I challenge you to Shut Up !!!

“Shut Up !!!”

Sounds kinda rude, doesn’t it? But when’s the last time you actually did Shut Up? I don’t mean just keep quiet… I mean go really quiet.

Here’s a quick 1-minute test. Go on.. do it. I’m betting you’ll fail.

Close your eyes and try thinking of “NOTHING” for just one minute. Don’t let any thoughts enter your head… think of nothing. Sounds easy? Go ahead… do it.

******* Waiting for you to try this one out ********

Well… what happened? If you’re honest, you’ll tell me that it was hard. If you actually did it, my sincere compliments. For the majority (and this means over 99% of you) who couldn’t do it, here’s why you couldn’t.We live in some pretty screwed up times. We have demands being placed on us right from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. We have to work, play, communicate… we have social engagements, our cellphones are ringing, we’re under pressure from all sides.

“Do you “ever” relax? I don’t think so… How often have you been thinking about work while you’re showering or sitting in a hot tub? I’m telling you… we’re a mess.So what happens to our minds while its fighting multiple battles all at once? It gets scattered in a million different directions. As a result, Nobody’s Home. What that means is that we have no idea of who we are. There is a person inside us that we’ve never spoken with. We’ve never been calm… at peace… and most importantly… Alone.

I know from personal experience that if you can push yourself to do this exercise for 5 minutes, you’ll discover things about yourself that a $400/hr shrink can’t tell you. More importantly, you’ll find it easier to focus on what’s important in your life. Why? Because you’ve learned to control your mind.Your mind is like a sugar-crazed 4 year old kid… out-of-control and running around in all directions, screaming at the top of his voice. Now imagine your life being controlled by that kid. Doesn’t sound very nice, does it? The decision you have to make is to either have your mind as your oppresive master or an obedient servant. You call, my friend.

My personal target is to do this for 30 minutes. I have only reached 8 minutes so far, so I have a lot of work to do. But I’d love to hear what you have to say about your progress. And the best way is to leave me a comment or write to me at speakingseth@gmail.com

Till the next time…

Cheers!

Seth

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Stop behaving like an Elephant !!!

Anyone ever say that to you? If not, I’m glad I did.

Like it or not, we all have behaved like an elephant at some time or the other. Trouble is… most of us do it every single day ! Here’s what it means…

In India, when the baby elephants are very small, they’re tied with the thickest, strongest rope to the biggest possible tree in the jungle. Over the weeks, the baby elephant bites, tugs, pulls at the rope in an effort to free himself. Obviously, he doesn’t succeed. After a couple of months, the elephant gives up and is now ready to be taken into the workforce.

Fast forward to a few years ahead. You’ll see the biggest tuskers tied with the tiniest of ropes to a weakling of a tree in the forest. All it would take from the elephant is a small tug and the rope would give away. But does he give it that tug? Nope! Why? Because he knows he can’t break free from the rope.

Are you sensing what I’m getting to here? That’s exactly how each of us behave on a daily basis.

We have conditioned our minds into setting limits on ourselves. There are really no limits that exist on what we can do… the only limits that exist are the ones that exist in our minds !

Think back… think of all the times you never made the effort for something saying something like “I just can’t do it” or “I never have the time for it” or “They’d never help me if I asked. Why would they?” Do you remember talking or reading about a successful person and wishing you could be that person? What excuse did you give yourself for not being that person?

Trust me… we all have the capacity to achieve anything. The only difference is that the top achievers aren’t bull-shitting themselves. And they’re willing to pay the price to get what they want. I read somewhere that the reason people aren’t successful is that they don’t recognize success. That’s because its dressed in overalls and looks like work! And I’m not just talking about careers here…. I’m talking about everything – from work to relationships, from hobbies to passions.

So here’s my advice – Take off those mental shackles! No excuses! You have to believe that there are no limits on what you can do. And if you’re still apprehensive, you have to think – “What excuse am I giving myself now?” You’ll get your answer and when you do, discard that excuse.

So stop being an elephant. It can change the way you look at life.

Seth
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a comment. Always good to hear constructive feedback.