Sometimes you get the odd feeling that everything you do produces good results. You pass your examinations with flying colours, get friendly with a lovely girl or handsome boy in a tuition class, parents spend lavishly on your studies and what not. You are at the top of the world because you are at your best. However, as you cross the threshold of youth, everything you do backfires. You remember the days you could fire on all cylinders, but now you cannot even start the engine.
This is a common situation almost all of us face in life. If you ask me why, my answer may be that you are at your best when you get your mind out of the way. As a young man or woman you entertain fears and doubts about your capabilities. At the same time you do not know where you are heading. You see a successful lawyer and decide to study law. After completing your law studies, you realise that you are not cut out to be a lawyer. Then you try to follow some other course of studies.
Why do we fail to reach the peak performance level as we go ahead with various activities? The question has drawn the attention of psychologists and motivational writers. Herbert Benson MD in his bestseller The Relaxation Response tries to teach readers the simple forms of meditation that can lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk or lessen the symptoms of many other physical or physical maladies as well. His relaxation techniques can be applied to reach peak performance in many areas of your life. He wrote another book – The Breakout Principle – with William Proctor suggesting techniques to alter brain chemistry to produce that elusive state sometimes called ‘The Zone’ When you reach ‘The Zone’ fresh ideas and answers to thorny questions emerge from the subconscious.
Thinking clearly
Everyday thoughts drive us mad sometimes. Young people are constantly worried about the outcome of their studies. Most of them are not sure whether they could pass their examinations. Finding a suitable job is another problem. When you are obsessed with such perennial problems, they lead to stress which prevents you from thinking clearly. If you can stay away from such problems the central nervous system can produce a state of calm and clarity leading to insight.
Some people know intuitively that the best way to cope with a problem is to walk away from it. Lisa Gizara was a graphic designer who was struggling to come up with an advertising idea for one of her clients. She could not think of anything as her mind went blank. She decided to take a walk with her pet dog on the beach. While she was walking two words entered her mind: ‘Get connected.’ Then she saw Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam ‘which depicted God’s and Adam’s fingers nearly touching each other. Later, she built her advertising idea based on it.
All such wonders take place due to brain chemistry. According to Benson, when you break everyday thought processes, your body produces a gas molecule called ‘nitric oxide’ or laughing gas. At one time scientists believed that’ nitric oxide’ was a toxin. However, researchers later found that ‘nitric oxide’ is actually produced in the human body. It can even control your blood pressure. The health benefit of the gas is that it counteracts stress hormones and increases the output of dopamine and endorphins which give us a sense of well-being. Other scientists have cast doubts on this theory. However, Benson later became a pioneer in mind-body medicine which explores our thoughts and feelings that contribute to diseases. Thanks to Benson, most American medical schools now teach relaxation response to their students.
Contributive elements
All this boils down to clear thinking which helps you to concentrate only on the essential and contributive elements and then see their relationship for discernment. Unfortunately, clear thinking is quite rare and it requires much thinking experience. As a result, clear thinking is seldom found in young people. You have to be a seasoned thinker in order to achieve this rare mental state.
A friend of mine always rings me to say that living today amid various problems has become a nightmare. If you think about it seriously, everything in life, including eating and drinking, is a problem. If you can quit thinking about your problems, it can lead to bold insights, bright ideas and better performance. If you do not want to meditate or go for a stroll, read an interesting book or listen to Celine Dion or Shreya Goshal. Sit under a tree and look at the beautiful flowers and birds singing in the branches. Even washing dishes or clothes can serve as breakout triggers.
Because of emotional differences, one person may be quite overcome in an emotional situation, whereas another in a similar situation may hardly be affected. The thinking of the former may be very low and that of the latter may be very effective. If you can achieve emotional maturity, you are on your own. However, there are many people who lack emotional maturity. Such people should try to gain confidence in their emotional control in order to avoid emotional flare-ups.
Mental domain
Very few of us take the trouble to explore our mental domain because we have left it in isolation. If you explore your mental domain, you will discover more and more mental spheres which can be of much help to you. For some reason or other, you have not observed them. Many examples can be given to prove this point. Charlene Abrams used to spend the evening on the front step of her home spinning yarn. She spent hours spinning the wheel with her feet. She confessed that it was a kind of Zen meditation. Being a software engineer why did she do such a thing? In her own words, “Sitting there spinning, my mind wanders and goes wherever it needs to go.” She managed to solve many of her personal problems through spinning which gave her distance from the extremes she was feeling.
To super charge your brain, you have to stimulate your mind to its greatest capabilities. Some people leave their mind in a permanent inactive state. You accumulate thinking experiences through reading, conversing with others and watching films and dramas. You can either enrich you thinking experiences or leave them as they are. Your breakthroughs will come only if you are interested in utilising your full mental capacity. If you are satisfied with thinking without effectiveness, you will never experience any breakthrough.
Although you have a brain, its thinking capacity differs. In order to have full mental capacities, you should do regular mental exercises throughout life. Even if your mind is at peak performance, it can be further improved. Psychologists tell us that you should determine what you lack in ability, why you lack it and the action needed to overcome it. When you find solutions to these problems, your mind gets cleared. The best way to get a grip on life is to just let go. Then you will be endowed with a sharper focus, smarter decisions and peak performance.’