Uju Chukwu: Your Mind is a Power Tool

The thoughts in your head are a reflection of what your mouth says. How powerful can our thoughts be? Very very powerful. Has it ever happened that you thought of something, without having the intention of seeing it happen and the next minute you see it happen? Sometimes it might not be as fast as a minute; you might have gone for hours and the next thing you see, it happens. Most times, people even mistake it for a dejavu, but then it is just your thoughts.

So if your thoughts can be this powerful, what then are we supposed to do? It’s pretty simple, GUARD THEM RIGHT.

We need to think positive at all times. How does that work? It is a CONSCIOUS effort. I will list 2 major points of the conscious effort we have to make:

By minding the things you let get into your head: Everybody has something to say, (the good, the bad, the ugly and the worse) but not everything everyone has to say is for you. You do not necessarily have to open up your mind to digest everything or every word that passes because some are for you and some are for others. Sometimes you intentionally avoid being in the conversation.

I read a billboard one day and I noticed that the pastor of my church was going to visit a different church. I had been to that church and I did not really like it there, and then I saw that the pastor of my church was going there. A few of my friends said, “now you have to be there because your pastor is there” I replied, “I would not be there because my pastor is going to be there. That which I do not like about the church might just automatically get at me even when my pastor is speaking. So to avoid myself the power of negative thoughts I chose to avoid going because the program he is going to attend will be for him to speak the word for someone in that congregation and definitely not for me.”

There was nothing was obviously stopping me, but was it going to be my word? Not so sure of that.
So it is a conscious effort for us to mind the things we allow to get into our head. Sometimes, you play deaf or better still avoid it completely.

Mind the things we see: The things we look at or study affect how we think and automatically affect how we speak. Our minds get to store images faster than even words. Just like a child, the ability of an image to affect our thought is about 75%. However, what differentiates an adult from a child is the ability of owning up and deciding not to look in that direction – unlike a child where you have to help them watch what they see. Not every book, article or pictures is for our consumption; most times we need to take in things that enlighten us and energize us to move on. Imagine having to watch the news every day and you keep seeing people dying in various countries, the ability for you not to live in fear will be very low.

I actually lost the love for travelling after hearing consecutively on the news the number of plane crashes reported. But does that mean that people do not fly and land safely? The image I have seen and that which I have heard, I let it sink in. Now I try to avoid the TV as much as I can.
If you think of a big future, why not live in that light and look for images that portray same. Rather than watch the TV, I would rather go on YouTube and watch Awesomeness fest. It is an image I am seeing but a different one.

How do we effectively work on our mind?
We should constantly apply the rule of meditation. Learn to meditate. It is the best form of clearing our minds and our thoughts. Maybe you have let in the wrong things; with effective meditation, you have the ability to sieve your thoughts.

Think before you speak, not the other way round. Think first put your words together and then let them out. Consider if the words you speak will make or mar you. Will they make people see you as someone else and will your words make a difference in the lives of those around you in a positive way or cause destruction? These are factors we need to consider.

Learn to put your thoughts first before your words.
Are you willing to take action today? Are you willing to take control of your thoughts, mind what you see and things you hear?
Leave your comments below on how your mind has helped or improved you as a person or your speech to others.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Hugo Felix