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Daily Steps To Mindful Living

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How to Work a Job and Still Attain Your Life’s Goals and Dreams

Inspiration, Mindfulness

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my job and how it seems to get in the way of the work I need to do to achieve my life’s goals. However, I need the job as it pays my rent and supports some of my hobbies. So how do you work a job while still trying to attain your goals in life?

How to work a job and still attain your goals in life

Music star, professional athlete, novel writer, home owner… everyone has a dream or a goal that they want to attain in this life. Here are some tips to help you work towards that goal while still working a day job.

1. Sleep when you are dead

“I never sleep cos sleep is the cousin of death…” – Nas

One of the hardest lessons to learn is that if you really want to attain a goal in life while working another job you need more hours in the day. This is probably going to mean that you will sleep less and work harder but getting up early is something that has to be done.

The above quote is one of my favorite quotes of all time and it comes from New York rapper Nas. It is a very profound quote and shows us the link between sleep and death. We have one life to do something meaningful. One precious opportunity. What waste it sleeping?

You can sleep when you are dead.

2. Write down your dreams
When you write down a dream that you have you turn into a goal. You make it something concrete and achievable. A dream is something that is a little bit far out and unreachable but a goal is something that you can actually get to.

If you feel like your work is getting in the way of your goals then write them down. Having something visual in front of you will help you get all those thoughts out of your head and let you calm down and assess the situation. Write down your dreams so you know exactly what you are trying to achieve.

3. Give your goals a time line
The next thing that you need to do to turn those dreams into concrete goals is give them a time line. When you affix a date to some dream you turn it into a goal that is now becoming a reality.

For example, if you say that you want to be able to play the guitar by the time you are 30 you have a much more specific goal than if you just said you’d love to be a good guitar player. By saying that you want to do it by 30 you now have to do the work that is required to do it in time. It is a lot like working towards exams in November – you know they are coming so you do the work.

4. Break them down
One problem I have is that I stress about everything way too much. I think about work and tax and staying fit and then on top of that I stress about when I am going to find time to achieve my dreams and goals. However, I have found that if you write them down, give them a time line and then break them down into smaller chunks the stress really dissipates. [Read more…] about How to Work a Job and Still Attain Your Life’s Goals and Dreams

Originally posted on May 28, 2008 @ 3:23 am

Foods That Make You Stressed, Anxious and Depressed

Body, Mental Health, Mind, Nutrition

Last week we looked at foods that help you concentrate and today I want to take a look at foods that make you stressed, anxious and depressed. I am a firm believer that what you eat has a big impact on how “healthy” your mind is. If you have been feeling unusually stressed lately and aren’t sure why then maybe it has something to do with your diet.

Foods that make you stressed, anxious and depressed

1. Coffee

Work-table covered with documents

The first one on the list is going to be the most controversial but I am willing to argue my point. Coffee is one substance that makes you stress and sometimes even depressed.

The reason for this is simple and it has to do with the sugar and the caffeine that comes in coffee. When we drink a coffee we usually get a caffeine hit and a sugar rush. This picks us up for a few minutes or perhaps even an hour but then comes the inevitable low. The crash. This is when we start to get feelings of sadness and stress and we cannot figure out why we are feeling so bad.

Test it out for yourself. See how you feel before a coffee, immediately after a coffee and then about two hours after a coffee. You might be surprised.

2. Meat

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When I started eating a vegetarian diet I was absolutely shocked at how happy and “light” I felt all the time. I decided that I was going to do some research in to the matter and see whether eating meat causes stress or depression and it turns out that many ancient medical practices believe that it does. Every time I eat meat now I feel heavy and quite sick.

Many people in the East will tell you that feeling depressed after eating meat is due to the negative karma that is accrued due to killing an animal. Some more modern science, however, tells us that it might be due to the damage meat can cause your insulin levels as well as several other systems in the body. Meat has been linked to cancer, diabetes and other serious illnesses. One study even showed that vegetarians are happier than meat eaters!

3. Alcohol


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Alcohol has been shown to change the chemistry of the brain and make you more likely to experience long term depression. With alcohol we are not talking about a depression that lasts a little while – it is one that lasts a long time and usually leads you to your next drink. You then need to drink more than you used to to feel better and end up in a fast downward spiral. This is called tolerance and is a big part of why alcohol and any other drug is so addictive.

