Aug 18 in Mental Performance
Practices to Help you Unblock your Mind
If you are living with a cluttered or blocked mind, the signs can be subtle if you are not aware of them. However, it is only once you can recognise these signs that you will be able to see just how big of an impact they have on your daily life.
Mind clutter can affect everyday decision making, leading to, among many other things, procrastination, mistakes, poor judgment, lack of direction, and uncertainty. The only way to overcome this is to become aware of your thoughts and actions and recognise patterns that are holding you back.
Below are some basic practices that you can implement to help you become more aware of your thoughts and actions and recognise where your mind is being obstructed by internal or external clutter.
Meditation
Meditation is a mental practice that involves focusing the mind to bring awareness to your thoughts and feelings, and to observe them without judgment.
The mind can be a strange and uncomfortable place if you do not understand it. Meditation is the practice of becoming comfortable with your mind and promoting a state of mental clarity, focus, emotional well-being, and reduced stress.
Meditation is a flexible practice and can be done in a variety of ways, the key is to discover what works best for you and practice this daily. Some great resources to utilise if you are unsure or need guidance are meditation apps such as Headspace or Calm.
Journaling
Journaling is the practice of consistently writing down your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and reflections to develop a deeper understanding of the state of your mind.
Journaling helps to bring clarity by allowing you to articulate and define the many thoughts and emotions running around inside your head. Writing allows you to formalise the thoughts in your head, which up there can feel like a mess which you can’t quite grasp, but on paper these thoughts become clear and identifiable.
There is no “right” way to journal, all you need is a pen and paper, and to allow yourself the freedom to put down on the paper whatever feels right to you. As long as you are honest with the thoughts inside your head, you can journal however you want.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the art of being present and aware of the contents of your mind in the present moment.
Mindfulness can be developed through journaling and meditation, for example. But it is not so much a practice as a way of life. It allows you to view the world, and your everyday experiences, for what they are and not through a distorted lens of an undisciplined mind.
Curating your environment
Your environment shapes your behaviour in a profoundly more important way than most people realise. It can impact your behaviour more than your motivation, discipline, or effort, which are often seen as the key drivers of productive behaviours.
James Clear suggests three strategies to improve your environment;
- Automate good decisions - curate your environment such that good decisions are already made for you. For example if your goal is to lose weight, buying smaller plates automatically cuts down your portion sizes
- Get in the flow - add good behaviours into the flow of your routine. If you want to start flossing more, put your floss next to your toothbrush, instead of in the cupboard out of your sight.
- Eliminate negative influences - this one is straight forward, get rid of anything that negatively affects your behaviour. If you want to cut down on your Netflix consumption, simply remove the television from your household.
1
0 comments
Practices to Help you Unblock your Mind
