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Take a Mini-Break, Meditate when Tired or Sick

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Take a Mini-Break,
Meditate when Tired or Sick

Meditation mini-breaks truly work wonders when you are completely whipped. This meditation tip can be a life saver!

Most of us with busy lives have experienced occasions where we are very, very tired but have an unavoidable event planned in a few minutes like going out for the evening or giving a presentation or finishing a tough project. Besides the misery there is sometimes even a concern about getting sick from pushing things so hard.

Once you have learned how to meditate (see below) it is surprising how rejuvenating a 10-15 minute meditation break can be. Sometimes as short a 5 minutes will work but it usually takes us longer.

Among other things meditation is a form of deep relaxation. When very tired we have found that it is quite easy to get into a deep state of meditation, much easier than usual. Within 5 minutes the outside world completely disappears and we fall into an almost unconscious state (perhaps sleep or something deeper). It’s good to have a cell phone alarm to “wake” you up.

Upon waking we usually find ourselves deeply refreshed and ready to go! As an aside, there have been occasions when it felt like a bad sore throat was coming and after 10 minutes of meditation that sick feeling disappeared.

This meditation tip works much better than the same short amount of sleep. We couldn’t have gotten to sleep so fast and it would have been nowhere so deep or refreshing.

We’ve tried this tip many times and it almost always works. As a caveat you obviously should learn how to meditate first; that’s not very hard but you will need a little practice.

How to Meditate

You only need to do this simple form of meditation for a few minutes to feel relaxed, refreshed and refocused.  “It involves relaxing and focusing on your breathing.  Set a timer for three minutes and close your eyes.  Then, take slow, deep breaths.  Concentrate on each inhalation and exhalation, and ignore all other thoughts.”   For more  suggestions on how to meditate see Meditation Breathing Exercises.

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Meditation Tip to Help You Sleep When You Can’t

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Meditation Tip
to help you sleep when you can’t

What to do when jangled nerves keep you awake and you just can’t get to sleep? Sometimes this happens to me in the middle of the night which can mean staying awake for several hours no matter how tired I am.

What works for me is to meditate.  I’ve found that about 20 minutes of meditation while lying down in bed is the right amount; shorter doesn’t seem to work. I’m not trying to sleep but am meditating and, as usual, have a timer set to let me know when time is up.

After meditation my mind is always much calmer. This allows me to naturally fall asleep within 5-10 minutes without seriously trying. I was already tired and once the nervous jangle is gone sleep comes easily.

I’ve also tried meditating when sick in bed. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, probably because it is daytime and I’m not tired. If it doesn’t work I will meditate again later, typically 3-5 times/day when sick and have nothing better to do.

This may not work if you’ve never practiced meditation before … but it sure does for me.  That may be why you should learn to meditate too. 🙂

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Practical Affirmation Tip from Tools of Titans

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A Very Practical Affirmation Tip
from Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris

This positive affirmation tip worked big for Scott Adams, creator of the famous Dilbert comic strip:
“All you do is you pick a goal and you write it down 15 times a day in some specific sentence form, like ‘I, Scott Adams, will become an astronaut,’ for example. And you do that every day.”

Scott credits that simple tip with amazing results when he used the following positive affirmations:
“I will become a number-one best selling author” … when he had never written a book,
“I, Scott Adams, will speak perfectly” … after losing his voice,
“I, Scott Adams will become a famous cartoonist” … when he was an unknown.

Scott says the exact method of repeating the affirmation doesn’t matter. What matters is the focus and commitment you have to that focus. For example the “speak perfectly” affirmation was done in his head while driving, but continuously for about 3 years.

What matters is what you pay attention to and spend the most energy on. Steady persistent attention, intention, energy and repetition impress your mind and, if done right, can make it a goal seeking dynamo.

That is what you are after … a deep impression which unconsciously guides you towards your goal.  Once your mind and memory are focused on a very specific mental equivalent you will start (1) believing it’s possible & creating the environment for same, (2) noticing relevant opportunities in your environment and (3) moving both consciously & unconsciously towards the end result.

 

By the way, since affirmations are messages to the brain they need to be stated in simple ways that make it easy for the brain to embrace.  Use these three rules when you create a positive affirmation.

  • Always in the present tense.
  • Only positive words.
  • Expressed as simple statements of fact and truth.

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How to Stop Watching TV the Easy Way

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How to Stop Watching TV
the Easy Way … use RAIN

Here is a serious but easy way to stop watching network TV using the acronym RAIN.

  • R – Recognize: The next time you find yourself starting to watch TV notice what’s happening.
  • A – Allow:  Don’t fight it.  Accept what’s happening.
  • I – Investigate:  Instead, right (1) before you start and (2) after you stop and think about how you feel at the moment, what preceded it, and what will follow.  E.g.,  After you are through you might note that you felt it was a waste of time since the shows found were lousy and 40% of what you saw were ads.
  • N – Note:  Make a point of taking and remembering a few key mental notes (e.g., couldn’t find a decent show, 40% ads) so that you can recall them later as you study similar instances in the future.

What you will find is that your inner self will eventually figure out what is beneficial to you and what is not. If you study the patterns carefully you will automatically develop over time a distaste for things which your inner self begins to realize, deep inside, do not benefit you.

This tip definitely works for network TV; I’ve tried it. RAIN is scientifically based and works for many other cravings as well. For more details see RAIN.

Related Sources & Links    top

  • Tips Overview – More of our best tips
  • How To Conquer Unhealthy Cravings
  • The Craving Mind by Judson Brewer, M.D., Ph.D. & Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness – Discusses RAIN and other modern research about breaking bad habits. Chapter 1 is the source of most of the material in this article and the page numbers shown are from this book.
  • Ted Talk – Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Notice the urge, get curious, feel the joy of satisfying your curiosity, then repeat. I.e., Become a detective.
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just SMILE — #1 tip to feel better

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just SMILE!
our #1 tip to feel better

smile-cat-1b240Just SMILE is truly a great tip. It’s easy, fast, free, and the results are immediate. Read on for how and why this tip works.  Then read our smile bonus tips further below.

It turns out that your body is so closely tied to your emotions that even if you fake a smile it will make you feel better. While scientists argue about the value of fake smiles most all agree that a genuine smile has real physiological and social benefits.

But what really matters is how smiling works for you! My personal experience is that repeatedly making big smiles to myself almost always helps improve my mood. This practice also makes it quicker and easier to smile at others which also affects your environment.

Here are some suggestions for practicing smiling at yourself:

  • Practice making what scientists call  a Duchenne smile, a genuine smile named for the researcher who first identified it. The muscles around the eyes are activated as indicated by raised cheeks, squinted eyes, and crows-feet wrinkles around the eyes.
  • When you feel good, give yourself a big enthusiastic Duchenne smile.
  • Every time you look into a mirror give yourself a giant smile. This is a good thing to do as you get ready in the morning.
  • Luckily you don’t need to worry about looking stupid when giving yourself giant smiles. So, practice them on yourself and also practice improving the smile you want others to see.  These two smiles may be closer than you think.
  • Practice your smile when you need a quick “pick me up.”
  • When you feel bad, practice making big genuine smiles to help turn your mood around. This often works for me.
  • When you happen to think about it practice smiling. It doesn’t take any effort and builds the habit.

Here are some suggestions for practicing smiling at others:

  • Make smiling a habit. For example, smile when greeting others, saying goodbye, saying thank you, when interacting with babies, and so on.
  • Always be ready to smile back in case someone smiles at you.
  • Observing the effects of your smiles on others makes for an interesting on-going experiment. One way to experiment is by smiling at safe strangers, such as a waiter or a friendly person on the street. Watch closely how others, especially friendly effective people, use smiles in their daily life.
  • Give extra smiles as a gift to anyone who might need one. If in doubt just go ahead and smile. My experience is that even if people don’t respond the first or second time (they are surprised) they often eventually turn from glum strangers into smiling friends.
  • Practice your smile in preparation for when you need to use it on someone important. Low-pressure practice makes high-pressure situations easier.

So, do yourself a big favor and give this smiling tip a serious test. Smile. 🙂

If this information works for you as well as it does for me then it could be one of the best tips you have ever received.

Bonus just Smile Tips

  • Make a habit of smiling to yourself every time you notice something you like and every time you notice yourself feeling good.   Start practicing a big easy smile, hopefully many times a day.  It will improve your base attitude and make other people like you more.
  • Make a big smile at yourself every time you see a reflection of yourself, e.g., in your bathroom mirror.  After all, you should be your own best friend and friends appreciate your smile.  You don’t have to be embarrassed to over do it since no one else will see … and it will eventually make it easier to make big easy smiles to others when appropriate.

Related Links    top

  • Tips Overview – More of our best tips
  • Science Fair Project about discerning fake versus genuine Duchenne smiles.
  • Stress Busting Smiles – Wall Street Journal Article
  • Michael Anthony Self Confidence Tapes – Anthony says you can’t experience a negative emotion when you smile, even if it is a fake smile, due to the body-mind feedback loop.
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