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7 Ways to Enhance Focus, Creativity, Productivity and Performance

7 Ways to Enhance Focus, Creativity, Productivity and Performance
Back in my corporate lawyer days, there was one guy who everyone hated. Not because he was mean or underhanded or cut-throat. He was actually quite nice and always willing to help. People hated him because he was good. While everyone else fretted and froze under the dizzying pace and pressure of the job, he seemed to always keep it together, to thrive and even come alive as the fire got hotter. He wasn’t an adrenaline junkie or cowboy. I used to wonder what he was doing differently. Because if it wasn’t genetic, if it was something that could be learned, I wanted to know. I never figured it out before I left the law. Turns out, there are a handful of things most super-performers do different that underlie or, at least substantially accelerate their success. Time for Mindset Domination Strategy #2. In part 1 of this series , we introduced the first of three little-known practices that turbo-charge your creativity, productivity and develop breakout problem-solving ability—Building In Space.

Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-Esteem In this incredibly competitive society of ours, how many of us truly feel good about ourselves? I remember once, as a freshman in college, after spending hours getting ready for a big party, I complained to my boyfriend that my hair, makeup, and outfit were woefully inadequate. He tried to reassure me by saying, “Don’t worry, you look fine.” Juan Estey “Fine? The desire to feel special is understandable. Not very well. How can we grow if we can’t acknowledge our own weaknesses? Continually feeding our need for positive self-evaluation is a bit like stuffing ourselves with candy. The result is often devastating. And of course, the goalposts for what counts as “good enough” seem always to remain out of reach. Another way So what’s the answer? When I first came across the idea of “self-compassion,” it changed my life almost immediately. I remember talking to my new fiancé, Rupert, who joined me for the weekly Buddhist group meetings, and shaking my head in amazement. An island of calm

Develop Perfect Memory With the Memory Palace Technique The Memory Palace is one of the most powerful memory techniques I know. It’s not only effective, but also fun to use — and not hard to learn at all. The Memory Palace has been used since ancient Rome, and is responsible for some quite incredible memory feats. Eight-time world memory champion Dominic O’Brien, for instance, was able to memorize 54 decks of cards in sequence (that’s 2808 cards), viewing each card only once. And there are countless other similar achievements attributed to people using the Memory Palace technique or variations of it. Even in fiction, there are several references to the technique. Of course, most of us are not in Dominic’s memory championship line of business (or in Hannibal’s line of business for that matter). The Memory Palace The Memory Palace technique is based on the fact that we’re extremely good at remembering places we know. 5 Steps to Use the Memory Palace Technique 1. First and foremost, you’ll need to pick a place that you’re very familiar with. 2.

Ten Principles To Live By In Fiercely Complex Times If you're like most people I work with in companies, the demands come at you from every angle, all day long, and you have to make difficult decisions without much time to think about them. What enduring principles can you rely on to make choices that reflect openness, integrity and authenticity? Here are ten that work for me: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Reprinted from Harvard Business Review Tony Schwartz is President and CEO of The Energy Project, a company that helps individuals and organizations fuel energy, engagement, focus, and productivity by harnessing the science of high performance.

You Mean Anything Is Possible? Once there was a man named Lester Levenson. This is true; I know former students of his. One day when he was in his early forties, doctors sent him home from the hospital, giving him only a few months to live. There was nothing to be done, they said. His heart was so weak he was instructed not even to tie his own shoelaces, lest the exertion cause him to drop dead. Now Lester, being a thinking kind of guy, decided he had been stupid to have gotten himself into this position. Within a few months Lester was completely healthy and, even more astounding, had attained a state of inner peace and happiness that he had not previously imagined possible, a state he called "imperturbability." Lester stands out for me for two reasons. Second, I recall a student of Lester's once explaining to me how he and his fellow students used to go about removing the self-imposed limitations of their own minds. Whoa, their minds would go. That's what I call the Possibility Principle at work.

How to Run Away from All Your Problems Do you want to run away from all your problems? I certainly have problems that I’d like to avoid. Problems are hurtful, distracting and agitating. Why wouldn’t I want to get as far away from them as possible? That feeling you get when a big crisis pops up is sickening. That’s why I recently set out to find the most used strategies for running away from problems. From my research, I found there are literally millions of people already using these techniques. 5 Ways to Run Away from All Your Problems If you want to ditch all your problems, then it does appear that you have a lot of company. Here are five common strategies I found to run away from our problems: 1. Probably one of the most common and promising strategies used to avoid problems is just to ignore them. Of course, as with all strategies, this one does have a potential gotcha. It seems that those that utilize this approach later experience a day of reckoning. I found this discovery to be quite upsetting. 2. 3. 4. 5. Photo by ????

Become Who You Want To Be - StumbleUpon 7 Ideas For Expanding Your Creativity and Comfort Zone Do you think outside the box? What does “thinking outside the box” even mean and why is it important? I believe the following definition I found on Answers.com explains it very well. Breaking away from traditional or conventional thought to develop a unique, superior solution to a difficult problem.~ Dictionary of Business Terms Wouldn’t you agree that we need people in this country to think outside the box to solve the issues we are facing? I have an idea! You are just as smart as the next person, but you’ve likely become stuck thinking just like everyone else. I’ve gathered up several great ideas that will help you expand your creativity and comfort zone so you can begin dreaming up superior solutions to our difficult problems! Time is wasting, so let’s get to it! 1. In Three Easy Ways to Expand Your Creativity, we are encouraged to push ourselves to expand our comfort zone by switching modalities. 2. We often kill creative ideas before we give them a chance. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Home Page This wiki is a collaborative environment for exploring ways to become a better thinker. Topics that can be explored here include MemoryTechniques, MentalMath, CriticalThinking, BrainStorming, ShorthandSystems, NotebookSystems, and SmartDrugs. Other relevant topics are also welcome. SiteNews Wiki Topics Mindhacker: The support page for the 2011 book by RonHaleEvans and MartyHaleEvans. MindPerformanceHacks: The support page for the 2006 book of the same name by RonHaleEvans. Easily memorize complex information - MemoryTechnique Do hard math in your head - MentalMath Improve your intelligence Think better Other pages What is a Wiki? A wiki is a web site built collaboratively by a community of users. Feel free to add your own content to this wiki. The Mentat Wiki is powered by Oddmuse, and hosted by the Center for Ludic Synergy.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant Halvorson Learn more about the science of success with Heidi Grant Halvorson’s HBR Single, based on this blog post. Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren’t sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. 1. To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. 3. Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. The good news is, if you aren’t particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. 7. To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you’d honestly rather not do. 8. 9.

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