Speeding up Your Emotional Metabolism
Words are multidimensional. They come in different forms, shapes and sizes. Some carry heavy meanings and a greater intensity while others are much “lighter.” Words can be thought, spoken, heard, and written. They can be totally yours. They can be adapted and molded at wish to fit any situation and convey a message. Most importantly, they have the power to ignite action. What I find phenomenal about words is their ability to inspire us to rise above adversity and pursue goals. By the same token, if used in a wrong way, they can cause self-doubt, inhibit creativity, and sometimes even destroy careers and relationships. Are the thoughts you think and the words you speak bringing you closer to your life goals? Do the words you utter help you to better navigate life’s challenges and achieve your professional goals? Or do they rather sabotage your career potential and life project?
Your mind is an incredibly elaborate engine. In the same way that your physical metabolism deals with hormonal imbalances and regulates your overall body weight through the thyroid gland, your mind is a system whose main function is to keep you sane and mentally balanced. How powerful your emotional metabolism is defines how successfully you process thoughts, eliminate toxic emotions and make decisions. The greatest advantage of a healthy and powerful emotional metabolism is its ability to bounce back to its optimum performance level after having reached bottom. Both success and failure are part of life adventure. The point is to learn to love your downs as much as you love your ups and regard them as a stepping stone, a valuable lesson and an essential part of your overall life experience. Before you can even put your emotional metabolism to work, it is necessary that you develop a much more basic skill: emotional hygiene.
Have you ever wondered why most people function below their actual potential? I believe poor emotional hygiene is the major reason. What do most of us know about emotional hygiene though? What do we know about our emotional health? Not much. Children learn to take care of their physical health and know how to brush their teeth three times a day and clean a cut before they can spell their name. As we grow older we dedicate more time and resources taking care of our car and house than the greatest asset we will ever possess: our mind. Physical health seems more important than our emotional health. However, we sustain psychological injuries more often than we do physical ones. Failure, rejection, guilt, loneliness, and loss are only a few emotional traumas many of us deal with on a daily basis. The thing about physical injuries is that they are too obvious to be ignored. Ignoring a broken leg is simply not an option. Likewise, emotional wounds, if not treated properly can impact your life in a very negative way in the long run.
A 100 years ago with the development of Psychoanalysis people started practicing emotional hygiene and–in just a matter of decades–with the combined efforts of medicine, life expectancy rose by more than 50 percent. Our lives can improve dramatically if we practice emotional hygiene in a regular manner. Words are a great vehicle for this. Can you imagine how the world would be if all of us were emotionally healthier? If there was less loneliness and less depression? If people knew how to stay unaffected by repeated failures? If they felt fulfilled and empowered to pursue their life and career goals? What is astonishing about practicing emotional hygiene is that, by changing your perception, you change the game. The life game. The business game.
Many studies have shown that the brain of an average individual produces no less than 70,000 thoughts in a day. The conscious mind controls only 5 percent of our daily thoughts, while the remaining 95 percent is controlled by the subconscious part. It is important to realize that something as intangible and volatile as thoughts and words can have tangible, biological effects. Emotion is a key factor in how your subconscious mind processes and stores information. The more emotionally charged the experience, the more impactful and long-lasting the memory will be. As a result, language needs to be inspiring, creative, uplifting, and generative to affect your nervous system in a positive and effective way and help propel you to success in Life and Business. It is through creating optimum self-induced mood states that you will be able to put language at your service and fully experience its power. The aim is to prime your mind for action; it is all about getting into a mood that encourages motivation and ignites the urge for action.
To better understand what I mean by this, imagine this works in the same way one would use naughty words to arouse sexually their partner, causing them to manifest the desired physical reaction. Or, in the way coaches use powerful words of encouragement to drive their athletes toward their optimum level of performance. In Power Quotes though, you have both roles to perform; you are the trainer and the trainee, all at the same time. First, it is by identifying those statements that make you tick the most and fit best your specific life experience, situation and goals then it is by integrating them into your life like some sort of personal mantra that you can find your gateway to instant mental self-arousal. People possess brains and lots of action potential that remains dormant thus limiting their chances of success and happiness in life. It is time to give your emotional metabolism a kick! It is a painless, equipment-free process. Just a few minutes of daily “me” time and the willingness to access a more advantageous mood state.
