10 Things You Can Do To Increase Your Mental Power

BY MICHAEL LIGUORI
Source: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-things-you-can-increase-your-mental-power.html

So you want to be mentally tough like the Spartan Warriors from the movie 300?

Yes, the legend of the Spartan Warriors is a prime example of being persevering despite the obstacles. Having their mental strength is a trait few have obtained through years of practice and pushing through boundaries.

Chances are, you won’t be a Spartan Warrior anytime soon. But if you want to think and increase your mental power like one, here are 10 things you can do to get started.

1. Have A Positive Mindset

When the going gets tough, the tough get going (think 80′s star Billy Ocean).

Difficult times are a chance to find out what we are truly made of. To start developing strong mental power, write down your goals and what you set to accomplish. Focus on obtaining these goals and believe they can be achieved. Having a positive mindset will give you the confidence needed to overcome any challenges you may face and get what you want in life. (Read:12 Toxic Thoughts You Need To Drop For A Better Life...)

2. Focus on What You Can Do, Not What Others Can Do.

There will be people in life who will do whatever they can to hold you back. They are envious of you and want what you have. If you spend your time on what they say or do, it takes away your focus on achieving your goals. That’s what they want. Ignore their opinions and stay on track by being present. Observe what is happening right now. The past is the past and the future is unknown. By staying present, you can focus on yourself and whats important now. (Read:  10 Things You Need To Drop To Stay Motivated)

3. Develop Short Term Memory Loss

So there is no mind eraser tool from Men In Black that can magically erase every defeat we have suffered.

Practicing short term memory loss though is beneficial to better mental power. In football, a great defensive player has to develop a case of “amnesia.” Players often get beat by their opponents and in order to play at a high level, they must shake off defeat and move on to the next play. This takes practice but can be a huge advantage for you. When you get beat, forget about it. Pick yourself up, dust off and move on to the next play. There is always another play.

4. Sit in Silence

In today’s world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with work and life. When feeling overwhelmed, a great sign of strong mental power is the ability to tune out the noise and sit in silence. It will help you view things differently with less emotion and ego. Create a space where you can sit in silence for 5 minutes a day. Turn off the electronics, sit comfortably, and focus on your breathing. You will find yourself feeling calm and relaxed during the session. As you continue to practice, work up to 30 minutes a day as you will gain more clarity and insight into your life.

Read more about the additional benefits of sitting in silence.

5. Practice Patience

They say patience is a virtue and boy it sure is. Today, we are so used to having things right now that we forget what it means to have patience and let things develop. So if you are in the middle of a project, in the beginning of dating someone, or starting a new workout program, trust the process. It’ll make it worthwhile because all good things come to those who wait.

6. Learn from Failures

We tend to see failure as the worst thing possible. But those with strong mental power see failure as a learning experience. Failure brings clarity to situations. We learn the most when we are not successful. If you have experienced failure, think about what you would have done differently and apply it to the next project.

If nothing else, everybody loves somebody who can do the worm.

7. Visualize the Win

Successful people with strong mental power are always looking to improve. They see failures as temporary setbacks, not career ending events. It starts with visualizing success. Imagine whatever you are doing whether its presenting a powerpoint deck or writing a novel and see that it will be successful. Envision giving a killer presentation or the book you wrote will be a best seller. It will boost your confidence and help you strive to achieve anything and everything you want in life.

8. Always Strive to Finish

We all have been here. We are at the gym and set the treadmill for 30 minutes but we end up jumping off halfway through because we don’t feel like finishing. We think completing half a workout is better than not doing anything at all.

Yes, it’s better to do something than nothing at all but if you want to increase mental power, you can not stop halfway through. It may not seem like a big deal but if you are finishing half way through a workout, what else are you stopping short of in other areas of your life? Next time you are headed to the gym or to work, set a goal that is obtainable. Jump on the treadmill and no matter how tired you are, finish the 30 minute session. A trademark of mentally strong people is that they never quit and finish no matter what. Always strive to finish.

9. Do Something Outside of Your Comfort Zone

We all have that one friend who is always looking for the next adventure. They suggest skydiving over the coastline, quitting your job to go backpacking in South America, or anything that brings on a rush.

And usually, we respond with this:

I don’t blame you for saying no but think about how many times you have said no to something new. While you don’t have to do something crazy like jumping out of a plane, its great for your personal growth to do something that makes you uncomfortable. A big part of increasing your mental power is pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Living comfortably can keep you from progressing as an individual and living the life you want to live.

