The Battlefield of the Mind
Life is basically a warfare and full of battles, but what you need to understand is that among the greatest battles is the battle of the mind - that is the battle within. As a matter of fact, in your daily life, you will be faced with battles that come from within; fighting against the forces of fear, anger, self esteem, emotions, and other things. One of the things that I have discovered in life is that you cannot overcome the battle on the outside if you have not won the battle within. It is what you permit in your mind that will manifest on the outside. Just to let you know; the mind can be your greatest ally to overcome the battles of life, but it can also be your greatest weakness if you do not put it to good use. This is why you need to condition your mind to control your thoughts - allow only the thoughts that align with your goals and silence the negative ones.
A couple of days back, I went for a seminar and in the course of the seminar, the lead speaker, who is also a psychologist, made a very insightful statement about the mind, he said "the mind is as fertile as a farmland, whatever you plant in it has the ability to grow." That is, if you plant the tiny thoughts of fear in your mind, before you know it, fear will take over you. If you plant negativity in your mind, it will grow and become monstrous. In the same way, if you plant positive thoughts in your mind, it will lead to growth, success, and excellence. The mind controls a very major part of you than you can even imagine, and this includes your actions, speech, character, etc.
If you have watched a physical combat sports, like the UFC, boxing, etc, you will notice that before the fighters engage physically, they will first throw some words against each other - like war of words. The purpose is to instill fear in the opponent and to work on their mind. They understand that if they are able to get to their mind and win there, they will also win on the outside. Each time you start to nurture fear, doubt, uncertainty, and negativity in your mind, then you are already being defeated in the mind. So you need to stand up against such thoughts and then war against them. Nothing ever succeeds to overcome you on the outside until it has overcome you within.
In order to win the war that is within - the battle of the mind, you need to be armed with some very vital weapons and make use of them. Let us take a look at these weapons. Firstly, you need to control your thoughts. The thought is a very powerful weapon of the mind. Everyone has a mind, but the thoughts that you create and allow in it is your choice, and it will determine your lot. In order to win the battle of the mind, you have to be able to control your thoughts and understand that not every thought should get your attention. Instead of allowing doubt, allow courage; instead of allowing negativities, allow positivities.
Another weapon is information. What you hear will definitely determine a very strategic part of your mind. If you continue to listen to negative things and impossibilities, before long, you will begin to think negatively, and that means defeat from the mind. But if you keep hearing positivities and words of encouragement, or information that spark possibilities, it will help you to overcome the battles of the mind. You have a responsibility to determine what you hear and listen to. Your ears are not garbage truck that you will dump everything, so be selective of what you hear. Similarly, also be selective of what you read and see. All these things affect the life in ways you may not even expect.
In addition to being selective of information, you also need to beware of your friends. Trust me, they can also affect what happens in your mind. If someone always comes around to introduce fear, negativity, and other ills to you, then they are not your friend. You have to be conscious and intentional to make friends with the people that will help you positively even in the mind.
The last point is to constantly practise self-affirmation. Understand that your words carry unimaginable power. So instead of talking negatively about yourself and affecting your mind adversely, you should rather speak something good into yourself - like "I know I can make it," "I am able to succeed at this," "I am strong, not a weakling." All these words, when spoken over time, will shape your mindset and will even boost your internal strength and confidence to overcome the battles within.
Thanks for reading