The sad thing is that people who are already feeling a bit depressed use alchohol to treat the depression. This just makes them feel even more depressed and doesn’t really get you anywhere.

4. Fast food


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A few months ago I was lucky enough to be the personal attendant of a very high Buddhist Lama when he visited Australia. During this special week we spent lots of time discussing buddhism and talking about all aspects of life. Every night we would go out for dinner and I would try to take him to places that only made clean and healthy food. After a while we got on to talking about fast food joints like Maccas, KFC and Burger King. He told me that if you want to get a serious disease and have a depressed mind you should eat them often.

I have always thought that these foods were bad. They are full of preservatives, salt, sugar, saturated fats and a host of other horrible chemicals. Think about all the antibiotics and hormones that KFC pump in to their meat before they lace it with salty bread crumbs and deep fry it. No wonder you feel heavy after you eat it.

Try and avoid these foods at lunch time if you are feeling stress and anxious and depressed. This will also distract you from your work because you will feel full and sick.

Conclusion

The best thing you can do for your health is eat a natural diet that has as little man-made foods as possible. A diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, raw milk, eggs and other natural things will leave you feeling lighter, happier and full of long lasting energy. Avoid foods that are overly processed and full of refined sugar, salt and saturated fats.

Does anyone have any experiences with food making them feel terrible?

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Originally posted on May 22, 2008 @ 8:57 am

Is Your Work Life Taking Over? How to Make More Time for You

Mindfulness

I have noticed lately that my work has been taking over my whole life. The responsibility of owning my own business, paying bills, etc. has meant that I have been spending less time with my friends, family and hobbies. Last week I realized that it was getting out of hand and made a decision to find some ways to spend more time on me and my loved ones. In this post I want to show you how you can find more time for you.

How to make more time for you

It is very important to make time for yourself and the things you deem to be important. If we allow it to, money will take over our lives and we will have nothing of substance left. I see this happen to people all the time with work, study, etc. The focus only on that at the expense of everything else.

Here some things I have been doing lately to make more time for myself.

1. Get up early
A while ago I made the commitment to get up at 6am everyday without exception. At the moment the most important past time in my life is my meditation practice. However, between working and paying bills I never seem to get the amount of time to meditate that I would like. So I decided to get up earlier.

The reason this was so important for me is because I was making myself anxious. During the day I would think to myself “Oh I am going to have NO time to meditate again” and get really stressed. By waking up early and meditating I am taking a lot of pressure off my routine because I know I have done the most important thing in my day first.

If you think you might want to get up early you should read this post on how to wake up fresh. Many people don’t wake up early because they struggle to get into the routine. However, with a few handy tips like these you might find it a little bit easier.

Waking up early is also the perfect way to get some exercise into your day. Take a look at this post on how to exercise before work everyday.

2. Work only designated hours
These days it seems as though the 9 to 5 job is becoming rarer and rarer. At least in my life, I seem to think about work 24 hours a day. If you run your own business you will know what I mean – you think about the damn think every moment of the day.

It is very important, however, to only work in designated hours. If you allow yourself to think about work all day you will drive yourself mad!

What I decided to do was work until 4pm and then not think about it until 8am the next day. I effectively banned myself from working after 4pm. This was a very positive move. It means that I am now able to forget about work when I am not at work and as such give my family, friends and hobbies 100% of my attention. This is vital for successful relationships.

3. Give yourself specific time for things
Now that you have given your work a specific time in your day it is also a good idea to do the same for your other activities. The point is not to make your life 100% planned out and structured but to give you some guidelines so you can see when things are going to occur.

You see, if things are written down and planned you usually stop thinking about them. If you can see a calendar on your desk that shows you when you are working, when you are going to the gym, when you are having rest, etc. you will be much less worried about trying to fit all of those things in.

4. Plan specific time for doing nothing


Creative Commons License photo credit: Josh Russell

One of the most important things you can do is give yourself planned time for doing nothing. This is not lazy. This is healthy. Laziness is when you don’t do things because you couldn’t be bothered. Actually planning time to do nothing is an important part of any healthy work life.

