“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.” - Buddha

STAYING POSITIVE & ENDURING FAILURE:
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR RESTORING BALANCE

In life, success and failure are intertwined, much like the concept of yin and yang. Just as positive and negative forces attract each other, winning and failing are natural occurrences that shape our journey.

It is how we perceive and process the pendulum of life that determines how we move forward and the lens through which we view success. Maintaining a balanced yet positive mindset through the good times and the bad can help you make decisions from a place of peace and stability. 

This allows you to grow and evolve with minimal setbacks, giving you the best chance for success. In this blog, we will look at ways to help you maintain a positive mindset and techniques that can help you restore a sense of balance.

As human beings, we are in a constant state of flux, mirroring the very atoms that compose us. It is essential to recognise that success and failure go hand in hand, and maintaining equilibrium amidst this flux is a key factor in achieving success, both in business and in life.

While it is important to savour moments of triumph and express gratitude for our accomplishments, we must also acknowledge that these feelings are transient.

It is all too easy to become overly attached to the exhilaration of a victory, as this can have devastating consequences on our mind when things take a turn for the worse.

To navigate the ebb and flow of life, consider your feelings and emotions as a pendulum. Before making any decisions, take a little time to bring yourself back to the centre, where extreme emotions have less influence.

The simplest way to do this is by paying attention to your breath. Focus on your breathing while you take 3 - 5 deep breaths in and out through the nose. Once you return to your centre, you can approach each situation with clarity and make the best decisions possible.

EMBRACING FAILURE AS AN OPPORTUNITY

Failure is often viewed negatively, but if we consider it a necessary and inevitable part of life, we can alleviate the burden it imposes upon us. The way we perceive failure can hinder or facilitate our progress.

If we allow failure to consume us, turning our minds into negative spaces, its effects on us will be detrimental. Instead, failure can be seen as an opportunity for learning and growth, paving the way for even sweeter victories and the achievement of our goals.

Embracing failure is sometimes easier said than done. The past failures and situations in our lives imprint a pattern of behaviour that resides deep within our subconscious mind and physical body. When these failures come with consequences, it is a historical cycle that can be difficult to break out of.

The best way to break the cycle, is to look to the future and imagine that you have already attained your dream outcomes.

Envision a future - an ideal version of yourself and where you want to be at a certain point. Really see, feel, and hear this future reality. Use all of your senses and engage your emotions to find where you want to be and work towards making it happen.

Once you have this vision, you must set goals to achieve this end result in your life. Spending a little time each day to solidify this inevitable future can help you dissolve past failures and repetitive thought patterns that keep you idle and stagnant.

With your vision locked in, it is important to now return to and embrace the present.

EMBRACING THE PRESENT

Avoid allowing your future goals to control your present state of mind. While aspirations and future desires provide motivation and inspiration, fixating too much on the future can hinder our progress.

Having a clear vision of our desired outcome and setting goals to reach it are vital for personal growth. Such a vision can provide the necessary focus to achieve our dreams.

However, when we become desperate to fast-forward to our end result, the present moment and our current circumstances can become unbearable. This creates anxiety and inner unease. Such a mindset creates blockages within our minds and bodies, ultimately preventing us from attaining our dreams.

Instead, expressing gratitude for our current situation and past experiences allows us to find inner peace and move forward with clarity.

Acknowledging the role of our past events in shaping who we are, remaining in the present moment, and embracing the process fosters personal growth.

PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR BALANCE AND SUCCESS

Finding a daily practice or ritual that can make you feel centred regardless of your busy schedule is profoundly important. With consistent effort, this practice will be your sanctuary and can help you reset your mind to a place of inner peace and postivity before moving forward with your day. 

The following activities are effective additions to a healthy lifestyle, but don’t be afraid to try other activities to find what works for you.

1. CONSCIOUS BREATHING

Deep conscious breathing is one of the best ways to connect with your body and clear your mind. Breathwork has been an effective technique to help centre yourself for thousands of years, but has become very popular in recent times with countless methods and practitioners to follow online or through local workshops.

Probably the most notable at the moment is the Wim Hof Method. This method has been shown to improve oxygenation and reduce inflammation throughout the body, giving you increased energy and improved resilience to external and internal stress. You can follow along with a session here.

The Wim Hof Method also advocates for the use of cold therapy, which is also incredibly beneficial. But conscious breathing is new to you, simply start by taking 5 - 10 minutes each day to connect with your breath, and in no time, you’ll begin to feel a deep sense of peace and calm.

2. MEDITATION & YOGA

There is a huge overlap between Meditation and Yoga, as well as the previously mentioned breathwork. You could say they are slightly different techniques to restore a state of inner peace.

If you delve deep into these ancient methods and practice them consistently, your understanding of your inner self, what it means to be at peace and your insight into the world around you will constantly evolve for the rest of your life. 

Meditation is not really a method or a state to achieve, rather it is our true state, free of distractions, ego and clutter in our mind that gives rise to doubt and negativity. 

The common belief is that meditation is about letting go of thoughts, however, it’s important not to force your mind to let go, but instead observe the mind and be grateful for the thoughts that come to the forefront. 

