FACT: we’re not given an instruction manual for our brain at birth.

Which means most of us don’t understand the true potential of our own mind.

We all have this powerful tool yet most of us have no idea how it actually operates.

The unfortunate truth is that our brains are prone to common errors and bad habits.

In fact, your whole personality and identity is really just one big habit: well-entrenched thoughts and behaviors that mostly just run on autopilot.

So the question is: is your habit working for you or not?

No matter how old you are and how set in your ways, you have the capacity to change. You don’t have to settle for what you’ve been told is “just the way it is”.

You’ve picked up a manual on how to behave that was written by the people who were around you as a child. Like it or not, you’ve inherited their subtle biases and beliefs, their behavioral patterns and limiting beliefs. But none of that stuff is anything you consciously chose.

It’s as if you were just told the sky was purple for so long that you just started to accept that as “fact”–even though it’s plain to see the sky isn’t purple at all!

Our fears are the blocks that get in our way, that makes us play small and keep us “safe”, instead of stepping into our true power and pursuing our heart’s desires. So it’s not enough to simply dream about a future where you’re rich, married, traveling the world etc. You’ve got to change your subconscious beliefs and self-worth to go right alongside it.

Fortunately, doing all of that really isn’t so hard! The concepts are easy; it’s just the practice of coming back to this new knowledge over and over again that can be challenging. But that will never be a problem for you as long as you keep pushing forward.

Today I’m inspired to shared five mind management techniques that have transformed the way I see the world. If you’re tired of living your default life, then these techniques will help you to get control back too!

Mind Management: Use Your Brain To Create Happiness + Success

Mind Management Technique #1:

Cultivate Self-Awareness

The simple art of bringing awareness to your own thought processes and patterns can be so illuminating! Usually, we let our thoughts (and therefore our emotions) run wild which leaves us feeling unbalanced and out of control. Simple awareness is the first step towards not letting your emotions rule the show.

We feel out of control when we can’t identify what we’re feeling or why. Learning to slow down and become curious about what’s happening inside takes the mystery out of the equation.

Emotions don’t just happen! There’s always a thought process occurring behind the scenes. So start asking yourself: what am I thinking that feels this way? How can I shift this story? All the power you need to feel better is within your own mind so don’t be afraid to dig in and see what patterns you can find.

Mind Management Technique #2:

Don’t Label Your Feelings As Wrong

The feeling of being wrong in one way or another is hugely uncomfortable and causes us to overcompensate in ways we might not even be aware of. We know how we “should” feel–and when we don’t then we don’t quite know what to do about it. But instead of digging into the source, we ignore our dark feelings, hoping they’ll just magically dissipate on their own. Newsflash: they won’t!

Here’s an example: say a parent left your family as a child. These days you might be married but you find yourself engaging in unhealthy patterns with your partner. When we can dig in a little further, it becomes easy to see that you’re simply replaying out your childhood fears as an adult. Your subconscious brain remembers all too well what that childhood pain felt like and it’s doing it’s best to protect you in the current day.

However, your current situation has no bearing on the past! But if you’re quick to label your fears as wrong and you do your best to suppress them, then you’re bound to keep acting out unpredictably forever. It’s much healthier to admit your fears and to work through them. Eventually your brain will catch up to the fact that this fear is unfounded.

Labelling your feelings as wrong just denies part of who you really are. Practicing extreme honesty with yourself might be tough at first but the pay-off is the powerful state of authenticity.

Mind Management Technique #3:

Remove Judgements

Humans have a natural tendency to judge everybody and everything. It’s part of human nature to want to categorize everyone neatly “in order”. However, those judgments aren’t without repercussion. Whether you want to admit it or not, the things we judge in other people we’re also judging in ourselves! When you’re inwardly (or outwardly! ????) mean about someone else’s body/ relationship/ outfit etc. you’re also applying the same set of rules and regulations to ourselves.

Of course, judgment can be a tough habit to break! But when we allow the people (and things) in our world to just be (without our opinion or input) we give ourselves room to just be as well. When you become conscious of this, it’s shocking to see just how often we label others as “wrong”. But when we give people the gift of not being wrong, we also give ourselves that same gift.

Mind Management Technique #4:

Stop The Suffering

Negative emotions are bound to arise from time to time. Life can be hard and feeling bad is just what we’re designed to do. However, there’s a big difference between feeling normal emotions and stewing in them for longer than necessary.

It’s important to notice each emotion for what it is (as they’re always here to tell us something). However, getting angry about feeling those things or endlessly ruminating about them isn’t doing you any good. After a certain point, you’re deciding to stay in the “bad” feelings instead of moving forward.

Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional! You do get to decide to put away all the hurt and pain. The faster you can move into acceptance the less likely you’ll be to suffer.

Mind Management Technique #5:

Be Conscious With Your Beliefs

Once you’ve brought awareness to your emotions and thoughts, then you can begin choosing new ones actively. Not all your thoughts are true! And you definitely don’t have to keep hauling around any old stories that aren’t doing you any favors.

It’s time to ask what you want to believe. What kind of world do you want to live in? What kind of person do you want to be? And what do you need to believe in in order to create those things?

Every belief is a choice. Every thought creates a story. But your life is your story to tell! What story are you going to begin to tell–starting right now?

So tell me: which mind management technique are you going to focus on? Which techniques are the hardest for you to integrate? How do these processes bring you more ease?

I hope that with practice you’ll start to understand just how in control you are of your own inner world! You don’t have to settle for feeling sad and out-of-control. There’s always a choice you can make that will bring more happiness and inner peace.

PS Looking for more? You might also want to check out this post about stop negative obsessive thoughts or this one about scarcity beliefs to drop right now.

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