Mental Earthing

The human mind is an electromagnetic minefield, filled with ideas, anxieties, aspirations, desires and millions of other thoughts. This is only the conscious part I speak off. The sub conscious part would contain a different set all together. They say the human mind is capable of handling infinite thoughts.

In the information age we are constantly fed with data, through the internet, TV, newspapers, millions of apps incessantly feeding information. The digital data age is causing an overload on the mind. When does the mind get an opportunity to pause and reflect?

I speak of both the psychological and the physical impact. When an electrical system overloads, it tends to get damaged due to short circuit. This is true of the human mind as well. Applying the same principle, a mind burdened with excessive information / stress suffers similar consequences.

So how does one tackle this deluge? I only offer a few suggestions.

For the mind to function at its best potential, it’s important to focus at one task at time. Multitasking only sounds good. For better quality, absolute and complete attention is vital. It is harder than you can imagine focusing on only one thing. What, with all the distractions and numerable tasks to be completed.

Taking a break is more important than we realize. Often times we push ourselves to stretch longer hours, but a few minutes away from go a long way. Obviously, timing the breaks is as important as the break itself. Switching off; I am not sure if people today actually ever tune out. I find that keeping the mind blank for some time is extremely refreshing.

As for the physical component, some mental earthing is not a bad idea. It lets the ‘electricity’ dissipate. Sticking your head on the ground / desk may do the trick.

Eventually everyone has their own little tricks to help them relax. The important thing is to practice them.

Sustainability

Imagine a commodities trader. Flashy car, big house, fat pay cheque and a healthy bank balance. Circa 2005, the feeling is nothing can go wrong. You touch anything it turns gold. In fact, if you touched gold and it turned gold (sorry, could not resist that).


Cut to 2009, the car’s gone (trains work just fine), the house has gotten smaller, the pay cheque is not guaranteed and the bank balance is no longer healthy. Something changed, and swept away the basis of success.

Life is hardly predictable. The world is changing at a faster pace than it ever has. If you are standing still, you are actually moving behind. You may wish you were born in the times of horse carriages and sword fights but here we are, in the information age.

Stability in the time of change is a distant oasis of calm. But it is necessary for mental peace. The need is to search for a sustainable proposition. Something that will be enduring and withstand turmoil. Obviously nothing remains constant or everlasting without adapting. But rather than riding constant volatility in lifestyle and relationships, it is better to enjoy some stability. This is true for both work and life.

But hey, that’s just my perspective. Some people live for the bumps!!

The Futility of Mundanity

Waking up everyday, to the same routine. Some crave the familiarity, some despise it. You work hard to achieve some comfort, then that same comfort disturbs you. Where does this cycle go?

Its a repetitive story. No need to fear. No need to panic. Breathe deep, breathe heavy, think clear.
When you don't know where your going, all roads lead you there. But you cannot always not know, there comes a time you commit to a path. Stick to it, walk along it. Changing courses is the way of life, dragging along is slow death. Mope not for this life does not offer opportunity to them who wallow.

Wake up, shake up. Decide your destiny. Walk tall, chin up. Live, spread some cheer for there is enough despair.

Theme 2012 – Carefully rebuild; Hopefully Not the End of time

The Mayan’s predicted the end of the world in 2012. Assuming they are wrong, I chose to have a theme for this year. Here is, hoping that they aren't correct.

To begin, lets be honest. We ain't out of trouble on the economic front. Countries on the verge collapsing across Europe, sweeping revolutions in the Middle East, slowing growth in Asia and sweet corruption in India. Not trying to sound gloomy, but yes, these are largely the facts.

It is very easy to get stuck in a downward spiral. Negativity breeds inaction and results in poor performance and complacency. Might be a great idea to look afresh, breathe optimistically and work harder towards new goals. Positivity is like the proverbial lotus. Lets put the past few years behind, and look at this year with renewed vigour. Various catastrophic events, both, man made and nature’s fury, have pegged us back. It’s time to shake it off and resume careful rebuilding.

Why do I sound optimistic?

It is God’s greatest blessing that he made human beings resilient. Unbounded optimism maybe foolish, overly pessimistic can be catastrophic, but to be cautiously optimistic makes infinite sense. A large portion of humans fall in this category. Some aware but most largely unaware of this state of being. I do not wish to debate the benefits of each mental state, but if I were to simply add the sum of all of mankind’s mental state. It would probably lean towards the optimistic side. Having this faith, and given last year’s over pessimism there is a need for restoring the balance.

Let’s take those steps towards being positive in rebuilding what was lost in the last few years.