Your thoughts might be your biggest enemy.
Your mind is the most powerful tool you will ever have. It can create happiness and wonderful life, but when left unchecked, it can become the most destructive force in your life.
As a result, controlling your thoughts means controlling your life’s quality.
While mind control might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, what I will share here is not special Jedi training. Anyone can do it.
I will show you the 4 easy steps you can take right now, to ensure your thoughts are leading you in the right direction.
But first, you must be aware that your mind tricks you.
While you probably tend to believe your mind, it is essential to understand that your mind is a great magician. It is right there at the top, together with David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy and the great Houdini.
In fact, your mind is so fantastic at creating illusions that you might believe that thoughts created from emotions or assumptions are all based on facts.
And so, we often believe our thoughts and act on them without questioning them. We get attached to them and think they are the reality. The problem with this approach is that our thoughts can lead us in the wrong direction. They can act against us.
You might be raising your eyebrow now, thinking – what do you mean my mind works against me?
And you have every right to wonder how it can be.
So, I will give you an example.
Let’s look at a school-aged child. At first, they were OK with the math level they were taught. They understood the concepts and were able to apply their new math knowledge. Then, at some point, things started to get complicated for them. They struggled to understand. And then, they received a bad result on their math test.
At that point, this child thought – “I am just not good at math. There is no way I am going to understand math.”
Is this thinking based on facts?
No, it’s not!
It is based on negative emotions. But unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there with this negative thought. Once this child thinks this thought is true, this thought turns into a self-limiting belief.
And then this self-limiting belief becomes this child’s reality.
As it happens, many children think this way regarding their math capabilities. As a result, they grow up as adults who think and believe they are terrible at math and just can’t get it.
Are you one of those?
Do you know someone who has this self-limiting belief?
I bet you do. I know plenty.
So back to taking control of your rebellious mind.
Your mind is a fantastic tool. It is the most amazing tool you would ever have. If you know how to use your mind, you will succeed and achieve what you want.
However, if you don’t know how to control this organ, it can lead you to unwanted and sometimes dangerous paths. It can make you miserable.
The good news is that you can take the driver seat, be in control and make sure your thoughts serve you. To do so, here are the 4 easy steps you need to take. (You can teach your children/students how to do the same. If you do so, you will be giving them a fantastic gift for life)
Step number 1: Become aware of your thoughts. You play two roles in this step. You are both the thinker and the observer of your thoughts. You need to make the most of your observation powers to control your mind.
A great way to go about it is to shine a light on your thoughts. Don’t let them lurk in the dark. There are different ways to do so. Here are two fun ways to go about it-
Make your thoughts visible. Bring them to life by writing them down. A great tool to use for this purpose is mind mapping. While you do so, feel free to add drawings and use different colours. Have fun with it. You might be surprised to discover what kind of thoughts are running in your head. You can help your children/students bring their thoughts to life in this way as well. It is an excellent way to become aware of what’s going on in your mind.
Think out loud. Get used to thinking aloud and help your students/children get into this habit too. Thinking out loud enables you to understand your thinking and think about your thinking as you articulate your thoughts to yourself and others. (I know, lots of thinking in this sentence)
Step number 2: Identify the source of your thinking. Explore your thoughts to discover how much of it is based on facts and how much comes from your assumptions, beliefs, biases, emotions, etc. Ask yourself- (And teach your children/students to question their thoughts in this manner as well)
What is factual in this thought?
What beliefs might exist in this thought?
What emotions might be hiding in this thought?
What assumptions might I find in my thinking?
Are there biases in my thinking?
Are my thoughts an exaggeration of the situation?
Step 3: Asses your thinking and take control. Always remember that you are in the driver's seat. Question whether you should keep these thoughts. Don’t follow your mind blindly. Don’t fall into the trap of – if I thought it, it must be true, and I should follow it. Always question your mind. You get to decide what to do with your thoughts. They don’t control you. You control them. Ask yourself – (And teach your children/students to asses whether they should keep their thoughts too)
Is this thinking beneficial for me? Why?
What might be the impact of this thinking on-
a. my emotions
b. my chances to achieve my goals
c. my relationships
3. Would it be better for me to keep this thought or let it go?
Always remember that you get to decide what thoughts you want to keep. You have the power to let go of your thoughts. You can choose what thoughts you want to hold on to. Let go of thoughts that are not helpful to you.
Step 4: Act on it. After you evaluated your thought, made sure it serves you and decided to keep it, act on it if needed. Turn this thought into action.
Your mind is a powerful tool that can be used for constructive or destructive purposes.
You can let your mind be occupied by unhelpful, undesirable, and damaging thoughts, or you can take control and choose what thoughts to keep and create for yourself the life you want to live.
It is up to you now to choose whether you want to be in the driver's seat.
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