Have you mastered your mind?
I remember the first time I was pummeled by self-defeating thoughts and beliefs. I was in 9th grade at the West Virginia State Cross Country Championship Meet.
It was the end of my first cross country season. I was undefeated. I was projected to win by a long shot. The local papers had featured me in several articles and built up a lot of hype around my expected win.
While I was in phenomenal shape physically, I hadn't learned how to master my mind. I had a gremlin on the loose in my head and didn't have any tools or skills to work with it. Despite my excellent physical conditioning, the gremlin won.
I don't recall much about the race other than that I finished. After the race, I was told that I had hyperventilated and lost consciousness. I finished 22nd.
It was a huge disappointment and embarrassment.
It wasn't until later in my life that I realized the outcome of this race was a direct result of not being able to manage my thoughts. I buckled under pressure.
Growing up, I remember my dad sharing with me often about the power of the mind. I remember him stressing how important it was for me to learn how to master my mind. He said that if I didn’t learn how to do this, my mind would be the master of me and would limit what I could achieve.
I had many more opportunities in my life to learn this lesson, none of which were enjoyable:).
I now understand what he was trying to teach me.
I have worked hard to learn how to manage my thoughts and beliefs so that they don't get the best of me.
Here are 5 strategies I use to master my mind:
1. Notice your thoughts and beliefs - This is probably the hardest and most important step in the process. If we can't step back and notice the thoughts and beliefs we're having, it's impossible to change them. Learning how to shine the light of awareness on the thoughts and beliefs that aren't serving us is the first step to managing you mind. If you don't have experience with this, consider developing a meditation or mindfulness practice.
2. Ask yourself, "Is it true?" - This is from the work of Byron Katie. This inquiry has been extremely helpful to me in deconstructing thoughts and beliefs. If you answer yes to this question, ask yourself “Can I absolutely know this to be true?”. See if you can find proof contrary to the thought or belief. For example, if you have a thought or belief around not being good with money, recall any times where you demonstrated good judgment with respect to money. Try to find an argument against your thought or belief to prove that it’s not entirely true.
3. Make a decision - After we acknowledge and use inquiry to dissect our thoughts and beliefs, the next step is to take responsibility and make a decision about what we will continue to believe, or not believe, going forward. Yes, we have the ability to choose what we believe. There are no rules about having to have the same beliefs for our entire lives, especially when they aren’t serving us well. It might be scary to let them go. If so, consider asking yourself, "who would I be without this thought or belief"? See if more freedom opens up when you consider the alternative.
4. Connect to your vision - Connect back to your vision of what you want for yourself. If we are using the example of money, connect to how you will feel having successfully managed your money. Imagine what you will be doing, how you will carry yourself, how you will interact with others, and how you will show up in your life having mastered money. Connecting to our vision can be a powerful strategy for bulldozing over limiting thoughts and beliefs.
5. Connect with the qualities you need to make your vision a reality - Think of the qualities that you need to connect with in order to get to where you want to be. It might be courage, love, compassion, strength, resourcefulness, creativity, adventure, or fun. Be intentional about connecting to these qualities regularly. Maybe you need to write them down on post-it notes and put them in places you will see them regularly. Maybe you need to create a screensaver on your computer to remind you to connect to them. Maybe you need to set a reminder on your phone. Be creative and resourceful. Think of ways to remind yourself regularly to connect with these qualities.
How about you? How do you work with your own limiting thoughts and beliefs? Have you learned how to master your mind, or is your mind the master of you?
Which of these 5 strategies do you feel would make the biggest difference in your life right now? What's one step you can take this week to implement this strategy?
I know you are capable of so much more than you realize. Remember, you hold the key to unlocking your potential. Don’t wait another minute to unlock the door and let yourself free. I promise you won’t regret it!
In Ultimate Support of You!
Katharine
P.S. I'd love to support you in mastering your mind so you aren't limited as to what you can achieve. Click here to grab a 45-minute Empowerment spot with me. We'll talk about where you are, where you want to be, and determine the best way for me to support you.