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Unpacking Your Mind 29

By the time you have read this book, you will have seen many
ways in which you can power up your mind and improve your per-
formance. You should have learned more than 100 simple and real-
istic things that you can do to make you more successful by using
your brain more effectively.

Before you move on, read the following story of a typical senior business executive called
Annie. In it there are at least 20 examples of how your mind can be positively or negatively
affected by how you treat it. I have picked out 10 examples and in the next chapter you can
find some of the practical ways in which you can look after your mind more effectively. When
you have finished reading Power Up Your Mind, you should be able to add many others.

A DAY IN THELIFEOF ANNIE’S BRAIN

When Annie woke up she was already beginning to regret last night’s
party. After only five hours’ sleep, her head hurt and her mouth felt dry.
A full glass of water beside the bed reminded her that she had meant to
drink it before her head hit the pillow.
She looked at her alarm clock with horror. Only an hour to go
before her first meeting at 9 o’clock. And today was when she needed an
important decision from her new boss, Stephen, one that had been
preying on her mind for the last week.Two large cups of espresso coffee
later and a quick shower, and she was out of the door and on her way to
her office. Another typical day was beginning and her mind was already
racing. Annie found herself idly wondering how it was that she never
quite realized her potential at work, then dismissed the thought from her
brain as she drove into the car park of Anydeal.com.
“So, let’s get started,” said John to Geoff and the others around the
table.“I haven’t done an agenda as we all know what needs to be sorted
out. Let’s just work our way through until we finish.”
Three cups of coffee and two hours later, the meeting over, Annie
got up from her chair and moved over to the window. It was funny how
much better merely standing up made her feel. She looked at her
scribbled notes of the meeting she had just had. She found herself realizing
that she couldn’t remember a single thing. She hadn’t known what the
meeting was going to be about and had, in truth, switched off after only 20