By Eleanor Shakiba Impact Interesting Articles 0 Comments

Manage stress to protect your brain

Stress management isn’t just about protecting your mental health. It’s important for protecting your brain. Research shows that stress can harm the brain. Along with decreasing your resilience, stress can increase your risk of cognitive problems. Luckily, you can learn to cope with stress with a few simple techniques.

Stress is a common problem for high achievers. You tend to push yourself without worrying about the health implications. This increases the risk of fatigue, exhaustion, and poor decision-making. Based on the latest research, you may also be creating long-term damage to your brain.

According to Dr. Kerry Ressler of Harvard Medical School, existing studies clearly show that stress negatively affects brain functions. Ressler explains that the brain is comprised of multiple parts that perform different tasks. When one area of the brain is engaged, other parts of the brain have less energy.

For example, when you experience fear or anxiety, the part of your brain responsible for survival instincts takes over. This leaves less energy for high-level cognitive thinking, such as problem-solving. When you’re stressed, you struggle to think clearly.

Continuously activating certain areas of the brain can have lasting effects. You strengthen the areas of the brain that experience fear and anxiety while suppressing other parts of the brain. Over time, you may experience reduced cognitive function.

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Ressler also points out that not all stress is created equal. Unpredictable stress has more of a severe impact on your brain. For example, scientists can create stress in animals using electric shocks. Random shocks cause more stress in animals compared to controlled, predictable shocks. Getting proper rest and staying organised are a couple of the suggestions Ressler provides. She also recommends establishing more control, which is an area where neuro-linguistic programming can help.

Avoiding long-term brain changes requires you to learn how to cope with stress. This is an area where positive psychology can help. For example, high-achieving professionals frequently use NLP techniques for stress management. Many people experience stress due to rumination. You ruminate on negative thoughts, giving them more weight. NLP techniques such as reframing, association, and discovering positive intent can combat negative thinking. Reframing forces you to reframe negative thoughts and behaviours in a positive light.

Meditation is also a useful tool for reducing stress and boosting your mental stamina. Mindfulness and NLP relaxation audiobooks can slow the mind to help you relax. Another helpful practice is the use of NLP anchors. Anchors help you recall positive thoughts or memories to replace negative ones. They make it easier to deal with stressful situations as they arise.

In the end, stress can have damaging effects on your brain. Taking the right steps now can protect your brain and make you more resilient. If you want to learn more about anchoring and other NLP techniques, I’d love to help. Browse my one-to-one coaching services and online courses at https://thinklearnsucceed.com.au

By Eleanor Shakiba Impact Interesting Articles 0 Comments

#1 habit of super resilient people

Becoming a successful leader requires resiliency. Leaders need to be able to adapt to change and move on from setbacks. So, what does it take to boost resilience? Research has pinpointed one thing the most resilient people have in common. Adopting this one habit could significantly increase your mental stamina.

Resiliency is defined as your ability to deal with challenges. Highly resilient individuals can adapt to challenges quickly. New research has found that a lack of resilience increases your risk of burnout. At the opposite end of the spectrum, highly resilient people are much less likely to experience fatigue.

A recent study found that super-resilient people are six times more likely to have an internal locus of control. Your locus of control is your feeling of control over events that influence your life. If you tend to deal with difficult situations with ease, you likely have a strong locus of control.

People who lack this control are less likely to be able to help themselves during challenging times. Based on the latest research, there are several specific steps you can take to become more resilient. First, you need to increase your self-efficacy. This is your confidence in your ability to handle challenges. Believing that you can overcome obstacles gives you more control.

You may also need to change the way you look at challenges. Changing your perspective of negative situations can help make them less threatening. This may involve a cognitive appraisal. A cognitive appraisal involves appraising your thoughts on a specific challenge.

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Your physical health is also important for maintaining resilience. Proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise helps support a healthy brain. One study found that people with adequate sleep are 4.2 times more likely to be highly resilient. Becoming an effective leader requires resiliency. A resilient mind believes it has control over outcomes. This requires confidence in your abilities. If you lack self-confidence, you may struggle to cope with change or stressful events. Certain areas of positive psychology, such as NLP, offer a solution. As a high-achieving professional, you may benefit from meta-modelling, cognitive reframing, and other NLP techniques.

Meta-modelling helps identify generalisations and distortions that limit your resiliency. For example, you may use generalisations to doubt your abilities. Identifying these negative thoughts allows you to acknowledge and challenge them. You can counter your own arguments to prove yourself wrong.

Cognitive reframing is also useful for becoming more resilient. It involves reframing a thought or behaviour. If you frequently doubt yourself, try to see things from an outside perspective. Reframing the thought or behaviour can help you see things more honestly. You’ll often find that our fears and anxieties were unfounded.

You can’t control everything, but you can control your actions and thoughts. Developing a stronger internal locus of control can boost your mental stamina. If you want to explore NLP methods for increased resiliency, I’m ready to help. View my one-to-one coaching services and online courses at https://thinklearnsucceed.com.au

By Eleanor Shakiba Impact Interesting Articles 0 Comments

4 mind hacks for mental stamina

Do you lack confidence? Philosophical ideas from over 2,000 years ago may offer a solution. Ancient philosophers believed that stoicism is the secret to boosting your resilience. Being stoic involves knowing what you can and can’t control. It allows you to keep an optimistic mindset in challenging times. Luckily, anyone can increase their mental stamina with the right techniques.

A lack of confidence and resilience can keep you from exploring new opportunities. Your negative feelings can hold you back. A recent article on Bakadesuyo.com offers up four tricks for increasing your mental stamina. First, the author suggests asking, “what’s the worst that could happen?” Asking this question helps you maintain a realistic perspective during difficult times. It keeps you from becoming unrealistically optimistic and unnecessarily pessimistic.

Accepting that you can’t control all outcomes is the second trick for boosting mental toughness. It’s also a key aspect of stoicism. The author of the article calls this a “reserve clause.” It’s about realising that you’re not 100% in control. This means that you can’t blame yourself 100% for failures. It also allows you to focus on what you can control. You can devote your mental energy to what matters instead of focusing on the past.

Looking at the bigger picture is the third mind hack for increased resiliency. When setbacks occur, you need to recognise that all events are temporary. Each mistake is just a minor blip in the grand scheme of things. This helps you gain a better perspective of the impact of your mistakes. It also makes it easier to move on instead of dwelling on your screw-ups.

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The fourth suggestion is to build a support network or seek a role model. When all else fails, having support from others can keep you moving forward. Successful leaders know when to ask for advice or assistance. All four of the techniques discussed are based on quotes and teachings from stoic philosophers.

Many of the same ideas explored in the article are used in positive psychology techniques and NLP methods. NLP teaches you that each experience is shaped by your reaction to an event instead of the event itself. Understanding that events are not good or bad can help you alter how you interpret them. NLP provides several solutions for boosting resilience. You can learn how to reframe negative thoughts to gain a more positive outlook.

For example, NLP reframing is a common method for replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. It requires you to see things from a different view. This helps you stop dwelling on negativity. You can open your eyes to opportunities, including the ones where you can’t control the outcomes.

As explained in the article, your judgments shape your experiences. If you want positive experiences, you need to maintain optimism and confidence, which is where NLP comes in. You need to know what you can and can’t control and NLP can help. Get started by viewing my one-to-one coaching services and online courses at https://thinklearnsucceed.com.au/