Training Your Mind
"Change of diet will not help a person who will not change his thoughts.
When a person makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food."
- As a Man Thinketh
Earlier, we learned how powerful the mind is, includingboth the positive and negative way of thinking. We have found out their similarity - that they both have the ability to construct reality in our lives - and their differences - that positive thinking creates positive reality, while negative thinking creates negative reality. These ways of thinking are continuously fighting over a significant position in the mind, in which the one who will succeed will be taken into action by the individual. Therefore, positive thinkers deal with life's challenges confidently and are more likely to attain success than negative thinkers since they look at everything unconstructively.
Comparing the two kinds of thinking, obviously, what we would prefer more is to
possess the positive power of thinking so that we may create a certain and stable destiny.
Of course, nobody wishes for life's bitterness. We all want our happy endings, don't we?
But whether we like it or not, our minds keep on generating all sorts of thoughts, even
those that may cause our failure in the end. We can never stop nor avoid these unhealthy
thinking. But don't worry. It is not yet a hopeless case. What we can do is to train our
minds to focus on the good things rather than the bad, the happy moments rather than the
sad, on what we have rather than what we don't have.
Life is full of surprises and exciting moments that by simply looking at them, we
miss ourselves. We are so busy doing unremarkable stuffs out there - in the mirror, on
the phone, on the PC, in front of the TV and radio, overtaking, adventuring, and endlessly
seeking power and status. This is when car racers feel alive and excited - when they are
in a near death opportunity! Imagine that. Actually, that is when we also feel enthusiastic
- with adrenalin-pumping, hair-raising, goosebumps-appearing incidents or when one is
over excited, can show off, and risks fearful flights - that we cannot see what's real in
our lives. We make mistakes. We miss turnings. We lose or forget things. And this is all
because we lose reign of our senses. Only when there are accidents, car crash, a thump on
the head, a slap in the face, a comment, a synchronized moment, a glance from a
beautiful person, song of a sweet bird, the rising or setting of the sun, a shooting star, or
the rhythm of the waves do we stop for a second and appreciate and reflect these things
with our minds. Time seems to slow down in moments of awe, devotion, speechlessness,
and high spirits. We become aware of beautiful, fresh, sweet, shining, and glowing
moments that only at these times are we awake, truly alive, and with a calm and serene
mind.
They say that we will never really know what we have until it's gone. So, shall we
wait for some things to disappear before we appreciate them? Not exactly. In fact, the
mind can and should be trained to focus on the brighter things in life, no matter how little
or uninteresting they are, so that negative thoughts shall not succeed in creating an
undesirable future for us. Nothing is really late for changes. Here are some ways of
training the mind on positive thinking:
Start the day with cheers and smiles. Your whole day depends on how
you greet the morning. Therefore, as long as you welcome it with energy
and high spirits, everything will go okay. You don't want the rest of the day
to get ruined, do you? Come on, smile! It doesn't cost anything but is worth
everything.
Ask for guidance. Only God knows what we will be having on the day
ahead of us. He will surely appreciate a few minutes of praying and asking
for guidance from Him. Also, have faith on Him that He is more than
willing to grant our requests as long as it is for our own good. With God as
our guide, we don't have any reason not to say and believe in the thought
that I can do this. I can make it through this day. Nothing is impossible.
After all, God is with me.
Plan the day ahead. To avoid mistakes that will cause negative output on
your daily activities that will later on become negative thoughts, it is better
to plan your work first; after which, work your plan. Make sure today's
goals are clearly defined and absorbed by your mind. This can be done even
before you get out of bed each day, just so immediate addressing issues as
they arise can be avoided.
Keep your mind focused on important things. Set goals and priorities for
what you think and do. Visualize practicing your actions. Develop a strategy
for dealing with problems. Concentrate on things that need to be taken
seriously, but at the same time, take time to relax and enjoy. This way,
favorable results may take place.
Be detached from the outcome. They say that life is like a Ferris Wheel;
sometimes, you're on the top, and sometimes at the bottom. This means that
there will be times in our lives where some things would not turn out
according to what we want them to be. Don't be annoyed if you don't get
what you desire. However, do your best in everything you do. Only, don't
get too attached on the probable results that may only cause disappointments
and upsets.
Try new things and challenges. See learning and changes as opportunities.
There's nothing wrong in changing attitudes and routines as long as they are
for the good and improvement of who you are and what you do. Doing new
things may include considering more options for a project, meeting new
people from different places, asking lots of questions. Through this, the flow
of thinking is directed to improvement and negative thoughts will be easily
eradicated.
Balance your desires. We live in a place of opposites and duality - gain
and loss, pleasure and pain, light and dark, male and female, love and hate.
This is how the cycle of life goes. We can never have all the good things in
life at the same time. In love, there will always be someone who gets hurt.
In wealth, there will always be people who will not be fortunate enough.
Measure and moderation is the primary key.
Be realistic. Make sure that what you want is something possible. Hoping
for something to happen which would never really materialize in real life
will only bring you disappointment. For instance, you wish to lose weight.
Therefore, you have to set a goal and act on appropriate measures within a
period of time to achieve what you wish. Hey, No one can get slimmer
overnight. Keep track of your mental and physical health. This way, you
will know how far you can keep believing.
Know yourself. There is no other person in the world who can tell who you
really are. Know your passions, favorites, and principles. Spend some
quality time by yourself - reading, listening to music, day dreaming, and the
likes. If you know yourself completely, you will be aware of how far can
you go physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Love yourself. Before you expect for other people to love and adore you, it
is always you who needs to love yourself first. Make a positive commitment
to yourself, to learning, work, family, friends, nature, and other worthwhile
causes. Praise yourself as much as you praise others once in a while. When
you start feeling confident about yourself, positive thoughts will naturally
flow to your mind.
Laugh. Enjoy. Have fun. Looking at the brighter side of life starts with
entertainment and pleasure. Laughter is the best medicine, so they say.
Whether your illness is physical or emotional, a few laughs and giggles can
help you throw away heavy baggage such as anxiety, disappointment, or
nervousness.
Keep a list of your goals and actions. Familiarize yourself with things you
want to accomplish and with the ways you must undertake to complete
them. By the time you are certain of what you want to do and carry out in
your life, a stronger mind and will power will exist within you.
Associate with positive people. In every classroom, work place, or simply
anywhere you go where there are groups of people, look for optimistic ones.
There are lots of them, I'm sure. Associate with them, hang-out, discuss
matters. They can help you build self-confidence and self-esteem.
Make it a habit to ask questions. This is not equal to dumbness and
ignorance; rather, it is associated with seeking more information and
understanding matters clearly. With more knowledge, there is also more
power.
Be open. We have to accept the fact that we don't know everything. And
that we are continuously learning in every place we go, with every people
we meet as everyday passes. We should not close our minds to new ideas
and information that comes our way. Our mind is so spacious that it is
impossible to fill it up completely. Thus, we should accept worthy things
that may help us become better and brighter persons.
Have trust in other people. Although it may seem difficult and risky to
give trust to just any people, when you believe in them or confident on what
they are doing for you, doubts and negative judgments on them will be
unnecessary. Also, it will bring harmonious relationships between you and
your colleagues.
Forgive and forget. Mistakes and failures are the root causes of negative
thinking. If we somehow learn to let go of all the pain, agony, and fear we
try to keep inside our hearts and minds, then there will be nothing more to
block our clear thoughts from being expressed. Forgive yourself for
committing mistakes and forget these mistakes.
