The Mind

"The mind is the most powerful computer in the world."

I heard this statement for the past 20 years from many different people in the self help field.  The reason they all refer to it is because it is true.  There is nothing which can compete with the power of the human mind.  When you consider the achievements of this mechanism, it is truly astounding.  Everything you see in the physical world which mankind invented once existed in someone's mind.  Today, because of perseverance and development, you are able to enjoy the fruits of their mental imagery.

 The Mind Works Both Ways

While the mind created wonderful inventions, it has also helped every individual throughout his or her life.  The mind is constantly working providing an individual with hundreds, if not thousands, of profitable ideas daily.  Every problem that anyone is faced with will first be solved in the mind.  Input the data and you will receive an answer.

However, have you ever consider what the mind does and why it is there?  We see other animals who have "minds" yet they operate on instinct.  In many ways, these animals are better able to deal with the natural setting than humans are.  Yet, when we look at it, the mind is there to protect us.  Ponder the emotions of fear.  This is something that resides exclusively in the mind.  While the physical effects are felt in the body, fear is a manifestation of the mind.  It will take stimulus and create a response.  In its natural state, this is the fight or flight mechanism.  Input will be received by the mind, a threat realized, and fear will be used to protect the individual.  As you can imagine, in the wilderness this is a nice asset to have.

At the same time, the mind is also a jailor.  Everything we experience exists in the mind.  It is where we process the entire world around us.  The five senses (touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste) are only input devices.  All the data is sent to the brain for processing.  That is where we live.  Of course, each person processes things differently based upon their outlook, experiences, hopes, desires, and insecurities.  While the mind exists to protect us, it also will provide us with answers in keeping with a pre-determined plan.  Hence, a pessimist will always receive a negative answer.  He or she will also find the negative in every situation.  Why?  The mind ensures that outcome.  

Controlling the Mind

If life exists solely in the mind, since that is where we process everything, your challenge in life is simply to gain control of this mechanism.  This is the secret to all of life success.  Gain control of the mind and you have control of your life.  Yet so few even attempt this.  Instead, they live like puppets operating in a knee-jerk fashion.  Stimulus enters the mind and an instant result is punched out without any filter.  Conditioning allows the mind to operate freely.

As I mentioned, the mind provides hundreds of profitable ideas a day.  Let us focus upon the business world.  Each person has ideas that are worth a fortune.  The mind gives this concepts to us freely.  A person is driving down the street pondering certain financial difficulties and pop, a profitable idea enters.  The mind did its' job.  However, what happens next?  The self-doubt starts to run wild.  Those ideas such as "you are not smart enough to do that" or "that will never work" take over the conversation.  Ironically, the same mechanism which gave us the first thought also sabotaged the idea.  Both ideas came from the mind.  

This happens every day to all of us.  Allowing the mind free reign means you will never get anywhere.  The most successful people in the world harnessed the power of the mind and are able to direct it to whatever requires the focus.  People who are in top shape physically are a prime example.  Obviously, getting in shape requires physical action.  Those who exercise are the ones with the best body.  So, we know that physical health operates at the physical level (hence the name).  Or does it?  As you can guess, being in shape is a result of controlling the mind.  The reason is simple: everyone has the same thoughts and excuses.  Top athletes have days where they do not want to work out.  The difference is that when these ideas enter their mind, they discard them.  Those self defeating thoughts are not allowed to remain.  Someone who is overweight and out of shape heeds those ideas and remains on the couch.

We see the same thing in all aspects of life.  The human experience is the same for all of us.  Fear, doubt, anger, and insecurity exist in everyone.  However, those who excel win the battle of the mind by moving past them.  They say courage is not the absence of fear but taking action in the face of that fear.  Another way of phrasing it is to take action in spite of what the mind is telling you.  Unless you are up against a tiger in the jungle, fear is most likely nothing more than a figment of your imagination.

It is time to starting thinking about what you think about.  Failure to do so will lead to your mind placing you in a cage.  The possibilities in the world are endless if you will only allow yourself to consider them.  The mind will give you the idea...it will also provide another idea to negate the first one.  Be mindful of this.

DH

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