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. One has to handle oneself 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 seek to lead, spend at least 50% of your time leading yourself: your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Spend at least 20% leading those in authority over you 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
VISA International
Men are eager to improve their circumstances, but they are unwilling to improve themselves; therefore, they are bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to achieve the goal his heart has set on. This is true for both earthly and 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 fuel their mind and body with positive energy. History is the example; Look at the life of great leaders, not only do they wake up early in the morning, but they also have a proven system. Sleeping too much 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 large, ripe one from the tree, wash it. Look at the skin, bright orange. Squeeze it a little and feel its firmness, you know it’s soft inside, there will be a lot of juice inside, it’s fresh. Hold it up close to your nose, smell it, nothing smells like an orange. Take the skin off, now you get his full scent, the smell is stronger and there is a slight burning sensation in the eyes. You close your eyes. Now take a piece and taste it, the juice swirls around your mouth. Nothing really tastes like orange.
At this moment, 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 the salivary glands to wash her with saliva. It wasn’t real, but the words created reality like the flow of saliva. The brain is in charge of our body; controls the functioning of each 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 be careful, 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 cassettes, videos or books and bless your mind with fresh energy every day.
Now let’s make use of the power of the word and the technique of self-control in Ted’s life (case study). Ted wants to get up early, but every day when the 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 that he has to get up to turn it off. Put 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 hear it and his brain hear it. Signals will be sent to the brain and in a few days you won’t 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 preprogramming your brain to get up early. Smart people personalize words and become winners. You can also put your vision or mission statement along with the words for it to focus on on a daily basis.
Get a good night’s sleep and wake up naturally before your alarm goes off.
Energize your mind and body
Get up early, take some time for yourself, do some body and mind exercises. I would recommend yoga, a walk in the park, swimming, stretching exercises, jogging and even dancing. If you like games like badminton or tennis, go and play a round. But don’t play too much and get exhausted. 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 and body exercises. Mental exercises put your mind in gear. Now, what are mental exercises?
It is well known that during our life we use only a small part of our brain cells. There are many dormant brain tissues and neural junctions out there, waiting to be activated, nurtured, and developed! 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. This is a series of innovative brain exercises that make use of our five senses and the emotional sixth sense to refresh the brain and 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. The brain exercises devised by Prof. Katz help stimulate the release and uptake of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters at both the muscle and neural 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 an everyday task:
(a) Button 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 clothes and feel the texture of the wood and fabric.
(c) Look at the landscape from the balcony and model clay at the same time.
3. Alter the beaten path!
(a) Take a new route to your office.
(b) Brush with 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. It 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 enhance memory and improve hand-eye coordination in the elderly.
5. Refresh yourself in the morning with a wake-up call to your 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 below. 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 the big toe. Flex them, extend them, stretch them and twist 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 make you feel refreshed, refreshed and energetic to start your day on a positive note. It will also reduce morning falls among the elderly, as the muscles stabilized their grip even before getting 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 stay 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 many enzymes and fluids, if we exercise and these help to increase the level of performance 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 meal rich in carbohydrates, you feel sleepy. It’s fine at night, but when you’re wanting to reach the peak of your performance, it’s wrong to have a heavy meal in the middle of the day. A better food for better mental performance is a high-protein food. Our brain is a processor fueled by sugar. So always eat a good breakfast. Our brain burns two-thirds of the body’s glucose (blood sugar) and relies heavily on the blood for its 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 goes up. Your eating habit also affects your level of concentration.
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 digestion time. Eat more fruits and vegetables. And most importantly drink lots and lots of water. Never skip breakfast. It is a must. Don’t eat too much and don’t be sleepy in the afternoon, when you have work. Proper eating will even solve your sleep problems. Avoid drinking too much tea or coffee. Instead, eat fresh fruits and vegetables or some natural juice. Keep away from smokers. Smoking kills! Your choice of food reflects 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 a 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 watch the fish in the fish tank. Listen to some music. We need to refuel and service ourselves to stay productive. The balance between work and leisure must be maintained. Dedicate 60% of a week’s time to work (not including sleeping time), 20% to your family, 10% to the community, and the remaining 10% or less to yourself. The time you dedicate to yourself is really quality time, sometimes the most important decisions are made, you can analyze situations and solutions when you are alone. You mostly get a better picture then. Always find some time for yourself.
“The individual who wants to rise to the top in business must appreciate the power and strength of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him and quick to adopt those practices that will become the habits that will help him achieve success. He wishes.” -J.Paul Getty