why paying for the pro is so worth it. 

Hence, I've been having personal training since the beginning of the year with Zac - a super-fit PT who is himself training with Olympic Decathalon Gold Medalist - Daley Thompson. What I've got here, is someone who is dedicated to the pursuit of bettering himself and he's using this knowledge/wisdom to help better me.

What I've learned from doing sports and sports training over the last 20 years, are pretty basic assumptions. Get your heart rate up, sweat loads and if your muscles ache the next day, you're working out enough. Not a very focussed or measured approach. This is obviously not a good way to train and it's no surprise that I've got injuries and poor results. 

Getting In The Know

There are various ways to burn calories, keep a general level of joint mobility, improve heart & lung performance and maintain healthy cholesterol levels. If you jog for 30 minutes at an easy level or as I see many people doing, sit reading the paper whilst leisurely pedalling on a gym bike, you'll burn calories eventually but it's a going to be of a waste of gym time if you want killer abs. Understanding anatomy, metabolism, nutrition and the best ways to train are gonna help give you the tools for maximising the gym & training time. So, I've now signed up to be a Personal Trainer and this new found knowledge should help get the results even quicker. 

Take The Plunge

MILES AWAY

Swimming up and down in a pool can be very therapeutic. Counting off the lengths towards the goal of 1 mile today, I switched from focussed practice of my stroke to what I need to achieve in the coming weeks. 

To get an increased workout in my arms, I tried these aqua gloves - which were actually quite hard going and surprisingly, didn't add anything to my speed in the water. 

The resistance made each stroke a lot more powerful and where they took water in, were heavier through the top of the stroke. The best thing about them, is that they give an extra stretch on the backs of your arms, from the longest reach of the stroke all the way through to where your hand exits the water at the end of the stroke. Which was great to free up my muscles after training hard on the rower machine yesterday

Swimming is a great form of low-impact exercise. It's easy on your joints and great if recovering from injuries plus offers a multitude of other benefits including giving you a kinda zen feeling as you glide through the water, that could be of course, unless you catch the school lessons like I did!

Healing

HEALING WITH YOGA

Since the beginning of the year, I've embarked on a mission to improve my health, wealth and happiness for a more focussed approach to living in 2015 and beyond. Now three months in to the year, I've firmly established a new, more positive routine, removed some harmful habits - forming more health-enhancing ones in their place - and over this relatively short time frame, already noticed marked improvements in many aspects of my life.

I took a Yoga class yesterday and was talking to one of the attendees about the class afterwards and we discussed how great it makes us feel and how everyone should do it. It's benefits are beyond just the physical. Not only does it help us to move better - giving us more flexibility and core strength, but also, just by the very nature of taking the time to focus on our body and it's movements, makes us more mindful, calms the thoughts away from the stresses of the day and brings us into the moment.

Yoga has saved my sanity
This is true. Working in a high-stress environment for so long has been having an effect on the way I respond/deal with stress. I, hadn't really noticed it until very recently, whilst on holiday last year. I'd had a tough year at work - as had everyone I work with, and the office was taking on a toxic energy that had depleted my reserves to the point of exhaustion. Luckily, I'd saved back enough holiday to take a last minute week-long break to the sun and for the first few days, I just switched off (literally and metaphorically) from the stresses of home. On the third day, I turned on my iPhone and a barrage of emails poured in from work which incensed me so much, that it instantly triggered a state of rage. I was filled with adrenalin, pumped and primed for war to the point where even our holiday neighbours had to come over and say something as my anger was affecting them too - how embarrassing.

What was really amazing to me, was my mood's change from serenity to anger. From the moment it was triggered, to it's intense peak took no time at all, but, calming back down took all day long. I went to bed exhausted that night and took the rest of the week to recover myself back to a serene state of mind. My partner pointed out that I'd been like this before, and suggested I do something about it as it was not good for me or anyone else around me who it also impacted.

It was on my return, when my happiness was tested again. The first day back to work, I made a decision to focus on how best to deal with this issue. I removed anything that could create negative emotion or hinder me from controlling my thoughts. So, I restricted alcohol for the next few weeks, got off to bed early every night and limped through the last few days of work to the Christmas period where I knew I'd have more time away to try and re-capture the serenity in my again. It was over this festive period, with time for reflection that I made a decision to change - and Yoga was first up on my list.

