"If you can change your mind, you can change your life."
What we think is what we get. This is a concept that dates way back to Buddha, Seneca and Epictetus, who all knew the power of our thoughts and our ability to create and change our reality. This idea lies at the foundation of this blog you are reading, focused on personal growth. I blend the subatomic nature of science with the Spirit and faith on Zen, which is rooted in Buddhism. At the intersection of science and spirit is where I discovered the power of our minds, and more importantly, our ability to shape our reality depending on where we focus our attention.
While I have known about this concept for quite a while, I am still wrapping my head around it all and putting it into practice. It makes me want to only focus on keeping a positive outlook on life. It makes me want to only think happy thoughts. What I have discovered over the past few years is this is much easier said than done! Even though I have seen the proof and reviewed the research, I still struggle with different areas of my life. Making an effort to prevent the negativity from taking over our minds can be difficult when we are managing the day-to-day responsibilities and commitments in our lives.
Photo by Frederik Sørensen on Unsplash
The key, I found, is being able to catch myself before my thoughts take me to a negative or dark place in my mind. I find myself getting bombarded by the obstacles and setbacks we all experience in life and will want to wallow in the mess I made instead of making more of an effort to address the situation with a more positive mindset and move on. It can feel contradictory. I consider myself an optimist, but life will sometimes do it's part to prove me wrong. This is why I have recently been reverting more to mental strength coach Trevor Moawad's neutral thinking approach. It feels less fake and helps me bounce back quicker.
Everything does not have to be sunshine and roses all the time. Life happens. Things sometimes don't go our way and may even put us in a spot we don't want to be in. In these crucial moments it is up to us to not allow the pitfalls of life to get us stuck in a rut. We determine how long we stay in that negative space based on our thinking. Science and neuroplasticity even show us how our brains can rewire themselves simply by where we place our attention. It's on us to put in the effort of monitoring our thoughts so we can keep shifting away from the negativity and create a better reality for ourselves moving forward.
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