Break free from your habits and transform yourself! The current coronavirus pandemic has brought along itself challenging times for all of us. It is a necessity for us to transform our lives to adapt to the new ways of living. If you’re still clinging to your old habits, you’re harming yourself to a large extent, unknowingly. Let me ask you a question, ‘What are habits according to you? What are good as well as bad habits?’ I am sure that you consider waking up early, sleeping on time, following a good diet etc as good habits, and smoking, heavy drinking, working without taking rest, as bad habits. Let me tell you that good as well as bad habits are not limited to these. How? Let us know more about it.

Habit is nothing but a repeated behaviour. You do not have to make conscious effort while doing these actions. These actions form a part of your comfort zone and you often refuse to come out of that zone. It is quite possible that you follow a good and busy routine each and every day, i.e. getting up on time, eating the same breakfast, driving the same car, doing the same work, and reaching home, and cooking similar food,  and sleeping on the same time every day. However, I would suggest you ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I feel happy and satisfied at the end of the day?
• Am I stuck in this routine?
• Is this routine my comfort zone?
• Do I fear coming out of this comfort zone?

If the answers to the above questions are  ‘Yes’ for you, this is the time you need to work upon yourself and transform yourself into a person who is free and genuinely happy. Self-dependence is the key to success. You must have noticed that when you try adopting a good habit or when you take on a task towards a better self, for example, losing weight, or following a healthy diet, it takes a lot of effort and time for you to follow the same. As kids, we were always taught that “tiny drops lead to an ocean”, or “ little efforts are necessary for a bigger goal”, or “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, i.e. it always takes ample time to build something great. However, we attract negativity faster and in a big way. The more you’re stuck in habits, the more difficult it gets to transform yourself. Let me tell you a story to explain the same.

A young boy had various habits which he was unwilling to give up. An old hermit wanted to teach him the importance of transformation. One day, while taking a walk in the park with him, he told the young boy to pick a flower off the ground. The young boy did that in a second. In a few minutes, the man told him to pluck a small bush off the ground. The young man plucked it and gave it to the old man. The old man smiled and talked, and after a few minutes, he told the young boy to pluck a tree off the ground, the young boy looked at the old man in doubt and said, “How can I pluck the tree? it is impossible!” The old man said, “Why do you say so? You plucked the bush, why can’t you pluck the tree? The flower you picked earlier fell off the same tree.” The young lad thought for a while and answered, “Because the roots of the tree are strong. I could pluck the flower with no roots, the bush, because it roots were not strong. But the tree has been here for years, and because of its strong roots, I cannot pluck it!” The old man gave out a big smile and said, “Exactly! If you do not decide to give up your habits and transform yourself quickly, these habits grow stronger and hence are extremely difficult to be changed later on!”

Living in comfort zones is like leaving water stagnant for a long time! Stagnant water is the breeding ground of impurity and infection.  It is extremely important to be independent and free to lead a life towards success.

How to become self-reliant and come out of your comfort zones?

1. Make realistic goals, instead of burdening yourself!: Social media has become a source of stress for most of us, instead of being merely a source of entertainment and connectivity. One must take inspiration from people trying to change themselves in these times, and not instead stress yourself out and set huge goals. Being focussed, witty and dedicated is the key to transform yourself.  
2. Look at your life from a third party perspective! Do you think your life is what you have always wished it to be like? When you judge it from a third party perspective, do you feel certain things need to be changed? If yes, take on the challenge today!
3. Take risks! Anything new demands stepping out of the comfort zone, that may be as simple as stepping out of your bean bag to get moving to lose weight, or as huge as waking up an hour earlier than usual to meditate and focus on a new venture you’d been wishing to work upon. Fear is the foremost factor keeping you from success. Do not let fear infect your mind. Taking a route different from the usual might seem a risky attempt, however, you won't get to know any new or easier routes if you don’t make that decision.

The current situation, where most of us are at home living a completely different life, is a chance for you to become self-dependent, take your life in your own hands, and lead a better life towards success!

