Kill the ANTs! ("Automated Negative Thoughts") Before They Infest Your Brain

Your every thought matters. It has be proven in research that negative thoughts have a tendency to create inflation in areas of the brain often related to anxiety and depression
. Whereas a positive thoughts have an overall calming effects on the the brain.

These negative thought are referred to as by Dr. Amen as "Automated Negative Thoughts". These ANTs are automatic, and they just happen, and if you don't pay attention to them they can ruin your day or even your life. One clear example of an ANT is you quitting your business because you think "it's not possible to make a living working from home" This type of thought happens when you are not attaining the results you are working for.

As per Dr. Amen, there are 4 ANT species.

1. Mind Reading - this is when you try to predict that another person is is thinking something negative about you without them even telling you. Just because someone looked at you in a weird way doesn't necessarily mean mean they are thinking negative about you, for all you know they may be constipated! Don't try to read peoples mind, it's impossible. It'll save you a huge head ache.

2. Fortune Telling - This is when you attempt to predict a bad outcome of specific situation before it has even happened. For example "no one is going to like my new marketing video". By doing so you are unconsciously predicting failure which in essence will cause you to fail. This will cause you perhaps not to create another marketing video for your business and you quit and never live the life you were dreaming about.

3. Always or Never Thinking - This where you actively think in absolutes like "always, never, every time or every one" By you thinking this way you are overgeneralizing and this can alter your behavior. For example : No one responded to your email marketing campaign, and you say to yourself "i'll NEVER" send out another email. This ANT will prevent you from sending any future emails campaigns which will cause your business to suffer, you quitting and never attaining your goals that you set out for yourself.

4. Guilt Beatings - This is when your brain overruns you with thoughts like "I should of.... I'm bad because.....I must do better" These type of guilt has a powerful affect at making you feel bad. It's a lousy motivator of behavior. For example : Just because people in your organization aren't having the same results as you does not mean you're doing something wrong, therefore you shouldn't make yourself feel guilty for their lack of success. There could be MANY other reasons, why blame yourself?

Your brain will always have ANTs, but the secret is that you do not have to believe every thought in your head. It's very important to be able to identify if the current thought is damaging or beneficial to you. If you never "challenge" your thoughts you simply tend to "believe them" as if they were true.

ANTs can take over and infest your brain. Develop an internal anteater to hunt down and devour the negative thoughts that are ruining your life.

Being able to identify these thoughts will help you choose to think better and positive thoughts which will make you feel AMAZING or you can choose to let the negative thoughts infest your brain and feel LOUSY. It's really up to you! When you think a negative thought without challenging it, your mind believes it and your brain reacts to it!

The Meaning and Definition of Integrity

"Integrity is one of the most important and oft-cited of virtue terms. It is also perhaps the most puzzling. For example, while it is sometimes used virtually synonymously with 'moral,' we also at times distinguish acting morally from acting with integrity. Persons of integrity may in fact act immorally-though they would usually not know they are acting immorally. Thus one may acknowledge a person to have integrity even though that person may hold importantly mistaken moral views.

When used as a virtue term, 'integrity' refers to a quality of a person's character; however, there are other uses of the term. One may speak of the integrity of a wilderness region or an ecosystem, a computerized database, a defense system, a work of art, and so on. When it is applied to objects, integrity refers to the wholeness, intactness or purity of a thing-meanings that are sometimes carried over when it is applied to people. A wilderness region has integrity when it has not been corrupted by development or by the side-effects of development, when it remains intact as wilderness. A database maintains its integrity as long as it remains uncorrupted by error; a defense system as long as it is not breached. A musical work might be said to have integrity when its musical structure has a certain completeness that is not intruded upon by uncoordinated, unrelated musical ideas; that is, when it possesses a kind of musical wholeness, intactness and purity.

Integrity is also attributed to various parts or aspects of a person's life. We speak of attributes such as professional, intellectual and artistic integrity. However, the most philosophically important sense of the term 'integrity' relates to general character. Philosophers have been particularly concerned to understand what it is for a person to exhibit integrity throughout life. Acting with integrity on some particularly important occasion will, philosophically speaking, always be explained in terms of broader features of a person's character and life.

What is it to be a person of integrity? Ordinary discourse about integrity involves two fundamental intuitions: first, that integrity is primarily a formal relation one has to oneself, or between parts or aspects of one's self; and second, that integrity is connected in an important way to acting morally, in other words, there are some substantive or normative constraints on what it is to act with integrity. How these two intuitions can be incorporated into a consistent theory of integrity is not obvious, and most accounts of integrity tend to focus on one of these intuitions to the detriment of the other.

A number of accounts have been advanced, the most important of them being: (i) integrity as the integration of self; (ii) integrity as maintenance of identity; (iii) integrity as standing for something; (iv) integrity as moral purpose; and (v) integrity as a virtue. These accounts are reviewed below. We then examine several issues that have been of central concern to philosophers exploring the concept of integrity: the relations between types of integrity, integrity and moral theory, and integrity and social and political conditions."

I am still looking for a perfect meaning of Integrity

Improving Employee Performance

Organizations continually search for ways to improve workplace performance and increase efficiencies, for several reasons. It's a domino effect...the better the employee performance, the better the customer service. This leads to a better reputation which can result in better sales. Improving workplace performance features changing behaviors which is no easy task. The best way to start is from the top, down. Managers and supervisors who follow certain tactics as it relates to communication, listening and understanding themselves and others can make a huge impact.

Communicate Effectively

Effective communication can be the key to employee performance, efficiencies and eventually, employee morale. A few steps to follow, no matter what the project, are as follows:

1. Speak in Terms of the End Result.
With an end result effectively communicated, all involved will understand what it means to be successful. Just by naming the end result, employees will immediately begin reviewing the steps in their minds to achieve that end result and unnecessary questions will be eliminated.

2. Clarify Expectations.
Many times, expectations are not communicated clearly. Even in cases where communication is frequent, there is misunderstanding involved. Once the end result is stated, other expectations should be covered... both obvious and subtle. Examples might be what the priorities are in a list of tasks, how long a project should take, and what resources to consider. The more specific the expectations, the less time is wasted gathering too much information or going in a different direction.

3. Touch Base Again... and Again.
Once you are sure that your expectations and goals are clear, be sure to touch base with your employees often. This is not the same as micro-managing. By simply making yourself available to your employees, efforts towards various projects can stay on-course.

Listen Carefully

We've heard this time and time again but there's a reason for that! Many people don't take in all the facts they need to because their minds drift, they are preparing a rebuttal or they are processing one statement while several other statements are being made. Pay attention by keeping your eyes on the speaker and try to drown out other conversations or noises. Be prepared to relay back to the speaker what you heard so that you are sure you got it covered.

Know Who You're Dealing With
Getting an understanding of why people act and react the way they do is very helpful when you are working closely together. For that matter, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses when dealing with others is even more important! There are a variety of related assessments including Emotional Intelligence (measures a person's ability to work with others) and Social Style. Determining a person's Social Style gives you insight into what motivates that person and what they feel comfortable with. The main idea behind Emotional Intelligence is being aware of your emotions and your coworkers so that you can communicate effectively.

The Importance of Confidence as a Team Member

A lot of focus is devoted to acquiring the necessary confidence to be a good leader, but less attention is paid to the importance of confidence in each team member. Confidence is necessary whether you are a leader or a follower.

Those who have their sights set upon being a leader from the beginning usually gained confidence at a relatively early age. You will no doubt remember when you were at school there were probably a few students in each class who always put their hands up to answer questions and did not shy away from the lime-light. The rest of the class, by contrast, probably kept their heads down and eyes averted, not because they did not know the answer, but rather because they did not want to be the centre of attention.

If you identify with that feeling, you will also recall that there were probably two elements at play in that sense of not wanting to draw attention to yourself. One is not wanting all those eyes looking at you and the other is a nagging doubt that you might say the wrong thing, or not know the correct answer. There may also be a fear of blushing or sweating or your voice sounding strange. If this is how you feel it is very hard to focus on what you are doing and upon what is going on around you; instead your attention is turned inwards, meaning that you in fact are highly likely to "miss the point" in what is happening around you.

The majority of us are team members as opposed to leaders. To be a good team member you need to be comfortable in your own skin; you need to have high levels of self-confidence.

What happens if you are not confident? Well, your attention will be turned inwards, and you are likely to respond in one of three main ways. You might shy away from making your own observations and contributions to your team because you have a nagging doubt in your own ability, or you might be so absorbed in your own anxieties that you totally miss the point, or you might over-compensate and come across as super-determined and bullish about your own perspectives and as a result not listen property to others. You may find yourself responding in a way which jumps between all three diverse positions, sometimes acting defensively and at other times displaying aggression.

