Lawyers: Pack Your Mental Diet with 3 Ingredients

The first week of August (2 weeks ago), I was away for a camping vacation. During that time I set aside my Blackberry and disconnected from my regular communication with the world. I felt a bit as though I had stepped into a boat to get to the other side of the lake, away from the 5,000.

Disconnecting helped me reconnect with the best energy in life - nature and the divine. This mental diet not only helps me survive but creates the ability to thrive!

Now that I'm back in my professional life, I need to keep my mental diet intact. Just like you, I get overwhelmed by multitasking, projects, deadlines and the cesspool of constantly flowing information around me. Yet today I remember the power and focus of my mental diet by focusing simply on 3 key ingredients.

3 Ingredients for a Healthy Mental Diet


1.Begin the day gradually. A gradual approach to the day is like a slow-cooking pot roast vs. one zapped in the microwave. It makes you smile, puts your best foot forward and allows both your body and mind to awaken.

Once your alarm goes off, slowly swing out of bed while getting in touch with which inspirational/instructional focus you will first digest. Avoid the constant deluge of news sources - they act like microwaves to us. You want your mind to slowly simmer so the tone is set for a fruitful, richly satisfying experience instead of a turbo-charged mind that is quick to burn.

2. Spend 15-20 minutes on a resource that will give you thoughtful, inspiring nourishment. Whether at the gym, in the quiet of your home or out on a walk, you select what your mind will focus on. Most people take whatever is given to them - in the gym it's the channels already tuned in, the magazines already displayed. In many households it's the habitual morning news and out during morning walks it's the din of traffic. Take control of your own nourishment. It sets the tone to your day.

Like breakfast for your mind, this 15-20 minutes is the most important part of your day. If you need to set your alarm earlier to create it, you'll soon see the results on your ability to find opportunities during the rest of your day.

3. Find reasons to smile and move forward. Your day needn't be a roller coaster ride where you're trying to hang on. Nor is it a quicksand you can't get out of. Your mind has the power to steady your pace, move forward, exercise thought in your conversation and make decisions. That's worth smiling about!

You'll find the divine, natural energies I tapped into out in the woods. Go there, if you choose. Yet find ways in your day-to-day as well.

For tidbits on positive focus and a strong mental diet, go to @merribame on Twitter. Keep your mental kitchen well-stocked!