Take that first move! Stay Happy, Healthy and  Stress-free!

 “Your Infected Mind Can Kill You Faster than the Virus!” Yes, you heard me right. Let me tell you why I am saying that! The current times are extremely stressful with the coronavirus outbreak taking hundreds and thousands of lives around the world. The fear of this infection has in turn affected humans both physically as well as emotionally. It has rendered us weak in spirit, and sadly, has had a bad influence on our lives. Let me ask you a question, do you think that the global panic is only a result of fear of the pandemic? Where does this fear come from? What if I tell you, that before our bodies, our minds have been infected already? Yes, my friends, we have come to a point where we suffer in our minds even if our bodies are safe from the virus.

If you look around yourself right now, you will find numerous things that arise fear in your heart. It can be an update on the pandemic, an unfinished task, or a post on social media. What is the cure of this infection of the mind? Is fear the only symptom of this infection? Let me elaborate more on this.

Infection of the Mind - Major Causes

What causes the mind to catch infection?  Let me elaborate on the causes:

Herd Mentality: I believe in the importance of good and fruitful relationships among human beings in a society. Society can make or break a man. Hence, cordial and collaborative relationships between people are necessary for them to be successful and happy in life. However, the most dangerous side effect of a collaborative society is the development of a herd mentality.

What do we refer to as herd mentality? When you keep your logic and thought aside to blindly believe in what the other person says to you, you’re a victim of herd mentality. A negative thought in the current times of difficulty spreads like wildfire. If you have a herd mentality, you easily give in to that negative thought, and hence plague your mind.

In the current times, taking actions wisely and spreading truthful information are two basic tenets of avoiding panic-like situations. Be aware of the decisions you make under the influence of others. Meditate, and use your own intelligence in order to develop better decision-making skills. Do not copy others and act in one direction because “everyone’s doing it.” Remember, as long as an idea is not criticized, its credibility and worth is not proven. Do not judge those who work differently, develop relationships with society based on effective communication and logical actions.

Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.

Bertrand Russel

Belief on Rumours: What happens when you decide to believe in a mob? You end up believing in rumours and/or spreading the same. Fear and stress are the two foremost and direct outcomes of belief in fake news. Apart from these, making decisions based on rumours also leads to loss of compassion and appreciation.

Social media, especially in the current times, is the biggest spreader of fake news and rumours. If you dwell on the news spread on sources such as social media, you can subject your mind to perils as dangerous as clinical depression and anxiety. The emotions of hatred and fear arising out of fake news make you attract negative energy towards yourself. Run a fact check before you believe or forward anything on social media. Do not let the effects of technology and social media consume you and infect your mind.

Rumors are like germs. They spread and multiply almost in a breath and before you know it, everyone is contaminated.”

C.J.Tudor

Dwelling over Negativity: I have repeatedly talked about the strengths of the Law of Attraction in my previous blogs. Words have immense power and energy. Through repeated discussions of negative news, reacting to and spreading the same, you attract more negative energy. Negative thoughts can make you extremely stressful. Manage your thoughts by writing them down, and focusing on improving your physical as well as mental health.

Fear and stress arising from a belief on rumours lead to an imbalance of chakras as well as directly reduces the immunity of your body to fight against infections. If you let your mind get infected by fear, your body weakens and gets more susceptible to the infection you’re fearful of.

What are the outcomes of an infected mind?

In these difficult times, what we need is to support each other and infuse our life and environment with positivity. Instead of brooding over fearful thoughts, it is time to plan out your life better, improve your relationships and family life, bring your body clock on track, balance your chakras and take actions to incorporate wellness in life. An infected mind reduces your confidence levels, develops issues like brain fog, and hence keeps you from success. Herd mentality combined with the belief in rumours can lead to a panic-like situation. Panic and fear, as we read in our previous blog, kill you faster than any other infection. Appreciate and pay gratitude to what you “have” right now and focus on growth.

Keep your Minds Infection-Free! Stay Healthy and Happy!