MRI Update

So back in Jan I wrote about my neck and weak bicep. Fixing this ailment has been one of my key motivators for change in 2015. The January post on MRI scans taken 2 years ago, showed a compressed disk and chipped vertebrae in my neck, with some compression on the nerve possibly affecting strength in my right arm. The symptoms have affected my work, sleep and ability to do the hobbies I love, like climbing and cycling. These hobbies have been an outlet to combat the stress at work and without them, I'm unable to properly switch off. So I've been on a mission to rectify the problem to enable a healthier life where I can enjoy these activities again. I've been actively monitoring and healing through doing my own rehabilitation and exercise sever since. 

From the beginning of Jan, I've stuck to a steady routine of 2-3 yoga sessions a week, some Pilates, core conditioning and a bit of light weight training. I had another positive comment from my yoga teacher yesterday who's noticed improvements in my flexibility and overall yoga practice. One of the class commented on how well and peaceful I look too.

Yoga is working miracles and all the feedback I'm getting is evidence of it's many healing benefits! I can see there's much more movement in my joints and my posture is straighter, lower back strength and neck mobility have definitely all gotten a lot better. Compared to before Christmas - I now feel tip-top!

Here's the scan with no significant changes indicated from what I see in the images. But what do these scans really show anyway? It's how WE feel that matters and, the consultant could immediately see more movement and better physical condition as proof. Something else is at work here - maybe he yoga has some part to play? I know I've been able to do more of the activities I love doing, so my self-healing programme is working for me. At the end of the day, we can't rely on MRI scans and a doctor to tell us when we're healthy/recovered. We have to take the initiative for improving recovery success ourselves.

It's only been a few months focussing on improvements and I'm confident that a continued, mindful approach to wellbeing, which includes my new yoga lifestyle, will reverse the damage done by the various stresses in life, promote even more healing over time and keep me youthful for longer. According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age.

Another thing I'm looking at and possibly why we feel better on some days rather than on others. Bio-rhythms. Reading up on the body's natural rhythms, I can there may be something in this and according to my generator results, there's confirmation that I'm on my game today!

Take The Pressure Off

PRESSURE GOOD - STRESS BAD

Doing something difficult, dangerous and time-precious and getting good results at the end, will leave us feeling invigorated and satisfied that we are successful at delivering under pressure. I like doing adrenalin sports for the same reason that I like performing at my peak. Mind & body working together in 'the flow' - enjoying the feeling of being focussed & connected to the environment and the task in hand. The thing is, as you do more adrenalin sports over time, the fix will lesson as you become used to the danger situation or your adrenalin levels drop as you fatigue. You need to take a break because constant exposure to high-pressure becomes exhausting.

Adrenalin sports are fun for me - and I don't want to take the thrill away by having too much of the same thing, plus there's a risk of performing in potentially damaging situations when you're tired. It's the same for being in a work environment and having deadlines to meet. You get the buzz of completing a task in record time but if you continue to function in this heightened state, you either flood your system with the stress hormone Cortisol, creating an imbalance or your body starts to weaken as the effects of prolonged release of this hormone take it's toll.

Work is rarely fun and ceases to be enjoyable a lot quicker if the pressure becomes too much. Unlike adrenalin-fuelled pass times that you can stop when you've had enough, work has to be endured until it's finished. So it's easier to move from being under a lot of pressure to being over-stressed if you're putting up with these levels for sustained periods of time.

Cortisol
The hormone Cortisol is secreted by our adrenal glands and helps maintain blood pressure, immune system, blood sugar levels and is important in heightening our systems for responding in survival situations. Cortisol, released by glands forming part of our endocrine system, is also termed 'the stress hormone' and having too much of this in our bodies can weaken our immune systems, cause fatigue, insomnia and a number of other health issues if measures are not taken.

Cortisol levels can fluctuate throughout the day with the circadian rhythm of the body and can be maintained by relaxation (deep breathing, meditation & yoga) and via taking adaptogenic herbal supplements shown to improve//lower/restore cortisol levels.

If you are subjected to being in a stressful environment and are suffering with anxiety, digestion issues, tiredness, insomnia - chances are, you've over-stressed your body and need to take time to relax or get some additional help via having some of these 7 adaptogen herbs in order to bring back a balanced state of wellbeing.

Rhodiola
One of the key herbs for treating stress, anxiety, improving perfomance/stamina and combatting fatigue is Rhodiola and can be found in high street stores like Holland and Barrett. More information on herbs for strength, stamina and stress relief can be found in this comprehensive book by David Winston and Steven Maimes.

Creating Time

THE THEORY OF QUALITY TIME

I find that there's rarely enough time in the day to do everything and be at my best the whole time to get the best results. Because we're on a bit of a lock-down when it comes to spending money or going out at the moment - on the occasions when we do allow ourselves to cut loose - we really do go overboard. So we went out this weekend and got really excited - and consequently, really drunk. This means the weekend was a bit of a haze and although we managed to get everything done that we'd planned, some of it was a real struggle and I'm still feeling off-key today. It means my mind is telling me to not do the things I'd planned on doing because the quality won't be the same - as I'm not mentally or physically equipped to do them as well.

