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Do not index
Do not index
Mindfulness, in its simplest form, is the practice of being present and fully engaged in the present moment.
It's become all the rage in recent years because, let's face it, society is riddled with anxious, stressed-out, overworked messes who are desperate for something that promises to make their lives a little bit better.
Maybe that’s you?
It was me a few years, ago.
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I’m not here to tell you that chanting “ommmm” or taking cold showers will change your life. I don’t know you. 5am definitely doesn’t vibe with me.
I did the whole cold shower thing…
Every. Single. Day.
…for a year (thanks Wim Hof)
While it was a fun experiment, my life didn’t change (that much).
I did Keto (4 months), walked 10k steps every day (different year), tried a half dozen exercise programs….
I’ve lost (and kept-off) 50lbs despite not having a “crazy” transformation story to sell tell you…
The results were a direct result of compounding my (slow) changes in lifestyle.
There was a lot of trial and error with a big emphasis on error. I discovered that life is trial and error. People know far less than we give them credit for (myself included).
Mindset is cliche, often generalized… carefully positioned as the reason you keep failing to finish and implement every course/tool you buy.
Deeper than mindfulness is an observation of self. In its most basic sense, mindfulness is awareness. It is designed to act as a trigger to center your focus to the present moment, nothing more.
What is Mental Mastery?
Mental Mastery is the act of controlling the mind.
Directing one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors towards optimal performance and well-being.
To achieve Mental Mastery, you must develop skills:
Focus, resilience, self-awareness and discipline.
These skills give mindfulness power.
Centering awareness builds focus. Better focus leads to discipline.
As you develop discipline, you become more aware of self.
Your intentions evolve. Your purpose becomes clear. This makes you resilient.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. An act of self-discovery is riddled with boo’s and silence.
“You” is a collection of patterns.
Mental Mastery unlocks the ability to shift habits and create a new work of art.
There is no “right way”. In the play of life, you are center stage.
Be a star.
How to achieve mental mastery in daily life
Life is long. It can expire at any moment (any avocado fans reading this?).
This is the framework for daily practice:
Start small.
Understand you are playing the game of “life” - which can’t be won.
It can only be experienced.
There is no ‘end-of-life’ award handed out to the person who did things “faster, better, or perfect”. You are your own timeline. You are the only player in this RPG.
When you shift the perspective to: I am the only player, and this is all a game… things change.
There are obstacles, levels, and experiences that transform you. You don’t grow by staying the same.
If you improved just 1 minute per day, within 6 months you would be unrecognizable.
The best part about 1 minute of improvement daily?
It’s near effortless.
As you evolve… it compounds indefinitely.
How can you improve 1 minute per day?
The easiest way to level-up is to establish an end vision, and break it down into bite size chunks.
This is my “AZB” approach to goal setting. It is (heavily) borrowed by Shaan Puri.
I re-arranged it from ABZ to AZB because I want to look at my definite chief aim (z) daily and make sure my next small step (b) is in line with that vision.
It’s how my brain works. Or maybe I just want to be different and not think about my abs (or lack of) every morning.
How to implement AZB:
Each day take 30 seconds to assess: Where are you?
Produce a mental movie scene that implies you have achieved your end vision and day dream for the next 30 seconds.
Now wake up and ask your self what is the ONE thing that you can do TODAY that can get you ONE step closer.
Best part?
You can do this while you brush your teeth in the morning.
Improving 1 minute daily is so stupidly simple, you probably won’t try it…
Don’t overcomplicate this. The beauty of the AZB approach is its simplicity.
If you are building a twitter account, spend 1 minute less scrolling and 1 minute more engaging (comment/dm). Write that extra comment, even if you think know one will see it (or care).
If you are losing weight, it could be 1 minute more walking (or two less bites at dinner).
If you’re anxious, depressed, or stressed to the max…
Try this the next time you’re feeling down:
Look at yourself in the mirror… SMILE 😃 and laugh uncontrollably. Do it for (you guessed it) 60 seconds.
It’s awkward, feels forced, and not recommended on a first date.
Doesn’t matter… It works.
One minute is an insanely small commitment.
A key distinction: The goal isn’t spending JUST one minute, it is improving by one minute.
A Mental Diet Will Change Your Life
We’re in a rhythm now and not taking ourselves too seriously, so let me ask you a question.
Answer honestly:
How do you talk to yourself?
I began my mental diet in 2022. This shifted EVERYTHING in my life.
A mental diet is awareness of thought paired with instant revision of negative thoughts.
If we have roughly 69,000 thoughts in a day, what % is negative?
At one point, I’d argue 80% of mine were not self-serving. They detracted from who I want to be.
A mental diet shifts this percentage to work in our favor.
It’s one of the easiest ways to become a lucky person.
It works when you set the intention: I will instantly recognize any negative thought and reframe it.
Don’t waste another day reacting to your thoughts as they show up.
The thoughts of most of the people in this world are unplanned, sporadic and riddled in chaos.
YOU can be different.
YOU can break free.
Navigating Uncertainty With Revision
Life is uncertain.
Revision is your super power.
This may seem taboo, even a bit insane… but stick with me.
The act of revision is reversing the unwanted events in your life at the end of each day.
On my mental diet, I reverse them everytime my mindfullness kicks in and I recognize I’m down the rabbit hole again…
This takes practice, and some days everything feels chaotic and out of control.
I ask myself: am I doing this right?
It’s all a game.
Don’t forget it.
Here is what I do in addition to my instant negative thought revision… (I need a better name for that)
At night, relax into a calm sleepy state. Don’t fall asleep yet… We still have one last thing to do.
Analyze your day. Play it back from the end (now) to the start (when you woke up)
When you come across something that went wrong (bad news) revise it. What would you have preferred to have happened? In your mind, you can make it so.
This act will train your brain to reverse your negative attachment to unwanted circumstance.
You will break free of the dreaded “victim” mindset and lay each day to rest.
It will shift your attention to a positive (alternative) outcome.
Start small in developing Mental Mastery in daily life.
It's all a game, not a competition.
You're the only player, and the only timeline.
Improving just 1 minute per day can lead to significant changes in 6 months (or less).
I know because I’ve seen it first hand.
This week I started a new journey where I’m putting it to work again… this time in building my personal brand (thanks for making it this far) and growing a twitter account.
Minutes add up, so I’ll be conscious of your time now and let you get back to crushing it!
Next we’ll look at The Power of Perspective: How to Change Your Mindset and Achieve Mastery in Life.
See you there,
-Scott
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