Whether we are aware of it or not, our minds are being conditioned for a certain narrative. It is the process of training or accustoming a person to behave a certain way or to accept certain circumstances. This can come from school, work, or society in general. Our minds are conditioned in two ways, either actively or passively and we choose which one. Actively conditioning your mind is intently focusing on certain things you set for yourself like being creative while passively conditioning your mind is accepting whatever comes your way like being obedient. Passively conditioning your mind might not seem like a choice, but it really is because you choose to accept it. It is much easier to choose the passive route than the active route because it involves less resistance and energy. This is why it can be challenging to make changes in our lives because it requires consistently and intently on focusing on the process of getting what we want and not solely on focusing on the results. Take for example wanting to be wealthy. It happens through a strong commitment and sacrificing certain things to make it happen. To do so, it will require shifting from survival mode into growth mode. Giving up a safe steady lifestyle for a life of bigger gains and opportunities comes with uncertainty and frustration if results are not seen. What we all struggle with internally is our brains, as it is wired to be negative to make us aware of the dangers to avoid to keep us safe. And because of this it is not human nature to be great. It is human nature to survive, to be average and do what you have to do to get by.
But the human mind can overcome this survival mode if you’re truly committed simply by choosing to focus on opportunity instead of threat. Our minds can rationalize going for opportunity if we can manage threats. Think about the Wright brothers who were pioneers in the aviation industry by flying the first airplane. They saw an opportunity and were able to manage the threat of crashing the plane through lots of research and experiments. Their curiosity was encouraged by their mother from a young age which led them to build their own toys, have their own printing business, have their own bicycle shop business, and then led to the aviation industry. All this was made possible by their focus on opportunity and not limited by threats. It is all too easy for someone to look at the negative outcome that paralyzes them in not taking action to move forward. Whether it’s taking a chance at starting a new career, moving far away from home, starting your own business, all of these things have risk but there is tremendous opportunity missed when action is not taken. This much of time is due to how we have been conditioned to avoid failures because we might think on some level that if we fail, we ourselves are failures. But once you can condition yourself that failure is a great teacher you can truly tap in your potential. Adopting this thinking will shift you from walking on eggshells to blazing your own trial. Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s a part of it. Use it as a steppingstone to get to where you want to be.
Evaluate what your mind is consuming and you’ll see what you are being conditioned for. The things like the people you surround yourself with, what you read, what you watch will impact how you think, talk, decide, act and ultimately how you live. All these little things add up to make a big difference. If what you are mostly consuming is negative information, then that’s where your focus will go and is what you will generally get. But if you choose to consume constructive information that can better and empower you then your focus will result in tremendous opportunities. Look at world class athletes, they get to their profession not just based on their talent alone, but how they condition themselves mentally. Many of them had to go through adversity to get where they are, and they could have let negativity consume their thoughts. James Harrison who was a dominant player for several NFL teams is a great example of conditioning his mind to handle the adversity of not being drafted and being cut 4 times before helping his team win a Superbowl. How you choose to condition your mind will determine your behavior and this will lead to the results you earn in life.
Take charge and be active in conditioning your mind. Ask yourself what I want out of myself and life? How do I want to respond to adversity when I face it because eventually I will? How can I surround myself with people and an environment that will help better me? By asking yourself these questions you can better prepare yourself to handle the highs and lows of what comes your way. We all know things will not always play out how we expect it to, but we can prepare ourselves to respond effectively. Think to how firefighters handle themselves when putting out a fire, they were properly conditioned through the rigorous training so they can remain calm and handle the situation. When proper conditioning is not done, we tend to react instead of respond. A reaction triggers survival mode that tends to be unproductive, while a response is a thought-out action that ends to be productive.
Ways to condition your mind:
Understand what you fear the most and pick it all apart. Question as much as you can and the shock factor dissolves. Just like taking a cold shower the beginning will shock your body but remaining in the cold water for 30 seconds the shock eventually wears off. Fear can work the same way if you take the time to examine it.
Eliminate limiting phrases such as not, I can’t, it’s too hard, impossible, I tried that, I don’t know how. Instead replace them with phrases like willing, I can, it’s hard but I’ll overcome it, I will try it again, I will figure out a way.
Understand the reason for what you are conditioning for as it will give you an internal drive that will help you stay committed. It can be easy in the beginning to condition yourself until adversity hits. If your reason is big enough, you will see it through.
Develop constructive self-talk that will help you in the tough and good times. When things are going bad, uplifting yourself helps to get out of the hole you are in. It does no good to ridicule yourself when you’re feeling down. Have a motivational phrase that you repeat to yourself can be helpful in activating the fight response in tough times. When things are good, it’s great time to reflect on how things went well and look for areas to improve on for next time. This can help enjoy yourself while maintaining the ego in check.
Be consistent in conditioning your mind. It will only help you if it becomes a habit. If you do it when it’s convenient, then the brain will revert back to survival mode. The beginning of conditioning your mind will be crucial, as it will require conscious mental effort on what exactly to focus on. Once you do it enough it will become a habit and the great thing about habits is that you don’t have to think about when you do it. You are what you repeatedly do, so think and do great things.
Actively conditioning your mind will be a foundational piece to achieving what you set for yourself. We all will have adversity to deal with and how we choose to respond to it will determine where we are headed. Will you see the wall of adversity as the end of the journey or will you decide it’s just the beginning. Condition your mind for the life you desire and not the life someone expects of you.
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