Personal leadership: tuning the self
Self-discipline is the key in the life of a leader. A system must be developed so that the maximum level of energy performance can be achieved. You have to manage yourself first. For this we need to tune up both physically and mentally. Establishing good habits is very important and translates directly into a positive and optimistic outlook.
Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership is leadership. If you are looking to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading yourself: your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Spend at least 20% leading those in authority and 15% leading your peers. If you don’t understand that you work for your so-called ‘subordinates’, then you don’t know anything about leadership. You only know tyranny.
-Dee Hock
Founder and CEO Emeritus
International VISA
Men are eager to improve their circumstances, but they are not willing to improve themselves; therefore, they are bound. The man who does not back down from self-crucifixion can never fail to achieve the goal on which his heart has been set. This is true for earthly things as well as for heavenly things. Even the man whose goal is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can achieve his goal; and how much more the one who wants to lead a strong and balanced life. -James Allen
Bring a system into your life
Up early
Most leaders wake up early. By doing so, they have much more time to organize and feed their mind and body with positive energy. History is the example; Look at the lives of great leaders, not only do they wake up early in the morning, but they also have a proven system. Too much sleep makes you dumb. It will not refresh you, rather it will tire you.
You can use your power of speech and command yourself to get up early. Let’s see the power of words. Imagine that you are in a greenhouse, where you have so many oranges around you. You pluck a big, ripe one from the tree, wash it. Look at the skin, bright orange. Squeeze it a bit and feel its firmness, you know it’s soft inside, there will be a lot of juice inside, it’s fresh. Hold it close to your nose, smell it, nothing smells like an orange. Take the skin off, now you get its full smell, the smell is stronger, and there is a slight burning sensation in the eyes. You close your eyes. Now grab a piece and taste it, the juice swirling around your mouth. Nothing really tastes like orange.
At this point, if you have imagined it correctly, your mouth will water. Yes, the words have made your mouth water. When she read the above paragraph, her brain thought that she was eating an orange and activated her salivary glands to wash it with saliva. It wasn’t real, but the words created reality like the flow of saliva. The brain is in charge of our body; It controls the function of every part of the body. Here you tell the brain that you are eating an orange and it goes to work. So words are powerful and your brain obeys them. So beware, if you have a negative attitude and use negative words or listen to negative advice, then your brain will respond negatively.
So get in the habit of listening to motivational tapes, videos or books and bless your mind with fresh energy every day.
Now let’s use the power of the word and the self-control technique in Ted’s life (case study). Ted wants to get up early, but every day when his alarm goes off, he turns it off and falls asleep in glory. One thing you can do is keep the alarm away from him so he has to get up to turn it off. Place a note in front of the alarm. The words should be: ‘Ted, you have to get up now and train your system to be a winner. And it is an order to the brain. Get up Ted. Read this out loud and let his ears listen and his brain listen to you. Signals will be sent to the brain and in a few days you will not need an alarm to get up on time. I advise you to read the above words also before going to sleep, because that way you are pre-programming your brain to get up early. Smart people personalize the words and become winners. You can also put your vision or mission statement along with the words to focus on a daily basis.
Get a good sleep and wake up naturally before the alarm goes off.
Energize your mind and body
Get up early, set aside some time for yourself, do some mind-body exercises. I would recommend yoga, a walk in the park, swimming, stretching, jogging, and even dancing. If you like games like badminton or tennis, go and play a round. But don’t play too much and exhaust yourself. Refresh your mind by listening to music, observing nature, scenes from your balcony, or any form of meditation.
Our mind has a deep relationship with our body. It is important to do some mind-body exercises. Mental exercises get your mind going. Now, what are mental exercises?
It is well known that during our lifetime we use only a small part of our brain cells. There are many dormant brain tissues and neural junctions out there, just waiting for us to activate, nurture, and develop! My uncle, Dr. Hanish Babu, introduced me to Neurobics. Quoting from his article:
Neurobics is a unique system developed by Lawrence C. Katz, professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center. It is a series of innovative brain exercises that make use of our five senses and the sixth emotional sense to refresh the brain and the neural activity on both sides of the brain. Right-handed people generally use the left side of the brain for all their conscious and voluntary activities. Brain exercises devised by Prof. Katz help stimulate the release and uptake of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters at both muscle and neuronal junctions in the body and brain.
