Can you calculate this in your head?

7 + 2 – 8 ÷ 8 x 2

Took 10 to 15 seconds. No? (The answer is 7)

But as a 5-year-old, could you imagine solving this in your head?

I guess not. It would’ve looked like a big calculus equation. Right?

As we grow up, our minds expand. We discover new capabilities.

Solving puzzles, mystery games, writing through imagination, painting, acting, multiplying or adding big numbers in your head.

From the above example, we can see that the more your mind expands, the more complex things it can accomplish.

But then even as adults, why do we still struggle?  If the mind is so powerful, why doesn’t it work in our favor?

Why can’t it help us beat laziness? Losing extra pounds? Mental clarity? Focus and concentration? Building a business? Meditation?

But there are people who can. People who are fit and focused and rich. What are they doing different?

It’s not that they don’t struggle. They’re humans too, just like you and me. But they’ve learned how to tame their minds and overcome friction. That too, at will.

As they say..

“The mind is a loyal servant but a terrible master.”

Once you’ve mastered the mind, it can help you achieve anything. Easy and effortless.

For introverts, it’s a cakewalk because you have the ability to observe your own mind and alter its patterns to fit your purpose.

And once you grasp the fundamentals, you can use them to reach any goal you’ve set for yourself.

Let me show you how.

 

The Mind-Altering Long Walk

I walk for an hour every day. I’ve been doing it for a decade.

Recently, I tried to take it up a notch.

There is a beautiful green space near my house. It’s a 15-minute circular trek. I do four rounds, and I’m done for the day.

Last week, I decided to walk one more round. And my mind resisted it instantly. I walked for only 5 more minutes, and I was exhausted. Rubbery knees. Stiff ankles. Zero energy.

I gave up in the middle and walked back home.

The moment I entered the house, the feeling went away. I felt exactly like I do every day after the walk. Refreshed, refuelled, and rejuvenated.

This got me thinking. A few minutes ago, I was feeling faint. Enter home, nothing.

What was this sorcery?

I tried it again the next day. Same thing.

And the next, same thing again.

After a 1-hour walk, I’m full of energy, but if I try to extend it, I start feeling tired.

I had to figure it out.

So like always, I sat at my desk, opened my notebook, and began contemplating.

And something clicked.

I realised it was not the body; it was the mind.

And after digging some rabbit holes on paper, what I found was completely mind-altering.

 

The Psychology of Mental Friction

I love solving human problems.

Simplifying the complex.

And I use the first principles approach to simplify and demystify what feels like a complex knot in the mind.

After a session of deep thinking, the knot started to loosen up.

The human mind hates two things:

1) hard work

2) unfamiliarity

And to make the mind act on something, we have to reverse it. Make it Easy and Familiar.

If you cannot comprehend something in your mind, the mind will do everything in its power to stop you.

It’s a survival instinct. For the mind, survival is a top priority. So when it comes to survival, it sees everything as black and white.

If something looks hard or unfamiliar to the mind, it instantly creates FRICTION.

This friction shows up in different ways. Tiredness, nervousness, anxiety, increased heart rate, loss of words, going blank—and in extreme cases, you may even faint.

And introverts, with their high sensitivity, feel the effects more strongly.

You may have experienced these symptoms while:

– Talking to a stranger.

– Giving a speech on stage.

– Giving an interview.

– Asking someone out on a date.

– Taking an exam.

– Tweeting something personal.

All of the above fall into two categories: hard or unfamiliar.

But there is a way around it.

By making only a small change in how you approach a goal, you can overcome this friction effortlessly.

Let’s dive in.

 

The Mental Friction Antidote

After I was done with my contemplation marathon, the next day I walked for 2 hours.

WITHOUT ANY EFFORT.

Here’s how:

When I was trying to extend the walk, my mind was clueless. It had no information about what I was trying to do. It was unfamiliar. And naturally, it felt hard.

The mind is very intelligent. It’s wired for your survival. And it needs a very strong reason to break its own rules. To do something opposite of what it’s wired for, the mind needs a reason.

Rational, logical, scientific, or emotional reason.

How, what, when, where, and WHY.

The more rational and emotional reasons you can attach to a goal, the less friction you will experience in your mind. I teach all of this (how to master your mind and find your purpose) in Awakening.

Let me give you an example.

Killing someone because they walked on your lawn sounds irrational. Because your mind cannot justify it.

But for a soldier who is guarding a country’s border, it’s not.

Because his mind has both rational and emotional reasons to do it.

Rational reason: I’m a soldier; I’ve been trained and ordered to do it. It’s my duty. 

Emotional reason: I’m protecting my country. I’m protecting my people.

In my case, here were my reasons:

I’m extending my walk to 2 hours because,

– It increases longevity

– It had tons of heath benefits

– It will make my body more stronger and resilient

– It will strengthen my heart

– It will improve my focus

– More focus means more high-quality work

– And it will enable me to help introverts in a better way

And the next day, the moment I crossed the 1-hour mark, I felt nothing.

No tiredness. No resistance. Nothing.

On the contrary, I was filled with energy and motivation to keep going for another hour. And I did.

I was a little tired after the 2-hour walk, but only in the body, not in the mind. The mind was happy and filled with new energy, clarity, and focus.

And I know that after a few weeks, my body will also adapt.

That’s all, my friend.

You can wake up at 5.

You can lose 5 pounds in a week.

You can date the person you like.

You can quit bad habits.

You can start a business.

You can become financially independent in a year.

YOU CAN.

All you need is a strong reason. And believe in that reason.

The mind will take care of the rest.