Slow Down.
We often run around so fast that we lose contact with whom we really are. With e-mail, cell phones, faxes, meetings and schedules, we stop thinking, and become mere relays in our incredibly complex, ever evolving society. We collect data like a computer, hopefully process it well, and send it on to the party on-line or print it out with full instructions as to what we must do next. We rush through days, weeks, and years in a maelstrom of activities and we crash exhausted daily, only to wake up tired and stressed, facing another day of rushing though another day, late anxious, and behind schedule forever.
Learn to slow down. This does not mean that you accomplish less. It most likely will help you get more done in the long run. Slowing down means taking time to focus in on information you are receiving without distractions blurring the message. The more clear the communication the less chance for costly mistakes, and the less time lost in correcting them. Perfect communication is possible. It requires a strong commitment to be sure others present themselves to you at a pace with which you are comfortable, and be sure that you have clear, precise data to work with. Do this for those whom you communicate with to give them information. Knowing you are both speaking and listening with clarity will eliminate stress. Stress comes primarily from not knowing what you think you should know.
Do not overbook your time.
You will get much more done with higher quality results and enjoy better relations with all those you work with. In planning, allow enough time to accommodate delays. They will occur, and it is much more comfortable if you are not stressed out and devastated by delays.
Treat your brain as if it is a muscle.
It cannot be used well without periodic rest. Time out is the best way to guarantee a healthy mind. Meditation works for some. Music, yoga, walking, biking, and hiking can all do wonders for resting up an overworked brain. Use no distracting Walkman or telephone when relaxing your mind. Be with the moment. Learn to be comfortable alone with yourself, and your immediate environment. Physical exercise is very essential to a healthy mind. It raises circulation throughout the body and helps remove waste and provide extra oxygen throughout the body, brain included. This allows for regeneration.
Sleep.
Sleep allows the mind to sort through all the information it received during waking hours, and often collate it for us so we can awaken to find problem solutions, which were problems when we went to bed. Un-rested minds can distort information, and misread valuable clues about what is going on around us. We must each determine what our needs are. Adequate sleep is essential.
Our brains require pleasure.
They will function at a much higher level if we provide pleasant surroundings for ourselves. Music, pictures, adequate lighting, comfortable workplaces, and good relationships with fellow workers are essential at work. Good friends are essential all over, work and play.
When choosing a career, choose one that you believe in.
If you are a member of the Sierra Club and active in protecting our environment, don’t work for an oil company or a tobacco plant or a weapon manufacturer. Your mind recognizing all the damage they do worldwide, will create disease throughout your entire being. Work in a field that you are happy to be in, and it will help you greatly to have a healthy mind. This is a part of living holistically for a healthy mind.
Avoid all drugs.
Unless they are needed to sustain life (as insulin is for a diabetic) avoid all drugs. Foreign chemicals affect our minds in ways we never fully understand, so I use no drugs unless I feel they may be needed to save my life, as in case of a poisonous snakebite I would take anti-venom. Even supposedly innocuous aspirin can dissolve capillary walls if used excessively over long periods of time, and cause intestinal bleeding and macular degeneration that can lead to blindness. Once in our bloodstream, every substance not a part of our normal diet is a gamble. I do not drink, smoke, nor do drugs.
To contact Bob or to purchase copies of his book please email [email protected].