However, after watching The Theory of Everything last night, I've seen how someone with a real handicap has managed to achieve such greatness in their life and I will be sure to remember this story when the mind and body is telling me to slow down, give up or leave tasks until another day - essentially, finding excuses for not doing something. This guy, Stephen Hawking, who developed Motor Neurone disease at a young age and was given just two years to live, has made everything seem possible.

A Brief History of Time
If one man was able to conceive of an idea for something as big as justifying time, the universe and everything - and painstakingly write it down by squinting a cheek muscle, I'm damn sure a healthy (if just slightly dulled from overindulgence and a lack of sleep) person can string a few paragraphs together.

It was the BAFTA Awards this weekend - and the Stephen Hawking film was given 3 awards but another film watched recently that equally deserved accolades and especially Benedict Cumberbatch for his superb acting, The Imitation Game - both a real inspiration for what can be achieved if the mind is strong.

Overstimulation

BRAIN BURNOUT

Do you sometimes feel you're brain is like a TV set with a stuck channel switching button? I do. I think the years of cramming as much in to my day all at the same time, have taken a toll - I'm getting brain burnout.

I posted earlier in the year about Inspiration Overload and the need for better time management to do all the things we want in our lifetimes. Since then, I've thought more about this modern-day phenomena of having so many information channels open to us and what it could mean trying to digest everything all at the same time. Learning is fun and work is rewarding too. I get a kick out of both and like the feeling of delivering under pressure and the rewards of completing a set of tasks for myself - often before most people have got out of bed these days. It's like a game and feels like you're creating time when you manage everything so efficiently - juggling responsibilities and learning new stuff in that limited window of time. It's been my key motivator for getting up so early every day. However, I'm starting to feel a little like a pinball machine and not sure it's doing me as much good as doing less and focussing more on one thing at a time.

My mornings start with a glance at the calendar & to do-list, then I'll have a series of windows open on my computer that will contain the inspiration and reference materials ready to ingest, learn and write about. As I only have a limited time-frame to work within, I'll often be 'multitasking' in order to get everything done and there's many reasons to suggest why juggling multiple tasks is best avoided.

Multitasking is a myth
Research confirms that what we are in fact doing, is flicking back and forwards between each task - as our brains can only manage one set of instructions at a time. In doing so, we are losing valuable time in the switch - which, over a period, shows a decrease in productivity and can actually do us harm. Each time we complete a little task like answering an email/text or completing a to-do, there's a release of dopamine in our brains that gives us that 'rewarding' feeling.

It's been shown in studies on rats that we can become addicted to these reward 'hits' in the same way a drug addict will be addicted to a cocaine buzz. Repeated and sustained periods of information bombardment can tax our brains in a way to cause exhaustion, anxiety and in some recently shown cases with gamers, even death.

Get organised
Having so much digital house-keeping to do can cause a lot of stress. This means over time, an increase in levels of cortisone. In the good old days before always-on technology, there were times spent away from computers and now smart phones, when you could focus on just the one task - and quietly use your brain. It is great having a mini-computer in our pockets but we have to keep on top of everything that this technology brings us. We need to get organised and this book by Daniel Levtin should help - The Organised Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.

Creating folders for keeping your email in-box clutter-free is just one of the fixes you can make, but understanding how our brains have evolved and work will help us to understand our limitations more. My digital content/connectivity has gotten to the point where I'm now getting sick of my phone buzzing away with notifications and I fear burnout if I don't switch off more from having this level of connectivity.

I'd like to remove myself completely from the digital world at some point like this guy did, but for now it's all about managing the time I'm exposed to it. I've stripped back on subscribed newsletters, switched my email app to manual checking for new mail and removed most of the notifications from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any of the other non-important apps on my iPhone. I've added a sign-off to my email which states the times I will be checking mail and my working hours. Arguably, the best thing to do, is ditch the mobile all together and switch back to a regular phone, but that's difficult to reverse unless everyone does it.

We can certainly take some time out to be mindful as we see from the teachings contained in this post - watch the video under the heading: An Ancient Practice, A Modern Need. But if we still wish to stay connected, it should only be in moderation. Maybe there's an app out there that restricts the phone's functionality, in essence, only allowing short periods of time throughout the day via a stop watch, with pre-determined minutes for using the phone for anything other than calls. If there isn't - someone make it please!