So the next time your friend suggest a new adventure, say yes instead of no. You never know what may happen or who you will meet.

10. Enjoy the Ride

It is not about the destination but the journey. All things come to an end. What we will remember most are the hours we put into a new business idea, the time spent with friends that created memories and the struggles faced that have us sitting on top of the world.

Enjoy the ride folks. You only get to do it once.

These 5 Kinds of Songs for Work Will Increase Your Productivity

BY ELIZABETH ANDAL

Source: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/5-kinds-songs-that-will-increase-your-work-productivity.html

Music is a constant companion in everyday life. It is in every department store, most elevators, and in everybody’s homes. There are mixed feelings about the presence of music in the workplace, however, and it has been constantly debated that music can actually boost quality and productivity in the office. This debate has been in the minds of scientists for years, especially now in the age of personal music devices and customized playlists.

According to an article in ‘The Telegraph’, a company known as Mindlab International conducted a study which nine out of ten workers performed better in the presence of music.

“The take-home message is that music is a very powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their mental state, their emotional state – they’re going to become more positive about the work,” said Dr David Lewis, neuropsychologist and chairman of the company.

Not all kinds of music, however, are positive influences to the workplace. It is important to understand that the wrong types of music in the wrong situations can result in negative outcomes. It is all about understanding the types of music that can influence your productivity in positive ways. Everybody is different, so it is also important to remember that unique individuals will not respond the same way to certain types of music.

That being said, there are types of music that will work best in work settings, according to scientific evidence.

1. Bass-heavy, empowering music that will inspire you to be more confident and energetic at work.

Research conducted in 2005 for the journal Psychology of Music’ found that the positive emotions created by empowering music may influence the way in which cognitive material is organized, thus influencing the worker’s creativity. Participants exposed to positive music demonstrated a higher level of creative problem solving than whose who had been exposed to neutral or negative stimuli.

According to ‘Medical Daily’, research recommends listening to empowering music before important meetings or other scenarios which require confidence. However it is recommended that exposure to this type of music for empowering purposes should be had before tasks and during breaks. Although it can increase confidence and energy levels, it can be extremely distracting if exposed to in the wrong situations.

A team of academics from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management found that one of the highest voted songs for empowering music included “We Will Rock You”  by Queen:

2. Constant, ambient music with no lyrics that will allow better work pacing.

For repetitive work that requires focus but does not involve much high-cognitive function, energetic and repetitive music has has been found to assist pacing for work tasks throughout the day. Research has shown that removing the ambient music has found a lowered quality of work and prolonged time spent on tasks than intended. This type of music is also perfect for increasing alertness and focus. Songs recommended for this type of work should have a constant, non-complex rhythm.

This song has been found to be one of the most relaxing tunes ever:

3. Classical music that will reduce stress and improve moods.

Research has found that music has the ability to relax the body and mind. Classical music holds several benefits towards psychological functions, such as a slower pulse and heart rate, lowered blood pressure and a lowered level of stress hormones. Research has found that such music can reduce burnout in nursing students, who are required to perform extremely stressful tasks. Stress and negative moods can cause a major road block in productivity. For particularly stressful jobs, ambient classical music can relax the nerves and improve moods, consequently allowing better concentration and work ethic.

After all, it has been found that music-enhanced cognitive performance is a by-product of mood and arousal.

Have a listen to Beethoven’s “Fidelio Overture”:

4. Mozart, which can improve learning and memory skills.

The processing of music shares some of the pathways in the brain as memory. The University of California conducted a study exposing students to recordings of Mozart compared with relaxation tapes or silence. It was found that student test scores improved after exposure to Mozart’s music, as compared to the other sounds. This is known, not surprisingly, as “The Mozart Effect”. For a mental boost at work, especially concerning tasks that involve a great deal of thinking and remembering, it might be worth revisiting some music by the famous child prodigy.

I’m sure we can all identify Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”:

5. Pop music that will speed up data entry tasks.

The study conducted by Mindlab found that participants exposed to pop music completed data entry tasks 58% quicker than those who had no music at all. In terms of spell-checking, pop music has been described as the best genre for fastest overall performance, with an additional 14% decrease in error occurrence.

Nothing can speed up tasks than beats such as “Treasure” performed by Bruno Mars: