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Training Your Mind

tyrese-morgan

Did you know that you can workout your mind just as you do your body?

Everyone knows that consistent exercise keeps you physically fit, but there isn’t as much of a cultural focus on the importance of training your mind — something I have grown to be very passionate about.

I have always been a fan of listening to motivational messages by speakers and podcasters, especially in the morning since your brain is operating at 10.5 wave cycles per second from the moment you wake up until 20 minutes after.  This means that whatever you are “feeding” your brain within the first 15-20 minutes after you wake up can affect your entire day.

Therefore, by listening to these positive and inspirational messages day after day right when you wake up, you can actually condition your mind to become more focused, motivated and goal-oriented.  How cool is that?

Furthermore, just as the time of day that you listen to these messages are important, the content you are consuming are equally, if not more, significant to changing the way you think. Just as doing 100 pushups incorrectly won’t do you as good as 50 pushups done correctly – quality over quantity.

There is no “trick” to being successful, just as there isn’t a quick fix diet pill that can help you improve your weight, patience and consistency are key.

With that being said, below are some of my favorite motivational speakers to listen to when reprograming my mind for success:

Les Brown

Earl Nightingdale

Gary Vee

Simon Sinek

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Do Not Listen With The Intent To Reply – But With The Intent To Understand

I recently  finished reading the book Twenty-Two Letters, recommended and lended to me by a close friend – and boy, was it an eye-opener!

The stories were inspiring, because I often found myself imagining what it would be like if I were in any of the situations described. This led to a deeper mikala-morgan-central-park-nyc-2018understanding – then appreciation for the characters in the book, which reminded me of why listening to others is not just important, but necessary.

Everyone has a story of their own and one of the most valuable life lessons that I have learned so far is the act of simply listening – without the intent of replying but understanding.

Sounds simple, yet the digital-first society that we live in has made the very act of listening seem like a time-consuming and unrealistic task.

However, I think mindfully listening is one of the best skills that anyone can possess.

You will never agree with what everyone has to say – that’s human nature – but by taking the time to hear their side, their story and their reasonings you might just surprise yourself with a more observant mind, better patience and heightened gratitude.

MM

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18 Little Things To Start Doing Now If You Want To Be Ahead Of Everyone Else In 10 Years

Mikala Morgan_TwentiesBy: Brianna Wiest, Via: Thought Catalog

1. Be friends with different types of people. Don’t insulate your worldview by only socializing with those who are fundamentally the same as you.

2. Read. Do you know how few people are reading anything other than a few lines of an article here and there? Few. Do you know why it matters? Because a book you read in a few days this week can change the way you think about something for decades to come.

3. Question yourself, and honor your doubt. People who aren’t secure enough to do this stagnate.

4. Be willing to live the way other people won’t, so you can live the way other people can’t.

5. Learn how to cook things you enjoy more than you enjoy ordering out.

6. Learn how to budget your money in a way that makes you feel responsible and liberated, not restricted.

7. Put away a bit of money each month, however much you can afford (and don’t worry if there are setbacks along the way). Compounded interest is no joke.

8. Take on a side gig exclusively for the sake of that savings account. It will be exhausting for a while, but you’ll come out with new skills and the peace of mind that comes from having a fiscal cushion.

9. Get addicted to healthy pain. The kind that comes from clocking in hours of practice or maneuvering through the discomfort of training your mind to focus on one task until it’s complete. The more you channel your pain into something productive, the less you’ll be tempted to ruminate.

10. Get comfortable admitting when you’re wrong. There is no failure in making mistakes. There is failure in making mistakes and having too much pride to fix them.

11. Clean out your space, then work on adopting an attitude of “enough.” Do you really want to spend the next 10 years accumulating things? No, you don’t. Imagine what else all of that money and time and worry could have gone toward.

12. Only put things on your credit card that you will be able to remember in 3 months from now. If you look at how much is due and can’t remember what you spent it on, it was nothing worthwhile.

13. Do your soul-searching. Make lists of what you like and what you dislike; what you value and what you don’t; what you’re skilled at and what you’re not. Start cohering an idea of who you fundamentally are, but allow yourself to be open to that idea changing over time.

14. Reflect on your life, and ask yourself what your single most compelling motive is. Construct your narrative about it carefully – the way you justify your past actions will become your philosophy for future ones.

15. If you commit to nothing else, commit to a daily routine that consists of actions that, over time, will lead you to where you want to be.Mikala Morgan_Blog

16. Do things intentionally. Date intentionally. Work intentionally. Don’t let your life be a series of mindless, random actions that just seemed nice at the time, but are ultimately meaningless.

17. Take yourself as seriously as you want the world to. Behave accordingly.

18. Scrap it all and start over as many times as you need to. There’s no shame in not getting it right, there is, however, a lot of self-loathing that comes from knowing better, but not having the courage to do better. TC mark

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10 Secret Tricks, Tools And Cool Features Hiding In Google

Via: Torapath Technologies

If you use Google for searching the web, you’re going to love these 10 features, available to everyone that you probably didn’t know about. The best way to find these is to simply search for the item in Google.

  1. 10 Secret Tricks Hiding in GoogleGoogle’s Dictionary Extension for Chrome. Add this plug-in and you can highlight words on a web page to look them up and see how they’re pronounced without leaving the page!
  2. Google Forms. Need to create a quick survey? Poll your friends on where to go to dinner? Collect RSVP information to organize a party? Google Forms will allow you to do all of this quickly and for free.
  3. Google Keep. This free productivity app is similar to Evernote, allowing you to keep lists, web pages, documents and information organized on the web and on your smartphone.
  4. Google Public Data Explorer. This free application makes large datasets (like world development indicators or unemployment statistics) easy to explore, visualize and communicate.
  5. Google Fonts. Want a unique font to use on your web site? This public database of typefaces is free and offers a myriad of font choices and selections.
  6. Google Mortgage Calculator. Want to know if that new house is within your budget? Google mortgage calculator can quickly calculate a monthly payment for your home for free.
  7. Google Sky. For my fellow “trekkies” and sci-fi fans, check out Google Sky. From this page you can view celestial objects, including stars, galaxies, planets and tons of other cool photos taken from space.
  8. Google Unit Conversions. Need to convert kilometers into miles or vice versa? Just type in “unit converter” and Google will pop up a web-based converter that will do the math for you in seconds.
  9. Google Flight Tracker. Type in any flight number and Google will report its status.
  10. AdBlock. This is the most popular Chrome extension out there. AdBlock, which works in Chrome, Opera and Firefox, will remove banner advertisements that can make reading some sites difficult.