Cluttered Mind – Get Rid Of The Big Hurdle Between You And Success

A cluttered mind is very well explained by Lord Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa – It is like a man sailing in a boat which is tied to the shore. We sometimes tie ourselves and cry for help.  It is all in our mind. Let us unwind it  and successfully chase that ever elusive success. 🙂 

Setting the aims clearly and correctly

To go to Mumbai, the first requirement is to know that we need to go to Mumbai, right? Sometimes we do not know what we really want to do. Sometimes we are not very clear about the steps involved.

Let us first set our goals, chalk down the steps involved in achieving it, set up small goals and work on them on a daily basis. Feel good about the small achievements and be happy that we are moving in the right direction, towards our goals.

Get rid of self imposed superstitions  

This day is a good day. This is the right time. Let us just do it today and right now.

Let us talk to people 

This one is my disadvantage. I just do not feel like picking the phone, dialing the numbers and talk to people.  Steve Jobs advises to never hesitate to talk to people to get help. see here (video)

Let us stop finding fault in others 

Let us not waste our precious time in judging others, let us not ‘predict’ how bad someone’s future would be, let us not blame others, let us stop complaining. Let us concentrate on ourselves and our future.

Super quotes or super images

Let us have some inspiring quotes or images as our screensaver, wall paper or on the wall of our bed room or at our workplace, something that would make you stand up. That thing which would make you horripilate, makes blood gush into your brain. The image can be of someone whom you admire. If you are not getting anything, just search for ‘success’, or ‘inspiration’ etc in google image search. You might get something which would push you forward.

Being ever ready to do everything

Let us be in a ‘ready’ state of mind. Ready to do anything right now.

• going to market to buy vegetables,
• write to your friend,
• ping your buddy on facebook,
• attend to that office file,
• prepare that power-point presentation,
• talk to your boss,
• take kids to garden.

Let your mind not say that ‘this is not the right time to do it’. Let us not get bogged down to ‘ooh I am tired, lets do that tomorrow, not now please..’

Divine Park infers this ever-readiness to concentration of mind.

Making the most of the time when you are super strong

In a day, you will have a couple of hours when you are so physically and mentally strong that you can crush a mountain. For most of us, it is in the morning hours, but it may differ from one person to the other. Just make sure to do the hardest work related to your profession in those hours. You will cover longer distance for lesser fuel.

A question before finishing any work

Before finishing any work,  let us just take a second to introspect. Ask yourself questions –  is there anything that I am missing? How can it be done better? etc.

Enjoy anxiety! 

Do you feel a little uneasy just before you talk to your boss, before trying a new food recipe, before entering the stage for performance?  I just love those little uneasy moments. I feel that anxiety before I sit to write any article. That anxiety helps me to push harder, to go for the best, to go for the kill. Enjoy the anxiety, prepare well for the task and enjoy unlimited benefits that you reap after you successfully finish the task.

It is positive anxiety. Or looking at the anxiety in us, in a positive way.

I have read somewhere – “If you are not anxious while doing something, you are doing it wrong.”

A few measures to get rid of a cluttered mind

• Pranayama – Helps to keep the mind clear of unwanted thoughts. Learn a simple pranayama technique
• Prayer – Brings about positive attitude
• Getting up early – According to Ayurveda, waking up early in the morning boosts confidence.
• Cluttered desk cluttered mind – Let us keep our surroundings neat. That helps to train the mind. 
• Ayurvedic medical help – There are a few Ayurvedic herbs like Brahmi, which help to treat a cluttered mind. Consult your Ayurvedic doctor for the same.

Mental luggage

What can I do to uncomplicate my and de-clutter my mind? 
Answer by Dr JV Hebbar: 
There is a book called Shoe Dog – The biography of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike (A wonderful book by the by. Though it’s a biography, it reads like a novel. I think you should read it. Amazon link).   

Initially when Phil Knight and his coach started the company, they were striving to cut off even 10 grams from the shoes. Their hypothesis was, if you are running a marathon, that 10 grams can become very heavy and could cut down your running speed.
The shoe story is true in real life too. If you carry excess luggage (in your body / mind), running the marathon of life becomes increasingly difficult day by day. 

Mental luggage that we carry all the time – 
1. Fights over politics that we do on social media. 
Remedy: Unfollow politics pages. 

2. Distractions of news, in newspapers and social media. 
Remedy: But for the news regarding your city, such as coronavirus rules update etc., most of the news that you read is not useful beyond one day period. 
For example, Donald Trump once tweeted “Covfefe” It was a misspelling. How much of this news makes a difference to your life? Nil. 
Stop reading all those news which are not useful to you beyond that day. 

3. Too many friends. 
You only need 5 – 10 friends who watch your back and you watch their backs. Rest all are excess. You need not ditch the rest of them totally. Just maintain good distance from them. 

This rule also applies to facebook / instagram friends. Unfriend those whom you do not know or barely know. 

4. Netflix / tv shows – 
Its okay to spend 30-60 minutes a day for entertainment. But if your Netflix binge is tending towards infinity, time to control yourself. 

5. Too many online chat groups in whatsapp, snapchat, facebook discussion groups etc. 
At least once a month, you should be thinking deeply about leaving unnecessary groups. 

Always remember. Lesser the luggage, faster the journey, quicker we reach our lifegoals. 
The most valuable asset of our lives = “time”. 
The most important mental theme that I will be working on this year is “focus”.