I like to give myself an hour after dinner. I eat my meal and then sit down with Mrs. Daily Minder and watch television or go for a walk. During this time I am just with her, not thinking about work and not stressing about life. This has really helped my mind.

5. Become more efficient at work
One of the main reason my work takes over is because I don’t work as hard as I should during work hours and then I stress about how little I have got done. I am sure we are all guilty of this.

Becoming more efficient at work is one of the best things you can do if you want to stop your work from taking over your life. If you get more done during the day you will be less likely to have to take work home with you or think about it when the day has finished.

Some tips for becoming more efficient at work include:

  • Work for 20 minutes and then take a three minute break
  • Eat only light and healthy foods so your mind stays clear
  • Get into a better sleeping pattern
  • Don’t take on more work than you can handle
  • Meditate

Work is only part of life and should not become the main focus. Family, friends and our passions should always come first otherwise we run the risk of living a life that is not what we intended. If you have any other tips that might help someone stop their work from taking over their life then please leave a comment.

top image:Creative Commons License photo credit: daviddave

Originally posted on May 18, 2008 @ 5:41 am

Facebook Syndrome: 8 Ways to Beat Your Facebook Addiction

Life, Mental Health, Mind

Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter, Myspace… the list is endless. Millions of us are addicted. The Government tells us that our time wasting internet addictions are costing the country billions of dollars every year. Our productivity at work is dismal because we spend most of the day reading our Fun Wall or checking out our favorite blogs. Can this additive behavior be beaten?

The answer is yes.

In this article I want to give you some simple and concrete ways to beat your time wasting internet addiction.

Facebook Syndrome: How to tell if you are an internet addict

Before we start you need to find out if you are an addict. Once you have admitted to yourself that you are addicted to your favorite website we can go about giving you some solutions for that problem. Here are some surefire signs that you are addicted:

1. You are late for meetings because you are on Facebook

If you ever late for a meeting or an appointment because you were checking your updates on Facebook or watching a related video on Youtube then you know you are addicted. This is classic addict behavior. It is time to get help.

2. You think about it when you are offline

I have several friends who struggle to get to sleep because they are thinking about the latest game or wondering how their website statistics are looking. If you do this then it could be a sign that you are heading towards a problem.

3. Your friends and family comment on your excessive internet use

When other people around you start to notice that you have a problem it is generally a pretty accurate indicator that you are losing it. If your mates, coworkers or family members have made comments about how much you use the net then you need to read the rest of this post.

4. You check your accounts from your Blackberry

A Blackberry is designed as a business tool. It is supposed to allow you to check your important emails and work materials without having to be in the office. It is not for checking Facebook or Myspace updates while you are having dinner with me. That is just not on. If you use your Blackberry for monitoring your social media accounts then you need help.

5. You get stressed when a Facebook “friend” doesn’t add you

Have you ever noticed yourself getting stressed over something that has happened on Facebook or Myspace? Do you ever feel like your online life is more real than your offline life? If you have been stressed about what rapper you turned out as or what magic egg someone sent you then it is time to open your eyes.

How to easily beat time wasting internet addictions


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Now that you have established that you have a problem you need to get yourself some recovery tools. The strategies and tools that are presented here are some simple ways you can beat the Facebook Syndrome.

1. Admit that you have a problem

I want you to take a deep breath and then repeat after me. Seriously, repeat this out a loud – even if you are in your office or an internet cafe.

“I have an internet addiction problem.”

Good. Now that you have acknowledged your problem we can proceed. There is no point in trying to beat an addiction if you do not seriously believe that you have one. This is important.

2. Write down exactly how much time you spend on each site


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This task is more difficult than you might think. Usually we have a work window open, a Facebook window open and then maybe some windows with our favorite blogs waiting for them to update. What you need to do is close the windows and only open them once you have written down the time. Then when you close the window you need to write the time down again. At the end of the day add up how much time you have been on your chosen site and record it in a little book.

The reason it is important to know how long you have been on the sites is because it gives you a solid measure of how bad your addiction is. Recovering gamblers do the same thing. They write down how much money they spend in a day. We need to write down our Facebook hours!

