The Office

A PLACE OF WORK

The office is really just a modern day version of a factory - a cacophony of clattering keys & swishing of mice, with rows of workers busily churning out endless digital iterations of work from computers where once in their place stood looms spinning reels of material and furnaces spewing steel.

We haven't come all that far from the industrial revolution in terms of how we work. There's still the clock in/out format of an 8 hour day over 5 days a week. We still have the need to travel to and from a set place of employment and hierarchy of overseers to ensure the virtual cogs keep on turning.

We have mobile technology to work with including many forms of communication, so why are we still following this outdated Victorian work model? 

There have been many attempts to 'jazz up' the workplace by adding all kinds of 'fun', colourful, quirky props and gimmicks that are supposed to make the chore of going in to a box and sitting in rows of desks alongside people we barely know, more bearable. Why are we essentially spending increasingly more time with strangers, than with our real friends or loved ones? 

Work Isn't Working

The modern office has many flaws. Gone are the days of doors. Personal offices, if they are still used, are exclusively the places for the top exec to reside in. Everyone else is out on the 'shop floor', where they are more visible and readily available for interactions. 

This means extroverted sales people can mix with introverted creatives and anyone can approach whoever they please to get what they 'want'. Yet, loud pushy sales people are arguably not going to be a benefit to the quieter creative types and therefore dealing with a barrage of requests can distract us from the task of actually doing the work. 

There are clear preferences for Myers Briggs introverted personality types to have solitude and arguably, there have been many good books and cases brought to the attention of office environment architects that highlight the problem of having such open-plan spaces. It's been shown how in-effective these places can be for the many introverted thinkers who require quite solitude to conceive or creative new ideas. I look forward to the day when the work revolution finally comes.

Expectations

UNDER PROMISE - OVER DELIVER

Given a chance to do so, we all make up our minds about what we are going to like based on our expectations. 

And if we're primed with high expectations, we'll need to have them met or surpassed for us to truly like something and credit it with it's dues. Otherwise we are left with disappointment when the result fails to deliver.

Modesty

The key to a successful delivery, is to be a little modest in the offering and under-sell something or give a delivery time longer than is actually needed. This works well in a work situation. Supplying a client with something better than they were expecting to get and giving it to them early, means they will be really happy with the end result, even to the point of awarding more credit than the deed or product actually deserves. We just need to be careful with our planning in these situations to ensure the best of our efforts are rewarded, recognised and we're not 'busting a gut' to deliver something unappreciated or taken for the norm.

Resistance

ABANDONING ABANDON

Letting go of anything is tough when it's been all we know over extended periods of time. 

The summer has been fun. It's been a gift to myself to enjoy carefree abandon and enjoy having the reins off after a strict first third of the year. But now it's long overdue for a change back to a more disciplined regime. 

I can clearly remember resistance to the spring/summer mindset change back in May. I didn't want to lose my clarity and healthy regime. I didn't want to drink or have late nights. Now the reverse is happening and coming back into a tighter regime, is proving to be tough. I am experiencing resistance to a new mindset. This is normal behaviour in every change we make. It takes time to adjust and we always want to fall back on what we know and take what feels like the easier path.

Adjusting To A Yoga Way Of Being

I'm taking a level 1 yoga course at the moment. It's really starting to delve into a changing mindset as a positive move towards a more mindful and spiritual way - one that is not conducive to mix with the current party goer. 

I need to make a complete change to the new mindset if this is going to work and breakthrough these barriers of resistance if I'm going to make the necessary improvements in life. It may take more time, but knowing it has to change is a good start.

Mind Over Illness

DONT LET THE FLU BUG BUG YOU

'It's that time of year.' I'm hearing this phrase a lot lately in connection to a bout of colds that are doing the rounds. 

The place where I'm currently working is rife with sniffles and coughs - some absentees even (which has been to my benefit). And because it's held in popular belief that a change in the weather brings colds and flu, a lot are succumbing to the bugs. But not me. 

It's All In The Mind

I can't afford to be ill, particularly at this time while I'm low in funds. I've already managed to dodge colds at the beginning of this year, particularly at that time when winter turns into spring and 'that time of year' phrase gets bounded around for the first time. 

It's amazing how we succumb to language and popular opinion if we allow it. This learning all comes back to my very first posts of 2015 - the ones about being up early in the morning and essentially getting a jump on our brains, the day and what we want out of it. 

