Mind Your Own Business

We are all prey to negative thinking which is a drain on our energy. Mike George describes how effective self management clearly begins in the mind

Do you manage your mind or does your mind manage you? Do you consciously use your mind as a management tool? Twenty years ago I asked a successful Australian businessman, on the point of retiring and handing over a multinational business built from nothing, the secret of his success. He immediately described how three times a day he rolled his chair back from his desk, rested his head on the wall behind and emptied his mind for three minutes. This, he said stopped the commotion of thoughts, cleared away any mental rubbish and allowed him to make faster and clearer decisions. There is much to learn from such a simple exercise.

Managing people or an organisation in the 'nanosecond nineties' means making more decisions, communicating with more people, and probably working longer and more frequent unsociable hours than at any other time in history. In no other era has there been such a need for a calm and clear mind, with the sharpness to make accurate decisions. In the face of rapid technological change, the need for a fast and agile mind, with the ability to produce appropriate responses under a wide variety of pressures, is essential to keep pace with the demands of customers and suppliers. With the never ending stream of news and events, much of which has a negative flavour, the need to be able to stabilise thinking and create a positive state of mind is essential to thrive in a predominantly negative environment. What goes on in your mind affects all that you say and do, making the difference between success and failure. When working well the mind is the source of ideas, inspiration and innovation, a creator of clear communication and high quality decisions. When working badly it can be the sustainer of hopelessness, depression and fear.

The raw material of the mind is thought. Business plans, complicated designs, new products and even whole new philosophies all begin as a single thought in someone's mind at one moment in time. This is then shaped and sculpted into the details of the plan or design, and brought to life through words and action. How well do you know your own thoughts? People who have created success in their lives have usually taken some time to get to know their thought patterns and thinking habits.

They recognise their own mind as their most precious asset, an essential tool; and their thoughts as their most important natural resource. If you have never given yourself this kind of time and attention to assess and measure the quality of your thinking, and how best to use your mental resources, one way to start is to become aware of the four different types of thought which are:

• l Necessary thoughts
• l Waste (superfluous) thoughts
• l Negative thoughts
• l Positive thoughts

Necessary thoughts: "what shall we have for dinner tonight"; "at what time do I pick up my children from school”; what is the number of my bank account". These are all the necessary thoughts which arise during our daily routine upon which we must act. But if these thoughts are repeated again and again, they become:

Waste (superfluous) thoughts:

These are worrying, brooding thoughts which keep running around in your head. This type of thought has a high tempo, achieves nothing and wastes your energy. Gossiping about others is the most common expression of wasteful thinking Superfluous thoughts are often about the past; "if only I had"... "If this hadn't happened", or about the future. "I hope", "If so and so doesn't show up".... Since the past has already gone, and 'the future is yet to come, these thoughts are useless. In fact some people live their day three times over; once in bed worrying about tomorrow; the day itself, and then again at night, going over what they should have done but didn't. This kind of thinking drains your energy and makes you less efficient.

Negative thoughts:

These are egotistical, greedy, angry, critical, prejudiced, lazy, careless and stressful thoughts. If they become habitual they result in the breakdown of physical health and eventually external failure. It may appear that these kinds of thoughts are the most prevalent today. And they are! They are the root causes of why there is so much stress, fragmentation and anger in society. On a practical level they are the greatest drain on your mental resources, a kind of internal pollution that is well worth cleaning up, in order to make your mind a more efficient tool.

Positive thoughts:

These, on the other hand are always economic. They create a positive internal feeling and sustainable external success. Positive thoughts are enthusiastic, harmonious, honest, understanding, respectful, tolerant and happy thoughts. They are also patient thoughts, giving you the time to see the complete picture clearly, which is essential in order to make accurate decisions.

As you actively learn to watch the quality of your thinking you will automatically ferret out the superfluous and negative thoughts, denying them the life giving energy of your consciousness. This will allow you to regain complete control of all your thought patterns, with no more auto-pilot reactions followed by a feeling of loss or regret. Using your mind to create positive thoughts puts you back in the pilot's seat all the time, not only guiding the business or the team more efficiently on the outside, but doing the right kind of business with yourself on the inside.

In summary, eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive, act immediately on the necessary and clean up the waste.

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