With time you will increase your self-awareness and ultimately not be consumed by your thoughts and emotions, giving rise to the understanding that they are merely experiences in this human existence. 

Yoga is used as a method of fitness, flexibility and reducing stress. However, yoga is actually a meditative practice. This practice is rooted in conscious breathing, creating a calmer mind and a more resilient, peaceful existence. 

There are countless sources for meditation and yoga that you can explore online or in your local area. But if you wish to keep it simple to begin with, find a quiet spot in your home, free of distractions, where you can sit and observe your breath for a few minutes each day. This is as simple as it needs to be. 

If you haven’t meditated before, it can seem a little tricky at first. As with everything, consistent daily practice will yield great results and you will slowly begin to enjoy the serenity that comes with this ancient art.
 

3. WALKING / HIKING

Simply walking, or hiking in nature, is a very popular way of clearing the mind and feeling peaceful. 

A lot of people will perform these activities with headphones to listen to their favourite music or podcast to make the experience more enjoyable. And this is completely fine!

However, listening to music or podcasts while performing these activities can be a way of taking our focus off the present moment and potentially disrupting the alignment within our minds. So it’s a good idea to try turning off the music at some point and just focusing on the experience.

Consider walking or hiking as a form of meditation. The more we can remain in our true peaceful state, the more profound the experience of life will become and the more inner peace we will find. You will also give yourself space to have profound thoughts, epiphanies or realisations! 

Do your best to strike a balance between appreciating the present moment and experiencing the things that bring you joy. If you do this, you will find that when you have to focus on work or other life related responsibilities, you will be able to process them from a state of peace and joy, rather than stress and worry.

4. EXERCISE

We all know that exercise is important for health, but finding the motivation to actually do it can be a challenge in itself. The key is to remind yourself just how good you will feel after your run or workout. Exercising releases endorphins and other chemicals in the body that give you an amazing sense of well being and euphoria, so this alone can be a motivator to take some time out and use your body.

If you’re just starting out, however, it can just feel like more pain than pleasure. Regardless of whether you’re new or experienced when it comes to exercise, a good way to get yourself into the right frame of mind is to do a short breathwork session. This will oxygenate the body and commence the release of the appropriate chemicals in your brain to help you feel the motivation to get going.

Regardless of whether you run, lift weights, do pilates or play a particular sport, ensure that you set achievable goals for yourself. If you set enormous goals and go hard on your first couple of sessions, you will likely feel exhausted and sore the next day and this can suck the momentum out of your journey. 

Going hard from the get go may work for some people, but consistency through slow and steady improvements or gains is far more effective and will give your body and mind a chance to recover and adapt to this new you. 

Consistency is far more likely to yield results long term, and will allow you to increase and maintain your vitality to perform your daily tasks with greater ease and enthusiasm. 

5. NUTRITIOUS FOOD & CLEAN WATER

It may seem obvious, but good food and clean water are needed for optimal growth, focus and nourishment of your body and mind. 

Increasing your intake of water is so important for the myriad of health benefits that it brings. It will help cleanse your body of toxins and metabolites, whilst keeping you hydrated, which is essential for a healthy body and keeping a clear and focused mind. 

What’s healthy to eat, however, seems to differ by what sources you read and people you speak to. Healthy eating is similar to your personal growth, in that what you require for your body and mind can fluctuate depending on your physical, mental and emotional situation at any given moment.

Healthy eating works on a spectrum. For example, eating meat and vegetables cooked at home is healthier than eating fast foods, whilst eating meat and vegetables at home might not be as healthy as eating a superfood salad. 

At the same time someone who advocates a vegan diet, might not have the same requirements as someone who struggles to get enough protein without eating meat. This can be due to the amount of time they have, or a lack of knowledge on where to find the right protein, or they just feel that the body responds better with meat. 

What this means is, you really need to listen to your own body and decide works best for you. If you spend time with yourself, your breath, and put away all distractions for a while, even for just a short period every day, you will sense and feel what your body needs. 

Sure, absorb information regarding healthy food options from articles and experts but try to ensure that you’re eating based on a mindset that you're doing the best for yourself. Don’t eat out of addiction or punish yourself by avoiding foods that you truly love. 

VARIETY & MODERATION IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY BALANCED.

In conclusion, re-centring yourself daily is crucial for making optimal decisions and avoiding self-sabotage. Incorporating a daily practice such as meditation, exercise, yoga, walking or hiking and breathing exercises is an important part of maintaining a balanced physical, emotional and mental state. Ultimately this will help you maintain a postivie outlook even in the moments you might think that you have failed.

Experiment with various activities to find what works best for you, but ensure consistency in your chosen routine. By establishing a daily ritual, you can maintain focus and keep moving towards your goals.

Sometimes it’s the obvious things that we know we should do but avoid them all the same. Retraining yourself to make these activities routine will positively impact every aspect of your life. 

Consistency is key!

You might have days where you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, especially when you have a million other things to do throughout the day! But remember, little by little, you are forging the habits of a successful person, the person that you want to be!

Please stay tuned for more mindset, marketing, business and spirituality tips in future blogs and posts.

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