Here are some exercises for the brain (Neurobics) that you can practice daily:
1. Use more than one of your senses in a daily task:
(a) Button up your shirt and cufflinks with your eyes closed.
(b) In the shower, spread the foam over your body with your eyes closed.
(c) While eating, use visual cues to communicate.
2. Combine two of your senses while doing a task:
(a) Feel the fragrance of a flower, see the beauty of the flower, and listen to music at the same time.
(b) Close your eyes, listen to the rain outside and run your fingers over the chair, table or clothing and feel the texture of the wood and fabric.
(c) Looking at the landscape from the balcony and modeling clay at the same time.
3. Disrupt the beaten path!
(a) Take a new route to your office.
(b) Brush with the opposite hand.
(c) Shop at a new grocery store.
(d) Use a different hand on your mouse!
4. Reading, Chess, Sudoku and Crosswords
(a) Reading, doing crossword puzzles or sudoku, playing scrabble or chess, etc., is very good for stimulating brain neurons.
(b) A new hobby or learning a new language will also exercise your brain. Watch less TV though, instead of putting your mind in gear forward, your brain will go neutral during soap operas!
(c) Playing bingo has been found to strengthen memory and improve hand-eye coordination in the elderly.
5. Refresh yourself in the morning with a wake-up call to the brain and body! (The neurobic exercises)
The skin on our feet, soles, hands, and palms has millions of nerve endings and nerve pathways that run through the muscles beneath. These nerve pathways are also in communication with most of our internal organs. Therefore, it is very important to wake them up after a good night’s sleep or after sitting or driving for an extended period of time.
This is what you can do:
(a) Before getting out of bed, start wiggling your toes, especially your big toe. Flex them, extend them, stretch them and curl them.
(b) Slowly rub and massage your toes against each other.
(c) Repeat the same with the fingers.
This activity will not only stimulate the brain and nerve pathways; it will also leave you feeling refreshed, refreshed and energized to start your day on a positive note. It will also reduce morning falls among the elderly, as the muscles stabilized their grip before they even got out of bed.
Keep your brain busy! I won’t let you down! -Dr Hanish Babu
Again about physical exercises, exercise daily, minimum for at least twenty minutes to keep yourself in optimal physical condition. You will feel refreshed and calm throughout the day and your confidence level will also increase. This is so because the human body generates a lot of enzymes and fluids, if we exercise and these help to increase the performance level of our body and mind.
good food clothes
Eating habits play an important role in the activities of your body and mind. You are what you eat or your thoughts are what you eat. You may have noticed that after a heavy carbohydrate-rich meal, you feel sleepy. It’s fine at night, but when you’re dying to peak your performance, it’s wrong to eat a heavy meal at noon. A better food for better mental performance is a high protein food. Our brain is a processor fueled by sugar. So always have a good breakfast. Our brain burns two-thirds of the body’s glucose (blood sugar) and relies heavily on blood for a constant supply of this fuel, day and night. Too much and too little sugar can bring changes. A cup of tea or a sweet can change your mood. You are refreshed and the energy level rises. Your eating habit also affects your concentration level.
So eat a balanced diet. Eat notorious foods, avoid junk food. Take special care in eating habits. Customize it according to your needs and availability. Eat on time and give time to digestion. Eat more fruits and vegetables. And most importantly drink lots and lots of water. Never skip breakfast. It is mandatory. Don’t eat too much and don’t be sleepy in the afternoon, when you have work. The right diet will even solve your sleep problems. Avoid drinking too much tea or coffee. Instead, take fresh fruits and vegetables or some natural juice. Keep away from smokers. Smoking kills! Your food choices reflect your creativity and productivity.
Relax, take a walk, daydream
Getting rid of stress is very important and our body and mind need to relax. A break is always mandatory. Take a walk or if you are in the office go to the canteen and get some fresh fruit. Daydreaming is also a good break, but you need to be aware of the time and the people around you. If you have a fish tank, you can observe the fish in the tank. Listen to some music. We need to refuel and service ourselves to stay productive. The balance between work and leisure must be maintained. Spend 60% of a week’s time at work (not including sleeping time), 20% with your family, 10% with the community, and the remaining or less than 10% with yourself. The time you dedicate to yourself is really the quality time, sometimes the most important decisions are made, you can analyze situations and solutions when you are alone. You mostly get a better image then. Always find some time for yourself.
“The individual who wants to get to the top in business must appreciate the power and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and be quick to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires. -J.Paul Getty
