Story
He nibbled the fried potatoes with a face scrunched up like a man mourning his deceased wife. It was barely 30 days when he couldn’t clog his happiness while receiving a mint of N500,000 from Nath who had so much regard for his childhood friend. Even after parting for 15 years, Nath still had some selfless spots stuck up in his personality. It was a “life-changing experience” for Bill.
For about six years, Bill’s business had experienced shrimpy growth. ”Bill spends in seconds.” (He lived above his standard). People often commented. Thus, their belief for the lack of growth in his business. He wondered bitterly how he can only account for N10,000 out of N500,000.
Myles Munroe thought it wise to comment, “The most precious gift God gave man is the will(mind) and the most dangerous gift God gave man is the will(mind)…” Ever wondered why people keep iterating the fact that mindset transformation or shift is key to growth and success in life? Let’s have a deep dive into some necessities on this question.
In the story, the young man had two problems but only one was obvious; the expansion of his business. Though this problem is valid and important, but not as much as the one that disguises itself; a growth-limiting mind. Notice where it was written, “it was a life-changing experience” in the story? This makes obvious the fact that life can be changed without changing a mind.
Let’s look at what makes this statement valid. Bill’s childhood friend changed his life by giving him a token to expand his business and increase his income; to live a better and more comfortable life. But his mind wasn’t changed from his will; “extravagant spending.” Hence, he still returned to the point he was before his friend’s help came. This proves the validity of Myles Munroe’s statement; “…the mind is the most dangerous gift…” It is dangerous to change a man’s life without changing his mind.
The mind is the seat of your will and emotions. If you desire to achieve remarkable success and growth in life, you will need to focus more on levelling up your mind before changing your life because it determines how far you go. That’s why the writer of the letter to the Romans encouraged us to renew our minds for maximum living in his statement;
”Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2)
An important note about the mind is, it incubates: give life to whatever idea or thing you keep feeding it with. The mind operates effectively on the principle of repetition; the more you keep feeding it with a particular habit, idea, sound or words, it gives life to those things and you begin to find expression in the reality of those things in your life. Thus the mind is a womb, which makes it a priority to give attention to because it makes reality possible by controlling a person’s will and emotions.
A significant key to success is consistency in feeding the mind with healthy thoughts, sounds, ideas and words. One thing I want you to focus more on in this article is, “the mind works on the principle of repetition” as earlier stated. Therefore, what you consistently feed has the power to determine your fate in life. Imagine a child who consistently has his peers jeer at him and call him demeaning names. It will be almost impossible for the child to have healthy self-esteem.
Obong Joe a mindset Analyst, shared his thought on this, thus;
”If our physical realities are a product of our mindset, and our mindsets are formed by the repetition of certain experiences and knowledge, then it is important to pay attention to what we expose ourselves daily to, because they have a subtle influence on how our reality will shape out in 5-10 years.
Psychologists believe that in a day we have an average of 70,000-80,000 thoughts and surprisingly, 95% of such thoughts are recycled. This is the reason a person can never be greater than his mindset. Our actions, habits, likes and dislikes flow like a river from the mind, which leads to the reality of an individual.
The micro unit of your action is habit and the micro unit of habit is mindset. If the mind is changed, habits will be influenced leading to a change in your reality.”
About Guest Contributor: Obong Joe is an Educator, Public Speaker, Administrator and Author of 4 books. He has written several articles on the mind and has two books on the mind from which he drew some of the contributions made. He also trains students with techniques that can be used to excel in academics.
Now let’s have a look at a few reasons why levelling up your mindset is key to your success in life.
Why You Need to Work on Your Mind.
1. Your Mind Determines Your Fate In Life
The extent to which your mind is renewed or transformed determines where you end up or what you end up doing. When your mind has a global approach to issues of life, you won’t be limited to solving only problems related to your region alone. When you have a growth mindset, your approach to life and your greatness will be evident in the results you produce.
2. Your Mind Operates On The Principle Of Repetition
Anything your mind consistently feeds on becomes your reality. It’s more like working with the “garbage in garbage out” concept. If you keep feeding your mind with negative thoughts or suicidal thoughts, you will see these things finding expression in your life. Just like when you consistently go to the gym to keep fit. Your structure after a month will tell of what you’ve consistently been doing.
3. Your Mind is a Womb/Incubator
It gives life to what it takes in often. Your mind is an incubator. It transforms whatever you put in there, be it positive or negative. It works so hard to see everything you put in there become reality. Hence, investing in your mind is worth every price/stress.
Final Note
Knowing the above and neglecting the need to focus on working on your mind, is synonymous with neglecting to water a flower that has a promising future of blooming. To help you focus on working on your mind.
Here is an affirmation to help you stay consistent in building your mindset.
The mind is so powerful. Our personality is tuned towards the things we often feed our minds with. Little wonder the Bible affirms that as a man thinks so he is. This was a great read. Thank you
The mind is so powerful. Our personality is tuned towards the things we often feed our minds with. Little wonder the Bible affirms that as a man thinks so he is. This was a great read. Thank you
Do you currently use positive affirmations as a tool for self improvement? If you don't learn how to use Daily Positive Affirmations properly, you may become a victim of negative affirmations and you won't even know it! Learn why it's important to master the use of affirmations in your life.