After a few days, weeks and months this number should decrease. [Read more…] about Facebook Syndrome: 8 Ways to Beat Your Facebook Addiction

Originally posted on May 13, 2008 @ 3:15 pm

The Mercedes Benz Driving Monk: Are You Like Him?

Mind, Mindfulness

I wanted to ask a quick question today. Are you like the monk in this commercial? Or are you like the other car driver? Take a look:

Some people go through work and life without giving any thought to the beings around them that they are affecting. Are you one of those people?

Originally posted on May 12, 2008 @ 2:34 pm

Concentration Boosting Foods: 5 Foods That Help You Concentrate and Focus at Work

Body, Mindfulness, Nutrition

Ginkgo biloba, ginseng, caffeine… there are a whole range of foods out there that are supposed to help us concentrate more. But do they really do anything? Do these substances really affect how well you can concentrate or how well you can retain information?

In this article I want to take a look at some foods that are commonly thought to help improve concentration and then look at whether they do anything at all.

Foods that help you concentrate and focus at work

1. Ginkgo Biloba


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Ginkgo Biloba is probably the most famous concentration food around. It is actually from the oldest tree species on the planet and is used to treat concentration problems, dementia, etc. The good thing about Ginkgo is that there are quite a few solid scientific studies that show that Ginkgo actually does work as a “brain herb”. The way it does this is by increasing blood flow to the brain and nourishing the cells and so on.

2. Ginseng


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Ginseng is probably the most famous Chinese herb and is derived from a Greek word which means “all healing”. According to ancient literature this herb will work wherever it is needed. If someone has a high temperature it will lower it. If you have a low temperature it will increase it.

Ginseng is also supposed to be good for concentration and memory function. Some studies have shown that the properties in some ginseng strands increased protein synthesis in the brain and thus concluded that it is good for memory and concentration. However, these studies were carried out in the 60’s and many believe they were flawed. Recent studies have shown that ginseng does absolutely nothing for energy, concentration or memory.

Ginseng has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. I have a lot of respect for this discipline and feel that there must be some benefits if these doctors continue to use it. Scientific studies are often very narrow and limited. If you are going to use ginseng I would suggest only doing so on a Chinese doctors recommendation.

3. Coffee


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Coffee. The most popular drug in the world. Millions of people around the world enjoy a cup of coffee every morning because they believe that it wakes them up and helps them stay alert and awake at work. And they are right. Coffee has caffeine and antioxidants that, when combined, improve alertness and as such concentration and better information retention.

However, recent studies have shown that the more often you drink coffee the less effective it can become. Doctors now say that it is better to have a cup when you feel like you need it and not have it every day just because it is a habit. This will ensure it wakes you up when you need it to.

4. Brahmi (Bacopa Monnieri)
Now this is one herb that I personally vouch for. I am not saying it is safe or effective for everyone, but it has worked for me.

Bacopa monneieri is an Indian Ayurvedic medical herb that is used to treat anxiety, stress and as an intelligence booster. It is said to improve concentration as well as nourishing the brain. And scientific studies (although rare) have supported this information. It has been shown to improve brain function.

I have been using it for about two month and have noticed a tangible difference in my stress levels, concentration ability and general wellbeing. Perhaps if you are after some of these benefits you might want to give it a go. Here is the brand I have been using.

5. Fish
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish as supposed to help improve your brain function over the long term. Like most of these substances, the effects usually take a long time to build up. Some foods will help you concentrate in the short term (coffee) and others take a long time (fish, brahmi, etc.).

The downside on eating fish is that the omega-3 rich fishes usually are those that live in the deep sea. These fish are nowadays often laced with mercury thanks to the pollution of the sea and are thus not all that healthy. For this and a few other personal reasons I rarely ever eat fish.

Conclusion

The subject of concentration foods is really tricky. Some people swear by them and other people say that it is all nonsense. The hard part is that the science is conflicting – there is no right or wrong answer. In situations like this we often have to turn to experience – testing it for ourselves.

Have you got any experience with these foods? Let us know.

top image:Creative Commons License photo credit: Electric Spam

Originally posted on May 12, 2008 @ 3:29 am