We wish to mingle, but it is advisable to remain a hermit. While we would prefer to work, the new normal has proven to be a great time to kick back and relax.

The rat race has come to a grinding halt and an individual’s time has never been as valuable to ourselves as it is to the outside world. And just like that, the year touted as India’s breakthrough year by the visionary Dr Kalam has come to an anti-climactic conclusion!

We did find a great few positive though, we understood our relationship with food, and how it affects our moods. We understood that when left to our own devices, most of us fell into a rut of a routine that brought out the hippie in us. But most importantly, now that we were bound so close to our loved ones in physical spaces, sometimes, the worst of us just might have shown its glimpses.

For long, it was underestimated, the power of routine, the positivity of sunlight on our faces, and the sheer requirement of human interaction and change of environments. We tried distracting ourselves with mindless entertainment till we could enjoy no more, binging on our favorite foods until we would crave no more, and trying to speak with people until we ran out of sentences without feeling the urge to meet.

Here’s my take, in this rising tide of joblessness, aimlessness and stagnation, on how you can take a position that will reap you great dividends:

–Meditation
The power of meditation is conveyed perhaps strongest by the following words, “When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place.” And we know, a still flame delivers the strongest heat, a startling lesson from our childhood mischiefs.

Here is my favorite meditation app, though it is a premium service there are multiple basic routines you can inculcate before you go mainstream. In the words of Bruce Lee, “Be water my friend!”

–Routine
Building a world-class routine is something Robin Sharma, a high-profile lawyer turned life coach, the author of “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,” recommends and swears by. The best performers know, that to stay in a clear state of mind, some part of your daily life has to be programmed for optimal launch, that is, your mornings.

Here is a beautiful blog post that can help you understand the rabbit hole that arises out of unclear outcomes and digital distractions. And once you are done with it, Robin’s also got a rudimentary schedule planner PDF you can benefit from, I highly recommend it!

–Workout
Working out is a highly underrated mental hack. We all know of the physical benefits and now we do also know of the hormonal surges in wellness we experience. No GYM access, no problem, bust the inertia at home.

My go-to fitness guru is Jordan Yeoh, and his YouTube videos list is filled with exercises you do at home with no equipment, now there’s no excuse!

–Mentorship
Finding a mentor for any activity is similar to how your parents taught you how to live well and in a civil society. We all require help, maybe it is with our fitness, or networking or a particular niche of your business, get at least 3 mentors for different aspects of your life, they will keep you accountable and growing.

Here’s a good place to start, and if you know anyone of disadvantaged backgrounds, help them with this opportunity. There are many other communities like Facebook groups and other community boards where you can find mentorship opportunities. For people with startups, here is an interesting foundation ( Bangalore Chapter) you can be a part of.

–eCommerce
Find great products that you can stockpile and then sell, or look into an affiliate marketing program that will bring you dividends for every sale. Understand the basics of Digital Marketing and how to build a social following for a brand or your personality.

I’ll allow you to do the research on this since your research will tune you to spot trends and learn to filter the noise to focus on accurate high-yielding ventures. There’s nothing better than your bank account piling up while you sleep!

–Stock Market

The stock market rewards technical prowess and intuition. If you think you have evolved your senses well, get yourself a trading account with Zerodha, which has minimal transaction charges. Start off with smaller bets and watch your acumen grow, decide for yourself your ability to remain focused on your estimations. If at all you lose money, you will learn to move on from your mistakes, and when you win you will learn not to stay in the hangover of success. Each day will have you excited to tackle a fresh bet, and some of this attitude will spill into your daily life!

I also recommend you spend time on their market learning app called Varsity which will give you a clear idea of the fundamentals.

–Journaling
One of the most fundamental skills you could develop is the ability of articulation, may it be when you have to convey a critical idea, or maybe it is something you would like to convey to your family and close ones. The difficulty of being able to articulate heightens when you find yourself emotionally unstable or agitated, and journaling gives you a clear shot at tackling both these issues.

Have yourself write down your day’s events however you would wish to, even focusing on the certain times that you felt unsure or worse afterward. Analyze in writing why this could be, not only will you refine your ability to materialize your deepest thoughts and emotions, but you will also find yourself structuring your thoughts in a deeply coherent manner. You will also recognize patterns that lead to self-defeating behaviors, and will consciously mitigate these trigger events from negatively materializing. Grab a page, and write down how your day went now!

–Skill Development

This is one of my favorite things to talk about but would like to keep it short in this article. Skill development not only increases the value you are able to deliver to others around you but also shatters your levels of dopamine in an organic manner. Your interest in increasing your delivery of value is directly proportional to the number of resources you want to accumulate and use. Wealth always frequents the highest roads, and your value easily levitates you closer to these highways in the traffic of wealth.

The second most important function would be of regulating your dopamine levels, which is your brain’s way of rewarding you for achieving something. I will explain deeper about this phenomenon in upcoming articles, but if you are into the habit of masturbation, STOP! What this synthetic activity leads to is the easy and fabricated release of dopamine in your body, and brain, signaling you have completed your life’s mission of procreation as a creature, and motivation to actually build yourself plummets.

Instead, when you drop this synthetic activity, your ability to delay your rewards allows you to pursue more difficult tasks and rewards that come from consistent work over a period of time. An added benefit is skyrocketing self-confidence, non-existent anxiety, and most importantly the ability to authentically connect with anybody!

–Reading
Reading used to be one of my dearest activities when I was a child, especially being deep into fictional works where the line between reality and fiction often melded making me feel one with the written word.

After a major hiatus from reading during my teens, I leveraged my ability to read towards reading non-fiction. You could read anything you find yourself drawn to. Philosophy, modern discourse, self-help, biographies, books of ancient writings, or you could also devote yourself to learning a new language. All of these activities show massive surges in the number of neuronal firings that happen in your pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that finely distinguishes our rational from other creatures that we share this planet with.

–Mental Mastery

Suicide is a luxury of the rich. Surprised? You must be. A great body, multiple beach houses, or a nice Porsche will make you smile in amazement and wonder every time you’re around them, but if you are not content by yourself when you take a hike, chances are you feel incomplete all the time. A vein of hollowness pervades your every exercise of thought and feelings. Wealth without mental strength is fleeting. Acquire both, and you are limitless.

Gratitude, Calm, Appreciation, Will Power, and Focus. You can work on these 5 mental muscles for this month, and I promise I will reconnect with you soon!