This morning was another clear win for me. I got ahead of the cold, did my yoga and daily positive affirmations. Lo and behold, I'm still feeling tip top, when I could so easily have told myself I was getting ill and made that become a reality.

The Can Do Mentality

DO OR DIE

Having the strength to leave a fun environment, to then embark on an arduous 3hr bus replacement journey back home from Brighton at 6am after having no sleep - to sit in a hot classroom for 5 hours and try to learn with a foggy hangover - all felt pretty tortuous this morning. 

Most would think this was a nightmare endurance feat. A lot would likely not do it and even if they did, would struggle to get themselves back on track for days after. Yet here I am back on the train, ready for the next two nights of drunken debauchary and actually feeling ok. 

I'd made a commitment to take on a massive 4 day stag-do with my first yoga instructor lesson falling slap bang in the middle. The timing for these two opposing events couldn't have been any worse but I'd made a commitment to myself to get the best of both worlds. I couldn't let down my yoga teacher or my best mate. I'd also be letting myself down and I couldn't live with that so I opted for a day of struggle instead. It was tough, but there are far tougher challenges in the world. All it took for me to accomplish this feat, was to keep a can-do mindset. 

Marathon Monks

The Marathon Monks have a very real life or death commitment to keep. They need to stick with their decision to take the challenge of running the equivalent of about 1000 marathons over seven years. Because they either complete the arduous challenge which escalates their status to that of a supreme enlightened guru - or they must take their own life if they fail. 

So what does it teach us about commitment? Most of our decisions are hardly life and death matters but if they matter that much, then we need to stick to them. And if it means enduring a few hours schlepping across country on our poor public transport services or getting through a day or two of feeling ropey, one needs to think of these monks running marathons daily and how easy we have everything in relation to all those who have hardships daily in their lives. 

First Privileges

EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM

Getting up that bit earlier, getting to the venue that bit before you need to and turning up at the place/occasion/event before everyone else, means picking the best seats, getting that spot on the beach, best spot in the gym class, advantageous position at the table and extra time for sussing out the lay of the land - to gain any other potential benefits that are there to be had. 

I used to be in the camp of turning up just in the nick of time (but often arriving late) and foolishly thought that I was making the best use of my time by running everything close to the wire. This I have now learned, has been way off the mark. Rushing around all the time means higher stress levels, poor overall experience, scattered/low quality memory of the events we're dashing from-to plus a reputation for being unreliable and for holding everybody else up. 

Take It With You

A lot of our tasks to be completed these days, involve being near a computer. With a smart phone or tablet, we have the ability to talk while we walk/drive and tools to communicate travelling on public transport, or do any of the tasks that require computer/comms equipment, that can either be actioned en route, or on location - completed during the quality free time remaining before the event has started. 

Get Ahead Of Your Head

It's so obvious, yet, I see people (myself included) rushing to do things at home/work - 'just 5 minutes more...' - things that can be done whilst travelling or after arriving where we're going to. But we can't see it at the time. Yet, just getting up that bit earlier gives us an advantage on our brains. Because we have extra time to assess the day, reason with priorities to be done at that moment and brain capacity to just stop for a moment and think 'can this be done on the way or later?'. It's so simple, I can't believe it's ever missed and yet this Eureka moment is such a flash of revelation once realised. Every time I recognise the option to just put off what can be done while on the go or later on, I feel a gift of time being regained, which in turn helps me to relax more and enjoy being in the moment. These revelations usually come to me when I've started the day earlier and less so when I'm on a back foot - ie. frantically trying to play catch up with all my tasks. Putting off the unimportant tasks to allow time to get ahead of myself, makes all the difference between having a stressful as opposed to a rewarding and enjoyable day. 

Lessening The Memory Of Burden

GETTING THE WORST BIT OVER WITH FIRST

When we're woking on something tough like carrying a heavy load (which I've just been doing in a house move), it works best if we get the heaviest items out of the way first. Once the weight drops down and the boxes become lighter - even though the boxes are still heavy - the feeling of doing something so arduous decreases and we are actually left at the outset, with the memory of a task that wasn't so bad after all.

The Peak End Rule
Finishing on a high or a lesser pain, means we hold on to a positive memory of something, even if it was potentially an arduous or unpleasant experience. The Peak-End Rule explains how our minds work when we go through an experience where the ending is good or better than at the start. It's why every difficult experience should have a treat at the end which was a cold pint of beer in the sun on this occasion!

