Nurture Your Mind
“You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.” — Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
Most people’s problems result from their thoughts about a situation outside of their control. Allow me to unpack this in more detail. Reflect on an area of life causing you frustration. What if you were to hand it to an outsider and ask them to assess it from their perspective? Would they feel the same about it? You might think not, because they are less invested in it than you are. Therein lies the problem. Your attachment to unpleasant circumstances blinds you to seeing it from another viewpoint. What if there’s a better way of taking ownership of your thoughts?
Since you cannot see your thoughts until they manifest into reality, you may question whether you contributed to your problem. The mind can be a powerful ally or foe. I liken it to the tale of the Two Wolves Within and The One You Feed. You can feed the good wolf or the bad wolf. Either way, we should tame the mind with the right stimuli to experience greater success. It was the late American motivational speaker Zig Ziglar who said: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” Therefore, you must nurture your mind with empowering thoughts to become a powerful asset. Does this make sense? Are willing to continue working on yourself despite outside forces acting upon you?
There’s A Reason For Everything
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” — Plutarch
It’s no secret that everything out there in your world begins at the level of the mind, as thoughts. The Hermetic aphorism states: “As within, so without.” What you hold in mind will become your reality, whether or not you like it. This is empowering because it allows you to become the architect of your life, not a mere spectator of your destiny. If you are unconscious of your thoughts or carrying unresolved childhood traumas, they are likely to manifest somewhere in your future. The father of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung, said: “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
The greatest minds in history knew that success results from mental discipline and knowing one’s self at a deeper level. For example, many people don’t know what they want until it shows up in their life, at which point it’s not as they imagined it. Similarly, their reality is built around unconscious thoughts because they are unaware they exist. They are not clear on their ambitions or dreams but are pulled along by life, hoping they will end up where they need to be. This is the person who proclaims: “There’s a reason for everything,” but has no clue what the reason is.
For example, most people want to be in a loving relationship and have a list of qualities their ideal partner should have. They might attract their romantic interest after a while since they have given it their attention and energy. However, once the partner enters their life – if the individual has not reconciled their unconscious thoughts from the past – it is likely to cause problems in the relationship, since the other person will mirror their insecurities.
Develop a Greater Sense of Self
“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind – you are the one who hears it.” — Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul
The self-aware person draws to themselves circumstances consistent with their highest self, instead of satisfying their ego’s needs. To discipline your mind, develop a greater sense of self by focusing on your self-development. You’ve heard it said success is the by-product of the person you become. The self-aware person spends years developing their strengths while controlling their weaknesses. In her acclaimed book Mindsight, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck identifies a person as having either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A person with a fixed mindset believes intelligence is static. They are absorbed in their problems instead of seeing them as an opportunity to be overcome. In contrast, the person with a growth mindset considers intelligence can be developed through nurturing and discipline.
Positive thinking does not improve your situation because it is merely a smokescreen for what is simmering below the surface. The key to greater success is to integrate the fractured aspects of your character into the wholeness of your being. To discipline the mind, focus on what you wish to see in your world. Hold an unrelenting commitment to make that your reality. You will be pushed to your limits and your inner resolve will be tested. However, your investment in your personal growth will be of great service during these times. Is this something you have witnessed in your own life?
Success in life results from forging the mind just as a blacksmith tempers hot steel, fabricating it into a finished product. It was the eminent theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who proclaimed a century ago: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” After all, if you wish to attain greater success, you must develop a new mind. A new paradigm in which to perceive the world around you, instead of being at the mercy of your unconscious mind.
