We are expert ignorers. Hey, if you practice something for 10,000 hours you become an expert, right?
Here is a scenario:
It’s late night and you’re hungry. Your stomach is growling, and even barking. There are at least a dozen thoughts are going through your mind, like, “It’s too late to eat. Just grab a half bowl of ice cream. Drink a glass of water. Eat the leftovers from dinner. There’s two pieces of pie left. I shouldn’t get up. I can’t stop thinking of food.”
Sound familiar?
Of course it does. What do we do with that info?
We act upon one or two and ignore the rest. I cover this in depth in my ebook. For the sake of brevity, I will get you started.
Let’s say we chose to ignore the cup of water and went instead for the ice cream. You finish it. You feel guilty, but you quickly get over it (ignoring the guilt) and fall fast asleep. In the morning, you think about it and feel guilty (but again, ignore it). Later, you tell a friend about it, and they help you ignore it by letting you know that it was Rocky Road.
And, that can’t be wrong.
The next night the same thing happens. We are being trained.
Life is a mental battle, whether climbing up a hill on a bike, or eating ice cream late at night.
Who wins the battle? Those who are willing to be uncomfortable. Your untrained ‘voices’ will have you taking the easiest and least painful path every time. There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that if you live by that series of voices, they will own your very life. The good news is that if you ignore those voices until they are trained, you will own your life. Mastering your mind can be done.
Practice Makes Perfect
Anything that we do with proficiency takes practice. My daughter has played piano for 11 years. She is becoming proficient. She has a way to go even now.
Fortunately, this won’t take that long.
Action Plan:
Keep a pen and paper at hand. The very next battle that rages in your mind, jot down each and every thought. Categorize these thoughts for what they are, good or bad.
For instance:
Rob wants to stay up late to watch ESPN.
Bad (voices)
You won’t be able to sleep unless you know the score.
It won’t be that long.
You can catch up the sleep missed.
What can it hurt?
etc.
Good (voices)
Sleep will serve you better.
If you can’t sleep, read until you can.
The score will not change your life.
Get up early if it’s that important.
etc.
Make your own list for the next battle to see it for what it is. Leave nothing out (important). This will help you to recognize it from the perspective of a bystander.
Carefully study both.
Take this information into your very next battle. Get it? It will become easier to ignore those voices that do not serve a higher purpose for you. If you hit a roadblock, write the next battle out. Continue to practice. What will begin to happen is that you will conquer things that you had given up on. You will realize a new found power that can open any door that previously was closed.
I know you can do it, because you do it already. It will work the other way also.
Guaranteed.
Does today have power?
Indeed, my friends…TODAY HAS POWER.
Live it LOUD!
P.S. Remember, you are the only you, you will ever have.
I have also learned one more thing in this process. It is if you do only those things that bring you closer to your goals, then it is worth doing. Else it is not.
How true Vicky,
Life can be full of distractions. We cling to them as a crutch to avoid doing ‘the work’. Staying the course, is staying true to one’s self.
Live it LOUD!
What an inspiring article. There are two kinds of people – the ones who let life control them or the ones who control life. In order to succeed in life you have to do things you are not comfortable with. In my daily life so many talented people, who could become so successful but didn’t make it. Why? because they were not committed to their goals.
Hey Ron,
All about comfort zones, eh? What are you willing to do that others won’t? Practice harder? Work longer? Refuse to give up? The ingredients are all there for massive success.
Waiting.
Live it LOUD!
I am a big believer that much of what we do is habit. I’ve recently been working on creating better habits for better success and I’m looming forward to trying this tip.
Your example is about going to bed but I think I’ll try it for getting up earlier.
Hey Ned,
A friend of mine wouldn’t put his shoes on in the morning until he practiced the guitar for 10 minutes. He plays rather well. Let me know about the getting up earlier ‘habit’.
Live it LOUD!
No wonder they say everything we do is only a state of the mind. The mind works as we want it to so once we master our mind, then we can learn to ignore it and eventually overcome it. Thanks for sharing this challenging text with us.
Regards
Dickens
I enjoyed reading this, as it was a good reminder to a common problem most of us face. It is so much easier to take the path that is most readily available and to minimize difficult decisions by going with the least resistance. Once you start taking control and start mastering your own mind, the will power and determination grows and grows. This was an excellent subject to write about; cheers!
Hey Kevin,
And one I am very familiar with! The biggest battles in life all occur between the ears. I’m currently taking a Parkour class. It is an interesting thing to convince the mind to do something inherently dangerous. Resistance comes in all shapes and sizes, and for all reasons.
Live it LOUD!
Amazing post. There is a continuous battle field in the mind between good and evil. I would definitely choose the good one to get successful in life. Thanks for sharing this knowledge.
I am an enormous believer that abundant of what we tend to do is habit.Practice more durable. Work longer
Who wins the battle? it is big struggle between myself and my bad habits and i hope to win this battle to overcome increased weight
hijama
I am very happy to learn the mastering mind tips. Mind is the real game of life and once you control your mind then you can control anything in this world. nice topic.