Did you know that your thoughts lead to action? And if we want to decide the direction that our lives take, we must first take control of our mind?
The actual order is thoughts >> feelings >> action>> result.
We take action (or inaction) based on what we feel. A friend sent me a flyer inviting me to a concert. I took one look at it and decided I’d rather stay home. My decision was borne out of the feeling I had when I considered the cold outdoors and compared it to my warm and cosy home. It wasn’t a difficult choice to make.
However, not all decisions can be traced back to feelings or thoughts as quickly as I’ve just demonstrated because sometimes we do things automatically and without the need to contemplate. Habits and mindsets come under this area. At other times we engage the part of the brain that deals with reasoning and thinking.
If our thoughts ultimately drive behaviour, then it is crucial that we are to keep tabs on their source. For us to do this, we must consider the two points of access- internal and external. The interior doorways are your spirit, which is connected to God, and your mind, which contains resident thoughts or mindsets.
What’s in Your Mind?
A mindset is a belief you hold on to because of a repeated or intense thought or experience. For example, a woman who has regularly been betrayed by men may develop the mindset that suggests all men are cheats and cannot be trusted. Mindsets become established when a repeated thought is backed up by experiential or witnessed evidence.
In the case of our example, meeting a trustworthy man won’t make a difference. Her mindset will inform her that the potential cannot be trusted.
It is essential to examine your mindsets regularly. It is of utmost importance that you identify the source and any evidence to see if it is reliable. The example of the woman above isn’t absolute. Yes, she has had bad experiences, but it isn’t true that all men will betray her. It follows then that just because you can back up your beliefs with fact, it shouldn’t necessarily become a principle that you adopt.
What’s in your space?
Your external environment can feed your mind in two possible ways; actively and passively. Active learning is just that, choosing the information you want to acquire.
Passive learning occurs without conscious awareness. For example, I recently started learning about how different parts of the brain function to aid memory and decision making. This isn’t the sort of information that will passively seep into my brain. I have to concentrate on learning different terminology. On the other hand, passive learning occurs when I mindlessly scroll through social media, or I watch the news- which informs me of the obvious and not so obvious. When we watch the news, we are not just receiving the words they tell us. We are also taking in the tone in which the reader presents it, insinuations and personal opinions – but you are not as aware of it as you would be if you were actively learning. Other examples of receptive learning include conversations with friends and loved ones, advertising and more.
Curate your Environment
The second half of this year has had me curating my environment. From the physical, i.e. clutter, relationships and conversations, to the emotional- thoughts I think, and more recently, the spiritual. Daily, I see the necessity of doing a regular clearout of our spirit, soul and body; we live in a fallen world, so we cannot afford to be apathetic when it comes to the mind. It is the only way we can change the trajectory of our lives.
Do you do a regular clear out of your mind? How do you go about it?