Testing The Metal

ALTERNATIVE STRENGTH TRAINING

Training for an endurance event and want to harden the resolve? Try a festival. Cutting down on food intake and jumping around in a hilly field with no sleep for 3 days straight will test the strength of body. This, combined with a bit of time invested at the gym, will help with your half/full marathons, sprint triathlons and any Tough Guy equivalent assault courses. 

But, after all this weekend revelry, if you can then push through the day after to perform a tough 6am start doing intense boxing training - when the mind is saying no, stay in bed - that will really prove you have the strength of character to take on an iron man race, euro event or ultra marathon. I truly believe that after this morning's boxing session. 

Think For A Minute...

PUT ON THE GLASSES

Take a sec to look up from your screens for a few moments and have a think about this. We're getting distracted from what's really important. We have TV, newspapers, bill boards, internet and a constant bombardment from our smart phones, pumping us with meaningless rubbish and trivia so as to keep us occupied and away from thinking and doing what's important - and that doesn't include doing your status updates on FB...

I stood squashed on a busy train today, no book to read or blog to write. I just immersed myself in my thoughts. I'm really trying get back to that mind state that used to be easier to access, the one where we could have a stilled mind from which clarity of thought brought ideas and raised a mental picture of what could be. But it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the silence and be away from distractions if I'm going to try and visualise where I would like to be in ten years time - which is certainly not on this sweaty train!

All around me were people on their smart phones and tablets. Some playing games, some reading news stories and others appeared to be either checking or adding to social media. The rest were reading the trashy Metro newspaper and the odd few, staring blankly into space.

I had my sunglasses on - a cheap pair of John Carpenter's They Live 'Hoffman' sunnies that I bought for a bit of a nostalgia trip. There's some pretty stylish expensive ones out there too. I love that 80's film and John Carpenter is a favourite director of mine, but the message it gives is very clear. We need to get some clarity on the situation and this is even more relevant today than it was back in the 80's. We're on the consumerism and mass control track again...

We're so much better connected these days, yet most are ignorant and unwilling to deal with the very real truth that we're being hoodwinked by the smart and focussed elite and their minions trying to take all the money. This situation is not gonna get any better. So rather than playing Candy Crush, watching cute animal videos, checking celebrity twitter feeds - or whatever it is that you choose to burn valuable time with, we need to kick the distractions and focus on making some changes. Positive use of time like improving ourselves physically/mentally, helping others to make their lives better, supporting our families, educating our children (not just dropping them off at school either) and taking a more active role in sustaining the rule of law and balance of power.

Beacon Of Truth
I know I've been in the depths of crazy doomsday blogs and websites for the last couple of days and this theme has cropped up a few times before too, but it's no coincidence that I've been stumbling on these topics as more are tuning in to what's going on all around us.

Technology is replacing our brains for storing/retrieving memory and stopping us having deeper thinking. I for one am not as in love with my iPhone and the technology as I once was. It's mostly used as a book shelf, writing and note taking tool that I can use as a communication device from time to time. The very fact that we can be completely tracked in our movements, all our search history and preferences stored, right down to the time we spend on each page or section thereof and buying trends mapped so we're targeted with even more advertising and marketing distractions - fills me with dread.

I crave some silence these days. I never want an iWatch and won't be switching on the new iBeacon access when it starts to roll out in the stores. I'm also mindful that certain agencies are tracking our search history and any written material that we've produced stays on the internet forever - so forget trying to back-track what you wrote. Projects like Truthy are set to psycho-analysis what it is you we're really trying to say - potentially like a thought police if this info gets the hands of the secret services, which it very likely will do.

Bottom line is this; we've been bamboozled with what this technology can do, and we're already on the roller-coaster, but we still have a choice to switch off our TV's, tablets and smart phones. We don't have to read that trashy newspaper either. Take a minute or two away from distractions, look up and get some clarity on what's really going on around you while you've been absent.

The Pressure Of Success

UNDER PRESSURE

We all have pressure on us to perform. Having enough pressure on us is a necessity if we want to reach our goals. We need it or we fail to achieve. Too much pressure and we break down. I've seen first hand how hard it can be to recover from having too much pressure applied over long periods and I'm just a regular guy, living a life like most other people. So it's looking at the immense weight that is put on our sports stars and music/film celebrities that's really highlighted how excessive pressure can affect us and how difficult that must be to deal with.

