Is it possible to reprogram your mind? The key to everything, including self-discipline and getting what you want out of life is in how you treat your mind.
Mind over matter turns out to be true. If you let your thoughts control you, you will struggle to get what you want from life. But if you understand how your mind actually works and how you can trick yourself into being better, you will become the master of your habits.
Remember, just like when you sit in front of a computer at work, you’re the one in charge, you’re the one in the driver’s seat, you’re the one in control. And it’s exactly the same for your mind, you’re the boss, all you have to do is begin to understand how it all works if you want to achieve your dreams.
Understand how habits work to break them
Habits are formed when a behavior becomes automatic. For example, if you bite your nails everytime you get nervous, or smoke a cigarette every morning you have a bad habit, my friend. Habits, we know are usually hard to crack – the old saying goes that old habits die hard. And we all know that acquiring new ones takes time. But that doesn’t mean to say it can’t be done.
It’s all about analyzing your behavior. How do you wake up every morning? What are your eating habits? Are you messy? We all recognize these as bad habits, and a lot of us struggle with them on a day-to-day basis. But recognizing the problem is half the battle.
THE SOLUTION: TRY NEW THINGS
It’s all about not being stuck in the same routine. Whether you think you do or not, you have a routine. You probably do the same things every evening. Just because your routine may not be perfect or healthy, doesn’t mean you’re not stuck in a bad one.
In order to reprogram your brain, you need to be focussing on trying new things, that’s the important thing. You can go dancing, pick up writing, learn a new skill or listen to new music – any of these new experiences will give you the chance to adapt and change your life. And when you figure out what you enjoy, you repeat these new things and this will help you form new, valuable habits.
Master your negative emotions
Negative emotions are easy to acquire and hold on to. It’s easy for our minds to latch onto revolving circle of negativity and allow it to hold you back. Consider these as bugs or a virus to your software. But fear not, they can be cleared up.
And as you know, just like your computer, when there are bugs it doesn’t perform at its best. Your software begins to act unusually and struggles to do anything productive.
Stearns, an expert in the psychology of emotions deems sadness as an emotion ‘concentrates attention on the self and is an indication that the person (the self) needs help.’ He goes on to conclude that it distinguishes itself from fear and guilt as sadness is an emotion that’s not responsible for the repercussions of its actions.
THE SOLUTION: GET INSPIRED
Just like Albert Einstein had once said ‘You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.’ And that’s completely true. You need a fresh mind and a fresh outlook. For this to happen, there needs to be a change. If you don’t feel like waking up in the morning, get up anyway. If you don’t feel like smiling, smile.
Looking at how other people deal with their negative emotions and get on with their lives daily is a good way into tricking your brain to do the same. Let them be your inspiration. Because let me tell you, everyone has a story, something that holds them back. But the women who don’t let that happen is the women you want to be. Study people like the closely, steal their outlooks and take them on board.
Become a problem solver
In order to understand the logistics of problem-solving, you need to first look at the way in which you solve said problems. Ask yourself, do you solve problems with your intuition? Do you experiment a with a few different solutions? Do you need to seek advice first? Or do you rely on your reason and logic?
By understanding which approach you take, you can begin to analyze and even recognize some of the limitations you have. According to Dr. Dellarosa ‘problem solving is nothing more and nothing less searching for means to reduce the differences between your goal state and your current state’ and this means that the process of problem-solving is a search; a search for what’s right.
THE SOLUTION: FIND A MENTOR
Don’t fret if you’re struggling to find a solution to a problem. Problem-solving gets better with experience. And believe it or not, you can acquire this logical way of thinking by taking it for free from other people. Seek out a mentor, someone in your industry that’s been through it and learn from their principles. It only takes one piece of advice for everything to fall into place and click.
Taking these incredulous pieces of advice can change your way of thinking much more easily than struggling to come up with a solution.
See the world in a better way
This one can become a little trickier when it comes to reprogramming your outlook of the world. But the easiest way to start is trying to take more notice of what you actually notice. Also notice what pieces of information your brain takes in first – ask yourself, what’s the first thing you perceive?
Next, you want to point out what functions and part of the brain do you use to take in and prioritize this data. What’s more important? What do you emphasize more with? Do you connect things a lot with your currently formed opinions? Do you pick out differences between these?
All of your answers to these questions play a crucial part in discovering how you think and how to change it.
This is a bit trickier, but try to notice what you notice. What information do you look for first? What functions are you using to prioritize the data to your brain? Do you look for similarities with your current opinions? Differences? Do you look for details or the whole?
THE SOLUTION: READ MORE WIDELY
This may sound really simple, but it’s no secret that reading will broaden your outlook and help you form more well-rounded, diverse opinions that come from varied writers across the globe.
And I’m not just talking about reading your latest crime fiction favorite. You should pick up books your usual self wouldn’t usually read. Broaden your range and see the books that most successful women recommend here. In them, you will find unique views and perspectives of the world, deep metaphors, and outlooks you wouldn’t usually find anywhere else. And you’ll be surprised with how different you’ll start to think.
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Photo by Olivia Palermo