Treat your mind like your money …..

by Sunil Bali, 29-06-14

30, 40, 50, 60 …..

did you think of the number 70?

I want you to read the following sentence quickly:

SILK, SILK, SILK, SILK, SILK, SILK,

What do cows drink?

Was your answer milk? Cows of course drink water.

We humans are like pattern seeking missiles because the more we operate automatically, the less we deplete our finite level of willpower, and the easier life becomes.

Descartes famously suggested, “I think, therefore I am.” But its also the case that "I’m human, therefore I don’t always think."

Psychologist Professor Joseph Bargh author of, "The Unbearable Automaticity of Being" says that the automaticity of human action is both a blessing and a curse: whilst we conserve energy for conscious choice, we tend to operate on autopilot and adopt patterns of thinking which don’t support what we want to achieve.

Do you remember swinging on the monkey bars in the playground when you were a kid?

In order to move forward and reach the other end you have to let go of the bar.

As Jim Collins explains in his critically acclaimed bestseller "Good to great",

in order to have new ideas, we often need to let go of old ones.
in order to learn, we first need to recognize what we need to unlearn.

Despite a successful golf career, Michelle Wie had never won a Major. She decided that she had to go back to square one with her putting. Wie eventually created a very unconventional, bent over, table-top style.

Initially Wie’s putting style met with much mirth. However, the last laugh was on her, as last Sunday she won her first Major, the US Open.

As I used to say to my team before I escaped from cubicle nation, "Treat your mind like your money, don’t waste it. Get rid of any thoughts which aren’t beautiful, useful or joyful."

Humour

Thanks to Sid for this gem ……

A crowded United Airlines flight was cancelled.

A single check-in agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travellers. Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS ….."

The agent replied, "I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these folks first; and then I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out ….."

Unimpressed, he asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM …..???"

Without hesitating, the agent smiled, grabbed her PA microphone, and announced, "May I have your attention, please?" Her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal, "We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him with his identity, please come to Gate 14 ….."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the United Airlines agent, gritted his teeth, and said, "F*** You …..!!!"

Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I’m sorry sir, you’ll have to get in line for that, too ….."

Ps. I wrote an article for my good friend, multi million selling author and master of influence Jeffery Gitomer, which has been particularly well received. You can read it here: Souled Out

Sunil