Criticism and Humiliation
Watching the beautifully crafted new films about Paul Gascoigne and Kurt Cobain - we see how self-destructive our most revered talented and driven people can be - especially when exposed to the media and the wider world to see warts and all. One thing I've drawn from this is how fragile the ego is. My partner and I see it in ourselves from time to time - a lower self-esteem. And whether we are under the spotlight from others or having internal inquisitions, we all still have these torments to face up to.

Our image is what we hold firmly on to for identifying with who we are. It's very fragile. Having confidence in our 'self', in our abilities and focussing on strengthening that 'image' is key for personal growth. If we rely on searching elsewhere for acceptance and appreciation, we risk placing the power in the hands of others. Even if they are our friends, family and loved ones. Because, at low points and without self-acceptance, it's the love from others that restores our confidence and identity, when self-compassion needs to come from within. And without having this shallow projection of 'self' re-affirmed, we lose track of it and what we believe we are.

This was certainly true of Kurt Cobain. Rejection and lack of appreciation or acceptance of his intensely creative talents coming from his family, contributed to a mindset that became destructive the more his image and identity was left to the critics and press to tear at. As the pressure mounted, the weakened Cobain turned towards a way out.

Great talents are nurtured in those driven to achieve success, through the right type of pressure. Sometimes this pressure, if mis-directed, becomes too much to withstand and can derail those without strong self-control and compassion from a positive path, to addiction and self destruction. How do some manage better than others to keep their heads?

Touched by the hand of God
Maradona, touched with a real talent for playing football, a crafty intelligence and charisma for dealing with the media, has somehow managed to keep his sanity and health, although being publicly disgraced for drug addiction and cheating. Under immense pressure at periods throughout his career, he never really had the assistance of management or a publicist like today's stars do, yet through all the negative publicity, press and widely seen footage from his darkest days, he has managed to recover from life-threatening addictions and lives a happy family life today - whilst still being revered as one of the greatest players in footballing history and widely recognised for scoring the greatest World Cup goal in 1986. Even strongly confronted with the fact that he cheated England with a hand-ball to score a game-changing goal - he still has no remorse and actually takes pride in his actions. He obviously has very strong self-belief. This I find amazing - as looking back at Paul Gascoigne in Italia World Cup 1990 at a period in English football when the pressure and dreams of success came to a sad end in the Semi-final penalty shoot out with Germany, you can see where this result weighed heavy on the nation's football stars - and very likely, the nation as a whole, even to this day.

I'm not really what you'd call a typical football fan - yet I still get emotional watching (and re-living) the games from the World Cup and the moment when 'the nation so nearly succeeded'. Incredible, the value placed on the outcome from this sporting event and the stars themselves.

In the years that followed, the pressure from the British media, injuries sustained and alcohol self-abuse that Paul endured (and still battles with), have taken him on a dark path. And watching accounts from other successful sports stars like Mike Tyson and George Best - all falling prey to addiction and lost identities - it's revealing to see how important self belief is for protecting ourselves from outside influences and just how damaging our inner demons can be if we don't take control of them.

Self belief for success
Taking action for bolstering our self-esteem, self-confidence and towards creating a tougher shell to better deflect unwanted criticism plus building a virtual volume control switch for muting that destructive inner voice, will make us stronger and more capable for dealing with those down days. It's amazing how something so small can linger in our minds and sub-consciously chip away at our confidence. Practising techniques like those mentioned by Leo Babauta in the link above or some of the helpful others mentioned here in this informative post, can help us to be strong.

The power of knowledge
Something I use daily, for increasing my power of self belief - is to focus on learning. Researching, reading, comparing what I've learned to what I believe as a way to either confirm or re-affirm what I already know or to glean something insightful and empowering anew and add this to my knowledge banks. This increases confidence. I accept my weaknesses and try to learn how I can improve on them. Writing down my learnings and affirmations every day - and using these to refer against, helps me to realise what I have at my disposal and keeps me focussed on increasing my potential and therefore my self-confidence for being better at dealing with pressure.

Minding Mindsets

FORMING NOT FOLLOWING

We have a set of beliefs that make up who we are and this belief system is our mindset. Born with a clean slate, like a computer, we have been programmed through early contact with our family unit, schooling institutes, peers and life experiences. Essentially, it is this core mindset that permeates through everything we do, affecting the outcome in all our endeavours.

