Fathers World | Dr. Ted's Mind Gym

Dr. Ted's Mind Gym.

Questions

Mental Floss

A MENTAL MINUTE

The mind is not a muscle but, in the opinion of many, especially me, behaves or functions like one. Therefore, like any good muscle, your mind should have a workout in order to remain in shape and ready for peak performance.Mentally doing what you know you can do and have already done before, while perhaps difficult and challenging, will not serve as a "good enough" mentalworkout. You must do something new and somewhat foreign - - - a change in the normal routine of your mental functioning.A number of fortune 500 companies,for example, have begun requiring their top executives to go for brief periods of training in areas totally unrelated to their employment, personal interests, and natural abilities. Thus, these executives are truly getting a mental workout.

Each month I will suggest a mental exercise that can be done, after some brief practice, in a minute or less. Perform the exercise several times per day or week. Each exercise will be chosen due to it's potential ability to sharpen the mind, or refresh an overextended and burdened mind, or to act as a channel for greater insight and information about you and your environment. The April Mental Minute is as follows:

APRIL'S MENTAL MINUTE

This exercise is to be done wherever you are, whatever you are doing, as long

as you are able to divert your attention away from the demands of your

environment for one minute. At first, this exercise may take 2 minutes.

After one or two days of practice it can probably be done in 30 seconds. If

this exercise seems dumb, do it anyway. As Disney's Pocohantas said, "You'll

learn things you never knew you never knew."

step #1) In your mind, create one short, coherent, grammatically correct paragraph that describes, or captures the essence of, how you are feeling about whatever you are doing right now. See that paragraph clearly in your mind. Do not write it down - - - this is a purely mental exercise. Don't waste energy wondering about whether or not you are answering the "right" question. Just mentally write about "where you are at" at this brief pause in your life..

step #2) Condense or collapse your paragraph into one coherent and grammatically correct sentence. One sentence only.

step #3) Condense your sentence into one word. One word only.

step #4) Prepare to take a breath. As you breathe in, mentally say "I am" and as you breathe out, mentally say whatever your word is. * * In breath = I am / Out Breath = "my word." This might sound like "I am anticipating" or "I am freedom" or "I am trapped" or "I am leader" or "I am satisfied" or "I am parent" or "I am crossroads" - - - the list is obviously endless, and "the word" will have the special meaning, known only to you, that you have infused it with.

Give your mind the task, and the gift, of this workout in which you identify where you truly are for the moment.Learn moment to moment living.

Send your questions to Dr. Ted at: drtedsaid@fathersworld.com

Dr. Ted Horowitz is a psychotherapist who specilaizes in coaching divorced and widowed parents to manage their lives with optimum effectiveness. His practice is in Queens and Port Jefferson Station, NY. He is a single father of four.

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