People tend to feel as strong as their last success and as weak as their last failure. Is this though the way things should be? Absolutely not. The problem is that every single day, all of us are exposed to an unhealthy amount of advertising and brand messages. Corporations keep exploring more subtle ways to penetrate our subconscious mind by applying elements of behavioral psychology in their marketing strategy and advertising campaigns. This is fine and great business for them but not for you. Your mind gets hijacked every single day without you even noticing. It requires, in fact, a superhuman ability and focus power to maintain ownership of your own mind. Don’t allow anyone to hijack your mind and your mental health defense mechanisms. Sanity is not merely about “being normal,” rather it is about being aware and in control of one’s thoughts, words, and actions.
We all have a default set of beliefs and feelings that gets triggered whenever we encounter frustrations and setbacks. Are you aware of how your mind reacts to daily emotional challenges? Unfortunately, our minds are not the trustworthy friends we think they are. They are a rather moody friend who can be supportive for a while, then totally unpleasant the next moment. Studies have shown that when our self-esteem is low we are more vulnerable to stress, anxiety, a weak immune system, and low productivity. Rumination of negative thoughts is one of the most common and dangerous emotional habits. All of us do it. By changing your reaction to failure, by battling negative thinking you won’t just heal your emotional wounds. By practicing emotional hygiene you lay the foundation for success in life and business. Most importantly, being in full possession of your thoughts and emotions will make you the master of your mind.
Power Quotes can be read in two ways: as an energy-boosting drink or as a remedy. You can read the book from start to finish like you would read most books. You can sit back, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy the thoughts of some of the world’s most influential minds to reflect, boost your motivation and see life from various angles. It’s a bit like having an energy drink as a way to instantly boost your energy levels. The book can also be read in another way, in which case the order you will choose to read each section or subtopic will be dictated by the needs or mood of the moment. Pretty much in the way you would take a paracetamol pill to treat a headache, you can choose a more targeted reading approach by selecting specific topics which are relevant to your situation at a given time. Say you feel down after a bad day at work, a breakup, an argument with a member of your team, when dealing with Sunday night blues or when facing life’s greatest challenges like an illness or the loss of someone dear.
I found that the second way of reading Power Quotes has a more powerful impact on me than the first one. Don’t listen to me though! Test both ways and choose the one that serves your needs best. When you finish reading a particular section you might either feel more confused or clearer about a specific topic or aspect affecting your life. Either way you choose to read it, Power Quotes will demand a small amount of homework from your side and mental presence. Although at the very beginning I was using quotes in a more self-centered way–aiming to cheer myself up when I was in a not-so-high mood, at the end of an exhausting week or when I needed to supercharge my motivation reserves before a challenging negotiation or a critical agreement–I later found that quotes must be passed around to people who need inspiration to overcome daily challenges and recover from life’s misfortunes. I understood the real impact Power Quotes can have when I started posting them to friends when they needed them the most; after a major setback, during a serious health problem or in the aftermath of a painful breakup. It is all about looking at career challenges and life obstacles from a different perspective, so that you can transform your relationships, your team and workplace, and ultimately, your whole life.
Through your reading you will notice that certain quotes are a call to action while others an opportunity for contemplation. Whatever your reaction might be, I suggest that you let your thoughts run wild and let them take you where they will. Allow those who speak to your particular situation take deep root and manifest their hidden power. They will hopefully help clarify your life purpose, ignite a desire for action and the urge to achieve your life goals. It is possible that you have a different understanding of a same quote than another person. You may also find that reading a same quote again, when in a different mood, or at a later stage of your life, might lead your thoughts to a different direction. I believe that great quotes are timeless. The interpretation you make of them will fit your particular life context.
The aim of these quotes is to make you reflect on your own life situation. Words as beautiful and inspiring as they are won’t help you unless you act. Their full potential cannot be experienced unless they affect your physical reality, that is, unless they transform you not only mentally but also on a physical and material level. Effectively putting words and thoughts into action will lead to a transformation of your physical surroundings, your daily reality and, hopefully, your overall life condition. The amount of attention you will give each one of them and the pace at which you read them, the time you take to pause and reflect quote after quote are all essential in turning these statements into executive orders. Make these quotes work for you!