Command Joy by Finding your Mental Peak

The mental peak state. When is your peak state? For some, it is in the morning. Some people wake up and are good to go. They are ready to crush the day while everyone else is still in a daze. For others, it is later in the evening, after they have fulfilled all work and family obligations. These Night Owls spend their evenings re-charged and ready to face new challenges.

We all have different circadian clocks and biorhythms that affect our peak state. Some of it is genetic, some of it is based on lifestyle behaviors. We can get ourselves into a “peak” or heightened state of mind and then operate from that state anytime we want to. ANYTIME!!!

The first thing we can do is shift our mindset to become more forward centric and forward thinking. As we get older, we tend to play out our days in our routine, where the pattern of yesterday looks the same as today. We tend to eat the same things, watch the same things, and do the same amount of work as we have always done. We may have important goals we are pursuing. But if, when we look at our actual daily behavior, does it mostly look like what happened yesterday? Children don’t do this. Kids are almost entirely future oriented. If you ask a little kid their age, they will say “I am almost 8!” or “I am 4 and a half!” They can’t wait for the next day to arrive, and are full of anticipation about what is to come next.  We can command joy by training ourselves to act and live from the future we want to create, not from our past.

We can keep our eyes on the prize. If we commit to our goals, really commit, we won’t have time or energy for any other way of thinking. As we start to train our brans to act and react from the place of our deepest desires, our behaviors will change dramatically. When we are wholeheartedly focused on our goals, we will act with enthusiasm and interest, no matter what time of the day or night it is. We will start to see potential where others see nothing. We can put ourselves into a zone where we see incredible opportunities and experiences. Our perspective comes from our mindset. When we feel excited about the future and the possibilities, we will act more powerfully and positively, which will put us into a mental peak state. When we are in focused pursuit of our goals, the best thing we can do is to fully embrace the feeling of having our goal already fulfilled.

There are simple ways to recharge when we slip into low energy. In addition to getting enough sleep, there are things that we can do to make sure we set ourselves up for success for getting the rest we need. “Treat yourself as well as you treat your smartphone, making sure to sleep until fully recharged.” — Arianna Huffington. By giving ourselves a regular bedtime, to not looking at screens at least 60 minutes before we want to go to sleep, to not engaging in work or stressful activities before we hit the hay, and by creating an environment where we can actually sleep (dark, cool, and comfortable), it will be easier to get into the mental peak state we need. Taking a time out when we start to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed can also help us mentally. If we start to feel the emotions rise up in our body, we can stop. Close our eyes. Focus inward. Get centered. Remind ourselves about our desired future and visualize it in our minds. Then we can open our eyes and reawaken to the next thing we need to do toward our goals.

Changing up our environment helps too. If we find ourselves not as efficient or effective at our desks, it may be time to stand up and walk outside. We may need to work someplace different than where we normally do. This helps us get a new, fresh perspective on our ideas. So change it up, shift around, listen to your thoughts and feelings and make sure they are on track towards your goals.
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Now tell me, in the comments below, when have you commanded joy by getting into a mental peak state? What did you do?