PERSONAL SPECIAL...Change The Way You Think

Mind Your Mind: Change The Way You Think

1 Be content: Tone down your expectations from life and yourself. Learn to be happy with what you have.
2 Get real: Assess your positives and negatives and be sure of what you are capable of achieving. What you dream of or aim for has to match your abilities. Accept that you may have certain limitations. Put in your best and say to yourself: I should be happy with what I can achieve.
3 Multitask: It’s great to multitask but not at the expense of turning into a nervous wreck. Prioritise and go easy. For instance, if you are a journalist, you may be able to submit 10 stories in five days and also go out partying, but you won’t be able to enjoy either your work or your parties.
4 Draw a line: Don’t live life with unrealistic targets. Check yourself before you start.
5 Strike a balance: Rather than chasing a life you are supposed to live, sit and analyse and live the kind of life you want to live.
6 Reflect: Take out 15 minutes each day for self-reflection. Meditation is great. Get an expert to teach you. If you cannot, introspect by yourself. Write down how you want your life to be. Revisit this every month.
7 Take stock: With family, work and social pressures, we tend to lose track of where our lives are going. So sit down and draw up a list of things you have achieved and things you have not. Noting your achievements will help you calm down; they will make you feel positive about yourself.
8 Analyse: Also remember, the work-life balance doesn’t always mean a 50/50 ratio. Sometimes, it is 20/80, sometimes, 60/40. So relax. You are not God.
9 Let go: Some people get worried about the weather on a big day. Or, perhaps the things other people are doing at work, neither of which they can influence. Accept that you can’t control everything. Once you do that, it becomes easier not to worry.
10 Live with your worries: Mindfulness training teaches you to stay in the moment and pay attention to all your mental and physical sensations without attempting to judge or fix them. So learn to live with your worry. It is there. Don’t ignore it or play it down. Accept your emotions. You may not feel like that every day. This is also the way Buddhist monks approach life.
11 Ignorance is bliss: You shouldn’t feel envious looking at your friends’ holiday pictures on Facebook – because you don’t know what happens between her and her spouse inside the four walls of their home. Don’t judge your life on the basis of the way others are living. Everyone has a way that works for them. Find yours. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) realised it the hard way in the second installment of Sex and the city. Her husband Mr Big’s request for them to spend time away from each other (for one day in the week) didn’t mean their relationship wasn’t as good as her friends Charlotte or Miranda’s relationships were. It was just a different way.

HTBR120429