Category: Stress

Four Quick Tips from John Assaraf

Four Quick Tips from John Assaraf

Want more success in life? Here are four quick tips from John Assaraf, CEO of Neurogym, that you can put into action today.

Here are tips on:  1) reducing stress, 2) vision boards, 3) utilizing mental contrasting, and 4) writing down your goals.

Three Minute “Innercise” to Reduce Stress

Stress is bad for you. When you feel it starting to weigh on you, take three minutes and “innercise.” Allow the stress to evaporate. Innercise is John’s term for mindfulness. It is to your brain as exercise is to your body.

3-Minute Innercise to Reduce Stress

Some stress, when it comes to performance, may be good for you . . . but too much will drain your energy and overwhelm your willpower. This simple 3-minute Innercise can dramatically reduce stress levels so you can relax and feel more focused and productive.

Posted by John Assaraf on Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Create a Vision Board

Create a vision board and look at it frequently throughout the day.

Vision boards contain pictures of your goals: what you want to become or want to have in your life. When you see these images, they turn on the dopamine receptors in the brain.

When you take those visions and see yourself doing the things that you need to do to achieve your goals, you activate the release of dopamine which causes you to feel  motivated and seek even greater goals and rewards.

Do Vision Boards Really Work?

Do vision boards really work? It’s a question I get asked all the time… and my answer is YES! Here’s why: It works because when you see images of the things you want to achieve, or do, or become, you're actually activating the dopamine receptors in the brain, the feel-good chemicals in the brain. And when you take those visions and you see yourself behaving in ways that are required to achieve that vision, you're actually activating the left prefrontal cortex, which is the CEO, genius part of your brain.Do you currently have a vision board?

Posted by John Assaraf on Monday, July 2, 2018

Utilize Mental Contrasting

Mental contrasting is a technique used by astronauts, navy seals, CEO’s and others to motivate themselves to take action towards their goals

To do mental contrasting, take a goal you want to achieve. Write down what that goal looks like when you achieve it and what it feels like.

Next, close your eyes and see yourself as you are today and see yourself as you want to be, achieving that goal.

When you create this mental contrast, you will motivate yourself to start taking action automatically.

Why Navy Seals and CEO's Love Mental Contrasting

Astronauts, Navy Seals, and successful CEOs all use mental contrasting. Why? Because it helps you achieve more of your goals!Here's how to put it into practice…-Pick a goal you want to achieve-Write down and think about how it will feel once you’ve achieved your goal. Really hone in on the positive aspects and emotions.-Now, write down and think about several obstacles that may make achieving this goal difficult.-Finally, close your eyes and visualize where you are today and see yourself overcoming those obstacles and actually achieving your goal. Do this frequently and you’ll start training your brain to automatically start taking action towards your goals!Let me know in the comments one goal you’ve been wanting to achieve…

Posted by John Assaraf on Monday, June 25, 2018

Write Down Your Goals

Write down your goals and review them daily.

Recent research indicates that writing down or typing our goals, makes us up to 42% more likely to achieve them.

Why? This happens because the process of writing them down, forces us to get clear about what we want. It also gives our brain a clear direction that this is something that is important to me. This is what I want to achieve. We need to figure out how to do this.

So don’t leave that goal in your head. Write it down on paper and achieve it.

Have Goals? Then Do This Now!

Here's this week's goal setting tip. In this video, I share one exercise that recent studies show will help increase your chances of achieving your goals by up to 42%. Commit yourself to doing this exercise this week and then let me know how the process made you feel.

Posted by John Assaraf on Monday, June 11, 2018

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Have You Yawned Enough Today?

Probably not. But you should.  Mindful yawning is a ritual that everyone should incorporate into their day as it is the fastest way to reduce mental stress caused by prolonged concentration and focus.

Olympic athletes yawn before they race, musicians and speakers yawn before they go on stage, snipers are trained to yawn before they pull the trigger.

What are other reasons for yawning? Yawning causes the release of dopamine, a hormone that keeps work-related motivation high. It clears away the fogginess of sleep and increases cerebral blood flow which enhances mental efficiency and quickly brings you into a heightened state of cognitive awareness. It has a similar effect on a person as having a cup of coffee, and it regulates the time clocks in your brain, helping you to sleep better at night!

Throughout your day, yawn as many times as possible. You should do it at least once an hour.

Yawn when you wake up, when you’re confronting a difficult problem at work, and whenever you feel anger, anxiety, or stress. Yawn before giving an important talk, yawn before you take a test, and yawn whenever you feel bored. But do it mindfully, paying close attention to how it affects your mood and awareness.

Conscious yawning is easy to do once you get past the idea that it is rude. All you need to do to trigger a deep yawn is to fake it four or five times. Try it now.

For more on how to stay focused and productive during the workday, see the following post.

A Simple Way to Reduce Stress

Feeling anxious? Overly stressed at work?  Add this routine to your day and your stress level will drop

Throughout the day, stroke your palms and arms with your fingertips. Massage your scalp. Run your hands gently or firmly over your belly or chest.

These pleasurable sensations release dopamine, and the dopamine turns off the worry centers in your brain.

Self-nurturing (something every mammal and bird will do almost every hour) is one of the most overlooked strategies for maintaining a healthy brain!

Try it today.

Another Ritual To Keep You Focused & Productive Between 9 and 5

Last month, I presented four rituals to help you stay focused and productive throughout the work day.

Here is another ritual to try, from noted neuroscience expert, Mark Robert Waldman, author of NeuroWisdom.

According to Mark, yawning and super slow stretching are the best ways to improve work performance. He recommends taking at least one mindful yawn and one slow stretch every hour.

Yawning is the fastest way to “relax” your brain, and a single slow stretch (example: take 60 seconds to gently roll your head in a circle…you’ll feel more aches than you ever notice before) allows your brain to send a relaxation signal to your muscles.

If you haven’t already done so, download a mindfulness bell on your computer (or cell phone). Set the bell to ring at least once each hour. Take one mindful yawn and sixty seconds of slow stretching.

If you do this throughout the day, your stress levels will drop and work productivity will increase.

For extra credit: Set the bell to go off three times an hour. The first two times just stop to yawn and slowly stretch for 10 seconds.  At the top of the hour, do something pleasurable for 60 seconds as you contemplate the most important value you want to apply to work right now.

For additional success rituals to implement between 9 and 5 each day, check out the following:

Four Rituals to Keep You Focused & Productive Between 9 and 5

What rituals do you have to recharge and reduce the stress in your life?

Are you constantly under stress and in a state of overwhelm? Do you have any daily rituals to help you alleviate this stress?

Many of us live our lives in a constant state of stress, particularly those of us who run our own businesses.  These days, we all have so  many demands on our time and these never seem to end.  There is always something going on in the back of our mind.  We are constantly in a state of go-go-go.

That puts our brain into an excited state where its hyper vigilant. Remaining in this state ends up exhausting us.

Recharge rituals are ways of getting this stress out of our nervous system and brain. Taking short breaks throughout the day,  even as little as 30 seconds, will enable you to reset your stress level at a lower level.

Among recharge rituals you may want to consider are:

  • Meditation
  • Prayer
  • Massage (or self massage)
  • Getting out in nature
  • Visualization
  • Journaling
  • Reading
  • Spending some time on hobbies that we care about
  • Taking a nap, or
  • Yawning & Stretching

Pick two or three of these recharge activities and incorporate them into your day.  Do these at least two or three times a day.

Do this daily and not only will you experience less stress and overwhelm, at day’s end you will feel good, still have energy, and sleep better.  A pretty good return on such a minuscule investment.