When we think about mind control we usually imagine deviously controlling somebody else’s subconscious - but what about our own? Forget controlling another person’s mind, how the hell do we control the beast that lives upstairs?
Humans are capable of extraordinary things, but we are also our worst enemies. Our thoughts and emotions frequently get the best of us, leading us down rabbit holes and away from what we’re actually trying to do.
This often happens while we’re working, whether that’s at home or in an office, and can lead to hours of poor productivity. But does it really need to be like this? Imagine what we could do if we were able to control our minds.
Don’t multitask
People have long claimed to be great multi-taskers, but the truth is that while we technically can do many things at once, very few of us can do them well. Multitasking is seen as a way of speeding up productivity, but the negative side effects surrounding it can be huge.
It can hamper our memory, cause chronic stress, and might even be damaging the brain. It also causes us to feel significantly more distracted than if we simply focused on one action or task.
If you want to stay focused at work, stay focused on just one job at a time. When one is finished, move on to the next, and so on, and so on.
Mind control is difficult enough, but if you’re trying to rein in a mind that is in three different places at once, it makes it even harder. Stop multitasking and start single-tasking.
Meditation or Yoga
These ancient practises have been done for thousands of years as a way of focusing the mind and quieting the din outside. While they are both certainly gaining in popularity, both activities still remain on the fringes.
Meditation and yoga are so much more than simply controlling the mind, but for the sake of this blog post let’s focus on that. Both practices are excellent ways of simply slowing down the mind and people who do them regularly report a general feeling of calm that connects with other aspects of their lives.
Whether you do a yoga class before work, or an hour of meditation after you finish, the benefit that you get from both will almost certainly be felt during your working hours.
Write down your tasks
There is some debate about to-do lists. Some argue that it's bad for self-esteem when you look at an incomplete list at the end of the day, but these people are entirely missing the point.
Your to-do list should not be an overly ambitious agenda that you can’t possibly achieve, but rather simply a set of tasks that you need to do throughout the day. A to-do list is not about making yourself feel great because you completed the list, it is simply a way of noting down the things that are required in the day so that you don’t need to think about them.
Don’t overdo it with the number of points on your lists. Keep it to the minimum and if you need to tinker over time that’s absolutely fine. Another tip, do the most difficult, most complex, and most unappealing tasks first - otherwise, they’ll simply hang over the day, like a monster hiding in the closet. Search out the worst task and do them first.
Breathing
Did you know that most of us are breathing wrong? Were you even aware that we could breathe incorrectly?
It’s thought that 70% of us breathe wrong - or should we say, not in the most optimal way. There are several ways that you might be breathing incorrectly, but shallow breathing from the chest instead of the diaphragm and quick breaths instead of long, slow inhales and exhales are two of the most common.
Sitting quietly and focusing on only breathing in and breathing out, each for around 5 seconds, will soon bring a wonderful state of natural calm and this can be reproduced anywhere and at any time.
Negative thought
Apart from external factors, most of the torture that humans bring on themselves comes from negative thoughts. These can range wildly, including anger, resentment, jealousy, and of course self-doubt. If we let these thoughts loose, they can easily pull us down into the darkest of holes.
We would love to give you a magic answer here, but unfortunately, there is no switch that controls our negative thoughts. However, there are methods that you can use to help control them. The breathing method mentioned is an excellent way to calm the body, but it can also be used when negative thoughts flood our minds.
Try to identify the thoughts and pinpoint how they feel. Don’t try to deny them, as that will often just make it worse, but once you’ve assessed them, try to let them go by simply focusing on your surroundings while breathing in and out slowly.
A good trick here is to mentally identify what you are seeing. A bright green car. A woman in a purple dress. Make sure that you don’t go any further than simply identifying them as you are trying not to add more thoughts and especially not more prejudices or negative thoughts.
If you have a problem identifying the negative thoughts, consider keeping a journal where you write down the strange things that pop into your head. Sometimes writing them down makes them more real, but also much more absurd, which can really help.