Everyone benefits from improved self confidence, whether you are a leader or a team member. Confidence is the key to success in everything; it is also a major key to happiness as it allows you to relax and enjoy the things which you encounter. If you lack self-confidence you spend your time anxiously looking inwards instead of outwards.

Confidence is something which can be learned, not just through pure experience but through learning to think in a different way. By changing the focus of your thoughts you will change the way in which you feel, and you can do this easily

How to manage change. 10 important lessons my me...

First, be alert for the first signs of change. Change descends on everyone equally; it is just that some realize it faster. Some changes are sudden but many others are gradual. While sudden changes get attention because they are dramatic, it is the gradual changes that are ignored till it is too late.

You must have all heard of story of the frog in boiling water. If the temperature of the water is suddenly increased, the frog realises it and jumps out of the water.

But if the temperature is very slowly increased, one degree at a time, the frog does not realise it till it boils to death.

You must develop your own early warning system, which warns you of changes and calls your attention to it. In the case of change, being forewarned is being forearmed.

Second, anticipate change even when things are going right. Most people wait for something to go wrong before they think of change.

It is like going to the doctor for a check up only when you are seriously sick or thinking of maintaining your vehicle only when it breaks down.

The biggest enemy of future success is past success. When you succeed, you feel that you must be doing something right for it to happen!

But when the parameters for success change, doing the same things may or may not continue to lead to success.Guard against complacency all the time. Complacency makes you blind to the early signals from the environment that something is going wrong.

Third, always look at the opportunities that change represents. Managing change has a lot to go with our own attitude towards it. It is proverbial half-full or half empty glass approach.

For every problem that change represents, there is an opportunity lurking in disguise somewhere. It is up to you to spot it before someone else does.

Fourth, do no allow routines to become chains. For many of us the routine we have got accustomed to obstructs change.

Routines represent our own zones of comfort. There is a sense of predictability about them. They have structured our time and even our thought in a certain way. While routines are useful, do not let them enslave you. Deliberately break out of them from time to time.

Fifth, realise that fear of the unknown is natural. With change comes a feeling of insecurity. Many people believe that brave people are not afflicted by this malady. The truth is different.

Everyone feels the fear of unknown. Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to manage fear without getting paralysed. Feel the fear, but move on regardless.

Sixth, keep renewing yourself. This prepares you to anticipate change and be ready for it when it comes. Constantly ask yourself what new skills and competencies will be needed.

Begin working on them before it becomes necessary and you will have a natural advantage.

The greatest benefit of your education lies not only in what you have learnt, but in working how to learn.

Formal education is the beginning of the journey of learning. Yet I do meet youngsters who feel that they have already learnt all there is to learn. You have to constantly learn about people and how to interact effectively with them.

In the world of tomorrow, only those individuals and organisations will succeed who have mastered the art of rapid and on-going learning.

Seventh, surround yourself with people who are open to change. If you are always in the company of cynics, you will soon find our self becoming like them.

A cynic knows all the reasons why something cannot be done. Instead, spend time with people who have a "can- do" approach.

Choose your advisors and mentors correctly. Pessimism is contagious, but then so is enthusiasm. In fact, reasonable optimism can be an amazing force multiplier.

Eighth, play to win. I have said this many times in the past. Playing to win is not the same as cutting corners. When you play to win, you stretch yourself to your maximum and use all your potential.

It also helps you to concentrate your energy on what you can influence instead of getting bogged down with the worry of what you cannot change. Do your best and leave the rest.

Ninth, respect your self. The world will reward you on your successes. Success requires no explanation and failure permits none.

But you need to respect yourself enough so that your self-confidence remains intact whether you succeed or fail.

If you succeed 90 per cent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks.If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities. Think through but take the plunge. If some things do go wrong, learn from them

Tenth, in spite of all the change around you, decide upon what you will never change: your core values.

Take your time to decide what they are but once you do, do not compromise on them for any reason. Integrity is one such value. These have contributed to our success, including our parents and others from our society.

All of us have a responsibility to utilize our potential for making our nation a better place for others, who may not be as well endowed as us, or as fortunate in having the opportunities that we have got.

Let us do our bit, because doing one good deed can have multiple benefits not only for us but also for many others. Let me end my talk with a small story I came across some time back, which illustrates this