How Focused is Your Brain?...(video)

 if it’s anything like mine – not very. And when it is, it’s all the wrong things.

I’m sort of a fan of Benjamin Hardy, PhD.  I say “sort of” because he’s a newly minted PhD and still young, although he’s accomplished quite a bit in his life already.

I also admire he and his wife taking on three foster kids, all siblings, and eventually adopting them all before they even had kids of their own. 

My all time favorite self-improvement book is Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones*, by James Clear. 

Running a close second is Willpower Doesn’t Work*, by Hardy.  Used together, they become an unbeatable way to improve your mind and your life. 

It was those two books, plus the backup books The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)*, by Hal Elrod, 

and 

The Journal Writing Superpower Secret: Get Productivity Superpowers, Kill Procrastination and Stop Self-Sabotage, and Then Take Over the World* ,by Michael Forest.

All of these books together are responsible for my morning routine. 

First thing in the morning, I drink at least 8oz or more of water followed by a cup barrel of coffee. I wander to my office, turn on some ambient non-distracting music and do a bit of journaling. Some mornings it might only be a sentence or two. Other mornings, it may be pages. If I haven’t set my agenda for the day the previous evening, I do it now.  Next I do some spiritual reading, which often involves looking passages up in my Bible.  Finally, I pray.  Many mornings, I just sit and have a chat with God about my concerns, asking for help, and praying for the repose of the souls of the faithfully departed.

If I skip my morning routine – usually because I’ve hopped on the internet (bad!!), the rest of my day wobbles like a half-filled balloon. 

There is no doubt we are all experiencing grave stress with the current situation in this country. One way to combat stress caused by feeling out of control is to take control. 

Onward!

Flappy Hands Alert

If you’ve hung around here more than a day or two, you’re aware that women with flappy hands drive me a bit nuts. Included with this is grown women who squeal with their mouth hanging open, while making big eyes when they spot a friend across a crowded room. It’s often accompanied by pointing. Shudder! Way too often, the flappy hands offender is a professional “journalist” who should know better.  

I was very prone to presenting myself with the Italian version of flappy hands, but after some time in Toastmasters and treating it like the bad habit it is, I rarely do it anymore except at home, where driving one’s hubby nuts is a feature not a bug.  

  Hardy is the first man I’ve run across with flappy hand syndrome.  He also speaks so fast you must really concentrate to keep up.  Thank goodness for the stop button on videos. If you’re having a really hard time, you can click on the settings gear icon on a YouTube video and slow him down a bit without making him sound like Lurch.

May I suggest you take some notes and refer to them from time to time?