by Rex Richard | Feb 29, 2012 | Personal Development, Renewing The Mind
If you want to grow in life…
increasing your mental capacity is a must.
Increasing your “Brain Power” is much like increasing your physical capability to lift weight in exercise. People with greater physical capability will be able to lift heavier weight effortlessly while those with less capability will tire themselves out or even not be able to lift it at all.
In much the same way, the brain can be strengthened to substantially improve the ability to think creatively and logically, while improving calmness, stability, confidence, and the ability to assume increased responsibilities
But the question comes to mind, “how do we achieve the increase in our mental capacity”?
To increase your physical capability you train your body by pushing it to lift weight to the limits of your current capability. Though it may feel a bit hard in the beginning, you will find it effortless after some days or weeks of training. You can then gradually and continually add more weight, little by little, and by doing so repetitively, you see your physical capability increase significantly.
The way to increase your mental capacity is similar:
Do things which are just outside your comfort zone and that push you to the limits of your current capability.
As a result, your mental muscles will grow stronger and your mental capacity will increase.
To help you put it into practice, here are 30 ways to do things which are just outside your comfort zone to increase your mental capacity:
- Learn a new hobby.
- Learn a foreign language.
- Join a new club and interact with the people there.
- Practice an art you normally wouldn’t (painting, music, etc.).
- Learn a new musical instrument.
- Be dare to ask. This is to familiarize yourself with rejection.
- Read fiction if you normally read non-fiction, and vice versa.
- Read a new author.
- Read an old book.
- Visit a new genre of blogs.
- Find friends from a new country (i.e. a country from which you haven’t had any friend before).
- Find friends from different professions.
- Volunteer for activities conducted by your social or business group.
- Take a different route to work.
- Attend an art festival.
- Read history more than news.
- Visit a place you normally wouldn’t (museum, monument, national park, etc.).
- Go to a conference or seminar in a topic you are not familiar with.
- Initiate conversation with someone you don’t know.
- Find the most unpleasant task in your to-do list and do it first.
by Rex Richard | Feb 29, 2012 | Business, Spirituality
Do you wake up in the morning looking forward to your day – both at home and at the office? You should. If you’re living a life of purpose and pursuing a career or entrepreneurial endeavor that you love, happiness will certainly follow.
It’s been shown that humans are at their happiest when they’re “absorbed in an activity or challenge that interests them.” For many people though, they don’t even realize they’re happy because they’re so involved in that particular moment that it never occurs to them simply because they weren’t consciously concentrating on happiness.
Happiness is something that everyone can work toward achieving. It may sound cliché but the decision to be happy is truly that – a decision. If you choose to be happy, chances are, that feeling will follow.
Here are some ways to pursue happiness and bring it into your work and home life:
- The first thing you need to do when you wake up is to mentally count out at least 10 things that you appreciate. Write them down if it will help you remember them throughout the day. Do the same thing at the end of each day – count your blessings.
- Do more of the things you love – in life and at work
- Do fewer of the things that you don’t love. For example, if you are an entrepreneur and there are tasks that you simply don’t enjoy, aren’t good at and don’t help bring in business and clients, find a partner or outsource those tasks. This frees you up to concentrate on your core competencies and the things that make you happy
- Take time during the day to ask yourself if you’re happy? If you’re not, stop and consider how you can become happy and if you are happy in that moment, remember what you were doing and do more of it!
- Even on those days when you’re stressed out because you have too much work to do. Stop and remember that is a blessing as well – you’re doing what you love and the clients are following!
Taking time to revel in the moments that make you smile will truly make your day shine and will give you more items to be appreciative of at the end of each work day.
by Rex Richard | Feb 14, 2012 | Business
Are your workdays plagued by interruptions in the form of phone calls, employees coming to your office door — or if you work from home are you interrupted by daily housekeeping routines? Do interruptions draw you out of your productive moments and stall forward progress?
Is it hard to go even a half an hour without a phone call, text message, email or in-person interruption? If you’re like me, you know you need to carve out time to work uninterrupted in order to be productive. We have all heard of people who speak with pride about their ability to multi-task, but there are times when a project simply needs uninterrupted time and devoted effort. So, how can you take charge and make it a reality?
Here are some tips to regain control:
- Specify certain times when you will respond to text messages, emails and phone calls. Be truly proactive and set an outgoing message on your emails to let people know you will read and respond between the hours of XYZ. They will appreciate knowing when they’ll hear from you.
- If you’re going to respond to communications several times a day, specify the length of time you will allot — for example, 30 to 45 minutes every two hours.
- Resist the urge to check email and text messages by signing out of your email program and putting your phone on silent and leaving it off your desk — out of sight, out of mind.
Not all interruptions are bad, though — if you have a prospective client call, for example. Truly though, many of the daily interruptions can wait until a time when you will be better able to focus and give them your undivided attention. Taking control of your workday will make you more productive and will help you complete projects in a more timely manner.
by Rex Richard | Feb 6, 2012 | Business, Personal Development, Spirituality
“Clarity Leads to Cash” is a phrase I heard recently and it got me to pondering whether it was true. Entrepreneurs that chase the next best idea or that are continually reinventing themselves to ride the wave of the latest fad aren’t helping themselves toward the cash at the end of the rainbow.
Do you have clarity in your business? Just as clarity in life helps you fulfill your life’s purpose, clarity in business helps you stay focused on what you truly want to do, where you ultimately want to take your business. Without clarity of purpose how will you know if your business is on the path you’ve set for yourself and for your ultimate business success.
While not all business owners look toward the bottom line as their only measurement of success, no business owner wants to be in business to lose money, right? What are your core competencies? What is the mission and vision statement for your business endeavor? Will you know clarity when you achieve it?
To find clarity you need to take time to write down your core competencies, what you do best, what drives you. Get a handle on what prompted you to go into business in the first place. Are you still focusing on what you do best or have you gotten sidetracked by the day-to-day tasks of running your business? Are you working on or in your business? Entrepreneurs with clarity understand they need to work On it rather than In it. Which path are you taking and do you have clarity of purpose?
