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by Rick Baker
On Sep 28, 2015
Spirited definitions...
Attention is when interest is captured.
Concentration is when Attention is narrowed.
Focus is when Concentration is intensified.
***
Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Attention
- the act or power of carefully thinking about, listening to, or watching someone or something
- notice, interest, or awareness
- special care or treatment
Concentration
- the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity
- the ability to concentrate
- the act of giving your attention to a single object or activity
- a large amount of something in one place
Focus
- a subject that is being discussed or studied
- the subject on which people's attention is focused
- a main purpose or interest
- a point at which rays of light, heat, or sound meet or from which they move apart or appear to move apart
- the point at which an image is formed by a mirror, a lens, etc.
by Rick Baker
On Sep 9, 2015
"When you chase your tail ‘literally’, you get dizzy and exhausted; when you chase your tail ‘figuratively’, you get distracted and confused."
That thought came to me recently while I was watching a documentary about dogs and their relationships with humans. Apparently, humans bred certain dogs – in effect humans genetically re-engineered the dogs – so the dogs possessed genes that enabled them to be better hunters. For some of these dogs, the genetic changes got out of control and one of the repercussions is some dogs chase their tails excessively… much like a dog could behave if it had obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some dogs spend most of their free time chasing their tails…to the point of their utter exhaustion and human’s annoyance/frustration. To remedy the tail-chasing problem, dogs are being medicated with Prozac [an anti-depressant that, for some people and dogs, reduces anxiety].
I’ve always wondered what drives some dogs to make a habit of chasing their tails.
Now, I have another possible explanation to keep in mind.
And now, I'm thinking if humans had tails then we would see some humans chasing their tails just like dogs do. And, no doubt some of these humans would end up receiving prescriptions for Prozac and other medications.
But, we know humans do not have tails so they cannot ‘literally’ chase their tails at this point in time. However, humans can and do chase their tails ‘figuratively’.
And…
"When you chase your tail ‘literally’, you get dizzy and exhausted; when you chase your tail ‘figuratively’, you get distracted and confused."
by Rick Baker
On Aug 31, 2015
For achievement, three qualities of mind rise above the others: intelligence, drive, and self-control.
There are two types of intelligence: cognitive and emotional.
Drive is all about energy...required to sustain thought, action, and 'the body'.
Self-control draws on the decisions of intelligence and the energy stoked by drive...self-control is about self-direction of thought and the actions that follow thought.
Willpower is a synonym for self-control*.
Willpower is elite mind-work…challenging mind-work.
Willpower converts mind-energy into Achievement.
Achievement is subjective. Achievement provides the measuring stick for Success. Each person uses his or her intelligence to define the Achievement required to obtain the Success he or she desires. This applies to individual/single tasks. This also applies to long-term goals. Willpower may or may not be called upon to perform individual/single tasks: for enjoyable tasks [such as hobbies] little or no willpower is required; for challenging tasks willpower will be used to expand and maintain concentration; for boring tasks willpower will be used to improve focus and concentration.
Willpower will definitely be called upon to achieve long-term goals. In summary:
- We use our intelligence to create our long-term goals
- We draw on the our drive energy to fuel the thought and action required to meet our long-term goals
- We call upon willpower/self-control to direct our thoughts and actions toward our long-term goals
When we call upon our willpower it consumes energy, converting mind-energy into Achievement and, over time, into Success.
To achieve long-term goals we must attend to our energy levels: taking steps to build it, taking steps to avoid things that waste it, and taking steps to ensure a good portion of it goes to fuel willpower.
* Some describe willpower in terms of 'soul' and 'spirit'. Not wanting to dwell too much in the metaphysical...there is no question willpower is a special thing, closely tied to the human condition.
by Rick Baker
On Aug 11, 2015
First of all, this is not going to be about breaking bad habits. It's going to be about replacing bad habits. If you insist on breaking bad habits then I’d suggest you use good-old-fashioned interrogation tactics like tying them to a chair, depriving them of water and nourishment, shining bright lights in their eyes, and beating them into submission. But, breaking bad habits - that’s a topic for another day.
About replacing Bad Habits…
If you want to replace your bad habits then the first step is to understand everyone has habits. Then you must understand, one way or another, everyone fills up all the time in their lives. And, for the vast majority of people the time available to them [the time in their lives] is filled with habits – habits of thought and habits of action. People's time is for the most part filled with either thoughts or actions...nothing more, nothing less.... just thoughts and actions.
To the extent people’s thoughts and actions are aligned with their long-term goals the thoughts and actions are ‘good’. To the extent people’s thoughts and actions are not aligned with their long-term goals the thoughts and actions are ‘bad’. At least, that's our definition.
Should you be thinking, right now, that some of your thoughts and actions have nothing to do with long-term goals then you must conclude those questionable thoughts and actions are ‘bad’, because chances are very high they are ‘bad’ [rather than ‘good’]. In those rare instances when you are trying something ‘new’ – when you are experimenting with new thoughts or actions – you should see those thoughts and actions as ‘new things’…’new things’ waiting to be categorized as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Regardless, you are primarily a creature of habits and most of your thoughts and actions are either ‘bad habits’ or ‘good habits’. For most people, ‘bad habits’ outmuscle ‘good habits’ and consume most of their owner’s time…for some reason, it is easier to slip into and to repeat habits when they are on the ‘bad’ side of our long-term goals.
Generally, ‘bad habits’ consume the vast majority of people’s time. That’s why the vast majority of people fail to achieve their claimed long-term goals.
For successful people, good habits occur for a sufficient amount of time to bring about the achievement of long-term goals.
When you consider your time, your thoughts, and your actions this way you can quickly see that success happens when people are able to keep their ‘bad habits’ under control and maximize the amount of time they spend doing ‘good habits’.
The key, as most self-help gurus confirm, is the learn how to replace your ‘bad thoughts’ with ‘good thoughts’.
The framework, is described above:
- Set some long-term goals because, without them, you will have no ‘good habits’
- Monitor your thoughts and classify them as either ‘good’ or bad’
- Work at replacing your ‘bad thoughts’ with ‘good thoughts’. This will require much practice…more than learning to ride a bicycle…more than mastering piano playing…more than pumping up 18” biceps. After all, we are talking about your wonderfully-complex brain here.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 27, 2015
Willpower: that's when the brain, through conscious thought, forces/guides the body to behave in ways that lead toward [are consistent with] long-term goals.
Willpower requires two things:
- will &
- power
Science tells us power is the rate of doing work. And, we all know work takes effort, consumes energy, is hard to do relative to other things.
The human brain cannot perform negative thoughts and exercise willpower at the same time. Since willpower is tough to do and negative thinking is easy to do the brain favours negative thinking. So - the slightest amount of negative thought energy has the ability to totally displace willpower. This is how your negative thoughts kill your willpower.
They key to exercising willpower is learning how to nip negative thoughts in the bud.
In order to nip negative thoughts in the bud, you need a plan & a process. I suppose there are many ways to go about nipping negative thoughts in the bud. However, I have only found one that works for me. I find two things must be done before I can nip negative thoughts in the bud:
- Stillness: I must stop moving and remain as still as possible for, at least, a short period of time.
- Silence: I must be silent and, to the extent possible, be in a quiet environment.
I have found Stillness & Silence provide the best opportunity to monitor thoughts. When I monitor my thoughts I can quickly determine my negative thoughts. They show us as worries, anxieties, and little stresses and strains and they do not take me toward my desired goals. My negative thoughts are trouble-causing servants of my Ego. They are the signals of my bad habits and the catalysts that drive my bad habits. They reduce my ability to achieve my desired goals.
Only after negative thoughts are identified and recognized as negative can they be removed. Negative thoughts come to us so naturally and are very easy to do...so it can be difficult, or seem difficult, to remove them. With practice, difficult things become easy. Practice improves the ability to remove unwanted thoughts.
When we remove our negative thoughts we pave the path for our willpower. Actually, we partially pave the path. Willpower will never walk on easy paths. Willpower can come easier...but never easy. Willpower will always require 'will', which is a good habit that takes hold when you have and practice a plan and a process. Willpower will always require 'power', which can only exist when negative thoughts are removed.
by Rick Baker
On Nov 25, 2014
You too can be too busy.
All you need to do is brainwash yourself.
Keep repeating: "I'm too busy, I'm too busy, I'm too busy".
Neuroscience advancements in the area of neuroplasticity confirm this simple repetition of "I'm too busy, I'm too busy, I'm too busy" will really help you self-brainwash. With science supporting your efforts, indeed, you can experience the realities of an I'm-too-busy life.
So - while you still have some time - get at it.
Don't just give it a little lip service. Dig deep. Repeat, repeat, repeat: "I'm too busy, I'm too busy, I'm too busy".
Don't be shy. Crank up the volume as you share your message with anyone who will listen.
And, there is even more good news. If you want to hasten the onslaught of an altogether I'm-too-busy life, lace your repetitions with powerful emotions...like fear and anxiety. That will ensure you enjoy the full power of self-talk, also known as autosuggestion.
Simply put, the key to becoming too busy is: voice loud, emotional, and repeated proclamations of "I'm too busy, I'm too busy, I'm too busy".
I am confident you will put this I'm-too-busy strategy to good use.
Good luck with it.
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