Sometimes our mind can be like a real prison. The thoughts themselves become relentless enemies, allowing even stress and anxiety to devour projects, hopes and strengths. Taking control of our mental processes is part of the art of survival, quality of life and freedom.
What we are used to hearing is that the mind is not a glass to fill, but a lamp that lights up, or more, that looks like a parachute, which only works when we are able to open it. and listening to this kind of terminology, where, in the end, we come to believe that the mind has a switch that we must press to start with the “work” optimally.
- We need to understand some ideas.
- The mind is not a single entity.
- There are no switches and there are also no people who have been born with a stronger mind and therefore more suitable to adapt to any difficulty.
- What exists are the mental processes.
- It is like a complex forest of cognitive and emotional dimensions suffering ups and downs.
- Moments of crisis.
- Stages of growth and moments of challenge.
One can imagine the spirit as a ship advancing through a sea that oscillates between calm and storm, if we are mere stowaways hidden in the hold, this ship will deviate, however, the right commander is not limited to taking the helm. the ship knows multiple navigation techniques to cope with this embraved sea and storm.
We’ve all had many self-help or change management books in our hands that invite us to take control of our minds or be more positive, now we need to understand that it’s not fair to try to master something without first knowing how it works. It’s like encouraging a depressed person to be more optimistic. These approaches are not always useful because the mind is complex, it is delicate and, more importantly, it is stubborn.
The book? The Massachusetts Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience’s Manual of Emotional Regulation offers a very useful but simple cognitive and neuroscientific approach to understanding these processes. First, they make a symbolic metaphor for those moments when the mind functions as our worst enemy: it’s like a poison. I think it emerges from our emotional basement invading everything. Turn off the lights.
These are times when we begin to implement ineffective problem-solving strategies, there is mental exhaustion, negative obsessive thoughts and a lack of emotional self-regulation. As we can see, these are multiple processes that form one, anything that can gradually become captivity. This poisonous hawthorn takes every corner and pushes us down. There is no point in saying positive, because in these vital moments we rightly face positivity.
We were all educated and even convinced that we are free bodies made to grow, realize our dreams and be the true protagonists of our happiness. However, little by little we realize that the world gives us many potholes, and even more so, that we also have certain personal limits that prevent us from growing up and living a fuller life.
Let’s solve a puzzle. The best and most complex of all: the one that hides in our minds and prevents us from moving forward. Many experts in emotional and cognitive psychology warn us that we all have a “model”?Unhappiness. That is, we can apply a certain type of psychological process that will act as the root of the problem. Is it sometimes indecision, sometimes limiting attitudes, education received, lack of security?
This inner mystery needs to be deciphered, for this we can follow these strategies:
We already know that no one can take control of your mental ‘ship’ if you don’t know how it works and what factors prevent it from working properly. To remedy this, the simple strategy of the three?It’ll come in handy for us.
To develop this last key, remember that it is unhealthy to do or start things that go against our values or principles, always remember that each commander has an internal compass that tells you which route is the best, which sea is not convenient to cross. or which winds are the most favorable to release the sails. Practice inner listening, understand everything that happens in your mind and learn with each process, every difficulty overcome.
Any investment in you always translates into a greater ability to be happy.
Images courtesy of Artyom Chebokha