MENTAL DIET: How To Cultivate The Ideal Mindset (Part 2)

“…whatever is true,  whatsoever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things (fix your minds on them)”

–     Paul the Apostle.

To cultivate the ideal mindset is to rid the mind of all forms of negativity. The undertone or the fabric of an ideal mindset or ideal thought qualities is absolute positivity. In other words, positive thinking is the foundation on which the ideal mindset is built –one thought upon another. Consequently, for your life to turn out right negativism has to go.

Have you ever considered why fish in their salty aquatic environment do not in itself become salty when it is prepared and eaten by human beings? In fact, you need to add adequate salt for it to be tasteful to enjoy the fish meal. Here’s the rub, the salty water in the aquatic environment inhabited by the fish does not get into the internal part of the fish and hence, though the fish is surrounded by salty water the fish is not determined by the salty water.

 We can draw a valuable lesson from the fish. As human beings, we have the ability or power not to allow what is happening around us to get into us. In life, it is not what happens around us or to us that really matters but rather it is what happens within us that determines our success or failure in life. The world is filled with negativity and a garbage dump mentality and we must make a choice to stay afloat in this ocean of negativity. From our waking moment to the time of our night rest, we are bombarded with all sorts of garbage from divers sources and probably even from people close to us.

How can we shield ourselves from these “missiles” of negativity that threaten to destroy our inspiration and motivation to succeed?

• To preserve our inspiration and motivation and live positively in a grossly negative world, we need to protect the three gates to the control center of our lives (the mind): the eye gate, the ear gate, and the mouth gate.

• The first waking moments of the day set the tone for the day. We can’t begin the day by waking up and immediately switching on the television to listen to the News or even read Newspapers or begin the day with social media (unless you are reading an inspirational post) and expect to stay positive or respond positively to the events of the day; it most probably will not happen. Of course, the world is full of tragedies and negativity and these make the headlines above the positive events.

• You need to create a positive mood and carry a positively charged “atmosphere” as you step into the day. Therefore, on waking up in the morning be grateful to God for the gift of a brand new day and another opportunity to succeed; count your blessings and not your losses.

•  Begin each day on a clean slate and a free mind. Remember, past failures do not predict future reality unless you project the past into the present.

• Read, study, and meditate on the Scriptures and other good, clean, and powerful inspirational or motivational books in the first waking moments of the day; it is also helpful to listen to inspirational music. All these help to discard the negativity that had been dumped in the mind the previous day.

• You also need to plan for the day and make up your mind ahead of time to be positive throughout the day, and one of the ways to accomplish this is by thinking of ways to add value to the people you will deal with during the day.

• It is vital to make up your mind that even if the day does not work out as planned you will remain positive, believing that ultimately all things will work together for your good. In fact, Life has proven many times that when things do not go as we had planned and we get disappointed, if we maintain a positive mental attitude despite it all, Life will eventually give us a better bargain.

• During the day, by any means possible, and especially before having your night rest, you should expose yourself to positive information as you did in the morning so that the subconscious mind can work on the information and make it part of your behavior.

•  It is wise to be selective of the television programs, movies, and music we watch and listen to, choosing those that convey uplifting, positive, and principle-centered information or ideas. Just as the adage says, “You are what you eat.” We can safely say, “We are what we read, watch, and listen to.” Remember, “garbage in, garbage out”.

• Our source of motivation is very vital. Love is the most powerful force on earth and the most lasting motivation is an internal motivation, birthed from within. Therefore, we must do what we love and love what we do. This is the secret of extraordinary achievers; they love what they do. An external source of motivation is short-lived, only the internal source of motivation will triumph even in the face of seeming failure, defeat, and disappointment.