‘The key is deciding beforehand,’ Andy explains. ‘It lies in being psychologically aggressive with yourself and consciously seizing the initiative. That way you take control of the situation and impose your will on the task rather than letting whatever it is you’re doing dictate your mental state.
‘Stick with it and after a few goes you’ll find that being average actually feels great … and that what feels even better is when you start to notice other people “trying too hard”. There’s nothing more uncool!
‘In the Regiment you’re taught from Day One to be the grey man. To not stand out in a crowd. And you know what, Kev? Forget the licence to kill. There’s nothing more liberating than the licence to bore the shit out of someone!’
WHAT YOU DO
Become a gamer
WHAT IT DOES
Fiendishly clever research shows that symptoms of PTSD may be tempered by playing the video game Tetris right after experiencing a traumatic event. Sounds bonkers – but not only is it true, the logic is water-tight. Here’s how it works.
On the one hand, biologists studying the phenomenon of neuroplasticityfn2 have discovered that memories are ‘consolidated’ or laid down in the brain over a period of approximately six hours. On the other hand, cognitive scientists have demonstrated that the brain’s capacity to consolidate memories is limited.
Put the two together and it follows that an intensive mental task – such as Tetris – should, if played in the ensuing aftermath of a bad experience, successfully compete with the formation of negative images and thereby disrupt the development of traumatic flashbacks.
Of course, this doesn’t just apply to bad experiences. It works for any experience. So if the evils of work are preying on your mind and you want to keep them firmly on the other side of your front door, then why not get your tablet out on the train home?
‘Who’d have thought it?’ laughs Andy. ‘A tablet to block memories rather than enhance them!’
Put the kettle on
WHAT IT DOES
Napoleon Bonaparte once quipped: ‘The reason I beat the Austrians is they did not know the value of five minutes.’
Horatio Nelson made a similar observation: ‘Time is everything; five minutes makes the difference between victory and defeat.’
And it’s true!
It’s amazing what you can get done in five minutes … if you allow yourself to.
‘And it’s also amazing just how many five-minute periods there are in a day!’ laughs Andy. ‘It’s good discipline, five minutes. Sometimes, I lay my boring paperwork chores out on the kitchen table – bills, expenses, that kind of thing – put the kettle on, and aim to polish them all off by the time it boils. It’s a little game I’ve played for years, and I’ve always beaten the whistle.
‘But it’s also a great workout for the mind. Keeps you fit and flexible. Brain cardio, I call it.’
Good advice that, from Andy. Because once, like him, you start to get five-minute-fit, you begin, quite literally, making short work of everything.
So why not put the kettle on and give it a try?
‘After all,’ says Tea Boy, ‘what have you got to lose? At the very least you’ll get a brew out of it!’
Just do it.
WHAT’S IT TO YOU?
Research shows that procrastination uses up valuable mental resources, and, a bit like leaving the lights on in the car, constitutes a subtle drain on battery power. So next time you find yourself putting off filing that report:unchain your inner psychopathjumpstart your motivationtoughen your resolve …
… and ask yourself this: since when did I need to feel like doing something in order to do it?
‘I can honestly say,’ comments Andy, ‘that the only time I ever feel like doing something is when I’m actually doing it. The decision to do it is always cold and clinical.’