“As you live by your values, your sense of identity, integrity, control and inner-directedness will infuse you with both exhilaration and peace. You will define yourself from within, rather than by other people’s opinions or by comparison to others.” – Stephen Covey

Think of the last time that you accomplished a goal. How long did your happiness last for? How long did it take before you came down from the high, and began focusing on the next challenge? I’m going to guess that it wasn’t long.

“Your Attention Please: No one is coming to save you. This life of yours is 100% your responsibility.” - Anonymous

What can you do right now to change your life? This chapter will get you started.

It is time to take stock of what screen time is actually costing you, not just in terms of time, but also sanity.

Advertisements work. Social conditioning (judging yourself against your perceptions of others) impacts your mental health. The 24/7 news cycle is depressing.

Imagine if somebody came up behind you and dumped a bucket of iced water onto your head. No warning. One second you are warm and dry and the next you are freezing and wet.

What are the chances that you would still be thinking the same thoughts?

“Make not your thoughts your prisons.” – William Shakespeare

I have noticed a peculiar thing about my mental afflictions, they come with a warning system, kind of like a weatherman’s forecast.

My internal weatherman is not perfect, but he often provides me with some vital warning signs that can help me avoid an oncoming catastrophe. Sometimes the signs line up and I am in for a week of mental anguish, emotional turbulence, and significantly diminished functionality. Other times the storm innocently passes by and I am quickly back to my normal self.

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.” – Mark Victor Hanson

Goals act as motivating guide posts to keep you on the path of following your dreams. Write them up, put them on your wall, and look at them everyday.

“Hope for the best. Plan for the Worst.” – Lee Child

A crisis plan outlines what you would like to occur when you are going through a mental health emergency It acts as a trigger for action that when implemented, takes you through the steps necessary to get the help that you may need.

It is impossible breathe deeply with a slouched, tense, ‘anxious or depressed’ posture. This physiological change of posture will send a signal to your brain and your mood will begin to change.

So take 10 slow and deep breaths right now. Sounds cliche, but it works. Give it a try!

“Learning how to learn is life’s most important skill.” – Tony Buzan 

No matter what you want to accomplish in life, one thing is certain, it will require learning. Therefore the skill of learning is one of the most important things to develop. If you know how to learn, every possibility is open to you.

Your mind and body are completely interconnected.

It is difficult to remain in a sound mind when you are feeling lethargic, sick, bloated, tired, run-down, or in pain.

You literally are what you eat.

Take stock of your financial situation: review your current expenses, and divert spending towards what you value. Pay off any debts starting with the highest interest rate first. Buy the best quality tools that you can afford and share wherever possible.

Some of the most common questions about meditation relate to posture. ‘How should I sit? Should I open or close my eyes? What do I do with my hands? Can I use a chair and a cushion? What if I don’t have the flexibility?’ Depending on the tradition of your instructor, you will receive different answers to these questions, some of which will be contradictory, all of which will seem very convincing.

I lift every morning and often train at night as well. Beyond the gains to my strength and fitness, lifting has taught me lots about life. It has reinforced certain things and confirmed others.

Here are ten life lessons I’ve learnt in the iron church:

When meditating, if we notice our attention wandering, we gently bring our focus back to the meditation object again and again. This approach works fine, but there is another layer to the practice that can help you to stay focused and mindful for longer and far more effectively.

In order to get the best out of our formal meditation sessions, we need to ensure that our internal and external environments are optimized.

To be clear, mindfulness is not the act of meditating. It is the state that arises from our meditation practice. Therefore, mindfulness is not dependent on the use of the breath as a meditation object. Anything can be used: sounds, sights, physical sensations, thoughts, and even awareness itself. In fact, if we want to integrate the benefits into our everyday life, it is vital that we explore mindfulness across a broad spectrum of meditation objects. That way, we will have the tools of mindfulness readily available to employ, wherever and whenever we need them. What is the point of our practice if the benefits do not transcend the meditation mat?

‘I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.’ - Mahatma Gandhi

We do not meditate when we feel like it, or just when the mood strikes. No, we meditate every day, without fail.

It is important to highlight something here about habit acquisition. Go slowly and make sure all changes are life appropriate. If we go too hard too soon, we risk dropping the practice entirely.

Exercise and meditation are remarkably similar. Both require focused attention, dedication, education, and practice. Both are tremendously beneficial to physical and mental health. And both require a level of faith.

With practice, your ability to maintain focus will naturally improve. However, there are three techniques, counting, labeling and intention setting, that can be added to the above meditation that will provide you with immediate improvements.