If we can identify these set patterns, that repeat throughout our lives, we can better see those traits which bring either success or failure. With focussed awareness, we can train ourselves to switch over to the right path for attaining wins and when we see repeated failure, replace the wrong mindsets with new positive ones.

This book by Carol Dweek called Mindset: How you can fulfil your potential will enlighten us all to see past the myth that talent is key and focus on the facts that having a winning mindset is the recipe for success.

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.

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.

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.

Down days

TURN IT AROUND

You can't be on the up every day feeling a million bucks. It's just not possible - especially when you've been burning the candles at both ends and drinking a lot of booze. There's gonna be a lull. You're gonna have some days when you're just not on your game and there's a strong temptation to stay in bed and sleep it off. Thing is, you could wallow in it and chances are, your body will slowly recover from the lack of sleep, the clouds will depart and your sunny side will shine out again....eventually. However, the best way to get your personality back and effectively 'turn it around' - is to jump out of bed, splash cold water in your face, eat a decent breakfast and do something exhilarating where the sugars from the night before can be burnt off quicker and your mind switched back on. I'm now sitting in a bar having a cheeky half, feeling pretty lively and upbeat after taking a 2hr adrenalin fix. 

Living the one pint mind-set 

I heard this mentioned yesterday - how maintaining a one pint mind-set is the best way to live. I can go for that - one drink definitely gives you a little pep, makes you more confident/sociable and lifts a mood. And I can confirm it's true for me right now, as I'm ready for anything again - the trick is to stick to just one...!

Integrity

STAYING TRUE

I talked with colleagues yesterday at work, about beliefs and the lengths people are willing to go to, in order to uphold what they believe in and in some cases, taking extreme measures. My colleagues had strong opinions and their own beliefs - some of them conflicting with my own and I witnessed first-hand that having strong opinions about what you 'believe' in, can make us a bit closed minded and alienate ourselves from others.

Beliefs are purely mindsets and they can be personal or part of a group, followed like trends - and appearing to change much like fashion styles do. I know I've had beliefs and opinions about things that I've completely changed my mind about over time. Looking back through history, you can observe how popular opinions and beliefs have changed...the world is not flat, as was strongly believed and the Earth does revolve around the sun.

We can create our beliefs by learning from teachers or taking on beliefs from following others - allowing them to 'set' in our minds without first assessing them for ourselves. We often adopt other people's beliefs as a way to fit within a group & society in general. But we need to make up our own minds to what is ultimately going to benefit us, yet remain flexible enough so we can adapt/adopt other and new trains of thought too.

What is really important?

Being in a quiet place gives me plenty of time to reason: what are these ideas, beliefs, opinions of mine - and do they matter? It allows time to reason that everyone has their own beliefs and they may not fit in with our own.

If you're reading this - you're probably, like me, already on a quest for knowledge and starting to think and reason for yourself. So, maybe take a bit of time today and think about what you truly 'believe in'. These strong beliefs and opinions, are they important? Are these your beliefs? Are you following to fit in, or are you being force-fed ideas from peers and other outside influences. If you find you're beliefs are being set in stone because you're caught up in a group mentality, ie. your family, partner & friends are pushing beliefs on to you that are not your own, try and think about what they mean. Are they benefitting you or holding you back?  Chances are, they are holding you back from doing something great. It's within all of our power to change and I now factor this way of thinking into my daily early morning routine. Already, this has given me some positive results - plus, had a massive impact on how I interact with others and where I direct my focus for further improvements.

Sticking to your guns
Hans Berger carried on his research into brain wave analysis for 10 years before making good progress in his field of study. Even though he was for the most part, ridiculed for his beliefs by the rest of the science fraternity, he stayed true to his beliefs until he found answers which led to the discovery of alpha waves, developed the EEG (electroencephalography - a tool for measuring brain waves patterns), which in turn has been used for better understanding the workings of the brain. One particular field this has been used in - understanding sleep patterns

Sleep for success

Having these early starts - getting enough sleep is of paramount importance for improving performance. Understanding how our sleep patterns work and ways to improve sleep is something we should all learn about to optimise the time we spend sleeping. After all, a third of our life is spent in a sleeping state. Poor or lack of sleep will affect us and all those around us, halting us form achieving our life goals.