Feeding your mind.
The other day, my girlfriend said to me “if it wasn’t for everything in the media, today would feel like a normal day at home.” I pondered for a while and realised how true this was. We become our thoughts, we encompass what we watch and believe what we think. Day 4 of Stage 2 lockdown, and with a steadily increasing number of cases each day, the prognosis is becoming more grim. I could spend all day at home worrying about all the bad things that may happen, or I could focus on what I am grateful for and do something useful for my own mind.
At the moment there is so much fear and uncertainty in the world. Uncertainty unleashes negative thoughts that can take over our minds and consume us. It can make us believe that we can’t change anything and feel defeated. It’s up to us to take back control of our thoughts. But how? You feed it with positivity. You can read feel-good books, listen to podcasts and watch ted talks. Feed your mind with something nutritious because you are what you eat. Get yourself an e-reader and start downloading books that you’ve never gotten around to reading. Not only will it change the way you think, but it will promote great personal development.
I always used to struggle with reading in high school. It wasn’t until my adult years where I discovered a love for reading. It was because I started exploring topics I enjoyed rather than those prescribed to me. I began reading books about communication and human behaviour. That’s where I discovered my passion for reading and a thirst for knowledge.
Everyday we get to choose our thoughts and how they are influenced; by what you watch on tv, what you read on your phone, who you talk to and who you surround yourself with. You need to stand guard for your own mind and decide what you want to let in. If you let negativity in, then the weeds will appear and your thoughts will become overgrown. In a time when it may be easy to think “why did this happen to me?” instead, ask yourself “what is this trying to teach me?”
So tomorrow morning, rather than turning on the television only to get bombarded with doom and gloom from the media, spend the first 20 minutes of your day paying gratitude to something in your life, meditate, read, or watch something positive.
“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn