Mind: You know how much I take care of you

Me: Really? How?

Mind: Whenever someone offends you…I keep playing it to you again and again and again till you drop dead…so that you make an entire villian out of the one who offended you (maybe just once) and steer clear from him

Mind: Whenever you go on a diet, I tell you “It’s okay, just a blueberry cheese cake will not hurt”

Mind: Whenever your alarm clock buzzes early in the morning to wake you up for exercising, I tell you , It’s okay, doze off…yesterday was a tiring day…

This used be my regular conversation with my mind till one day I consciously decided not to be game to the lies that my mind told me…In consistently defying its orders and digging deeper, I uncovered the patterns of our mind to which we unconsciously fall prey to…Mind can be our biggest ally or our biggest enemy if left on its own…Here are some facts about the Mind you need to know to make the best possible from your own Mind.

1.) Your Mind thinks You are your Mind

Your Mind thinks your identity, image,what you do, what happens to you is all your Mind…Your Mind is a part of you..You are not your Mind….Your Mind can tell you umpteen stories which will make sense to you only if you consciously choose to buy them…Your Mind thinks it is super intelligent and responsible for running your Life…But your Life doesn’t run only on logic…it has emotions and feelings which are beyond the Mind’s purview….Look at Google for example….It gives you results based on your keywords… If google starts giving you advice,would you follow it singlehandedly?

The next time your Mind tells you somethings…affirm:

2.) Your Mind thinks loss of Control means death

Your Mind…all the time wants to control everything…which it obviously cannot but it believes it can…It’s afraid of uncertainty…For your Mind…uncertainty is Death…hence it will scare you to death if you decide to step out of the predictable comfort zone that is within the control of your Mind…Your Mind thinks Change is dangerous because the outcome is unknown…Mind loves to work in repetitive patterns because the outcomes become easily predictable then…

Your Mind believes any new things you try beyond its control will harm you….therefore it gives a strong resistance to any new things you plan to work on , assuming it is protecting you from the harm an uncertain outcome will cause…

It doesn’t care if what it prompts you to do is for your good or bad…All that is important is control over the outcome…

The next time when a voice in your head snaps… don’t do that…recheck if it’s your intuition or your Mind playing games over loss of control…

3.) Your Mind thinks Anger is the best defense

Do you realise …most of the times when you get angry it’s mostly because you do not wish to confront some reality about your own self…Your mind is your protector…it’s primary function is to protect you ..this is a survival mechanism and a part of human evolution…It tries its best to distract you from confronting anything that will cause you pain… and it thinks anger is the best distraction….yes it is….it quickly cuts you off from the root cause and shifts your focus on something more external…

The next time when you get angry,ask yourself…Am I genuinely angry or am I trying to escape from some inner confrontation…

4.) Your Mind thinks your Happiness depends on external conditions

Your Mind is your protector…It wants to protect you at any cost …even if that means keeping you stuck in your comfort zone…controlling every thing…and so on…similarly it doesn’t let you experience happiness unconditionally….Why? Because Happiness is always accompanied by an irrational fear of “this wont last”…

Thus your Mind keeps creating conditions to base your Happiness on…Whereas Happiness is your natural state…its intrinsic…But Happiness and Safety do not coexist subconsciously…You have to consciously work to make them coexist…

5.) Your Mind thinks Everything matters

Your Mind has a strong need to control everything to keep you safe…In this attempt it just doesn’t let go of anything…it overthinks and ruminates just about everything…But in the long run ….Nothing Matters…yes…Nothing Matters…The thing that robs you of your peace today might simply not matter at all tomorrow…That offense that you took in someone’s behavior…does it really matter or your Mind is making it matter for you? A lost job, extra weight, a broken heart…will they matter in the long run…And if they matter only till you consciously change the situation, are they worth investing so much of time, emotion and energy on?

Next time you find yourself obsess over something you can die for or kill for…Ask yourself…Is this just a matter of time?..Would it really matter after this time has passed…or in the long run?

Congratulate yourself on your new discovery…after all its just your good old Mind trying to protect you…Pat your back for you have been doing excellent to the best of your capabilities…Smile and tell yourself…Nothing Matters…exhale deeply and rejoice in the moment as these words sink in…

Image Courtsey:humanmind.ac.uk

Related