Meditate before you startup : How to hack your brains to be a better founder

Starting up is different for different people. It ranges from being a journey for some, for some it is like going to war. One thing is for sure, it’s not easy. What is easy is to give up. Many say that they gave up because things were not working out. If you look at the story of the giants, there were times when things were not working out for them, but still they didn't give up. They may have changed the direction of putting efforts, some pivoted, but NO, they didn't give up.

So why this happens? Why people tend to give up? Isn't this one of the big factors behind why 9 out of 10 fail because 7 of them gave up too early?

Lets take a look at our brains. If you ever played a sport for a long time, you must have experienced times when your brain and body asked you to give up, but then you didn’t and something great happened. What exactly happened here? The system of the survival in you wants the best for you. It takes decisions based on past experiences. People who have done some of machine learning will definitely understand this. So it does whatever it feels right based on your past experiences, and since we trust our mind and body too much we tend to give up.

Past experiences. That is the keyword here. This is where you need to hack. Have you ever started up in the past? No. Then how can you trust your brain and body here, when they have no idea what to do. But then you don’t have a choice. If you don’t trust them your brain goes into a conflict and this is what results into stress.

So what can we do? Lets hack it. Lets hack it in such a way that no matter how bad times are, you still remain calm and take decisions which are good for the company or your idea, not for you or anything else.

How can we do that? Simple. Simulate. Meditate.

There was an experiment done a while ago. A group of basketball players were divided into two. One group was allowed to practice in a basketball court, the other group simply vsaw videos of great matches again and again. After sometime when both groups were tested, something amazing happened. Both have improved nearly same. Now how that happened? This is the power of mental simulation. This is how you can hack your brain too.

1. Think about your idea again and again. Rephrase it until it sounds really motivating to you. Rephrase. Repeat. Rephrase. When you have one speak it out loud to yourself.
2. Think about your plan step by step. Consider various possibilities at each step, not only success and failure, and then think what will you do if this happens. Even if you don’t find a solution what you are doing actually is preparing your mental state. This way when the situation comes you won’t panic, you will be calm and at your best. This is similar to a situation when you know what is going to happen. It’s the uncertainty which makes you panic, so hack that too.
3. Think about failure. Yes, this may sound bad but think about it. Don’t think about what will happen if you fail. Think what will you do if you fail and have a plan B ready. This way you will remove fear of failure from inside you. This is what special ops do before they are sent for dangerous missions. Fear of failure clouds your mind. You can add the thought that “Failure is not an option” to this later, but don’t let that instill fear in you.

We have been using these hacks and so have been founders who work with us. This didn’t ensure success, but it ensured that we kept trying, and that is something which everyone tells you to do, but very few do it.

“Always remember, when you are trying to solve a problem, someone will have to bear the pain, if you are trying to absorb the pain of others, you will have to find a way to not let it make you go down” — A monk in Dharamshala told us this, and it took us months to understand it.

Keep exploring, keep discovering, keep building !!

If you are planning to start-up, get in touch with us at hello@alphaninjas.com or visit us at www.alphaninjas.com. Why? We make it easier and faster for you, not everything, simply the beginning, the start of your start-up.