Imagine a lawn that is multi-colored – that is not how you want a lawn to be. Intermittent brown spots. The green areas are more weeds than grass. What are you to do? In the real world the answer may be to:
- retill the soil and reseed
- purchase and install sod
Imagine now that your mind is a lawn: riddled with beliefs that drag you down, cognitive distortions that result in “stinking thinking”. Well we have NOT come to a point where we have technology like in the classic Star Trek episode “Spock’s Brain”, we are not going to be able to remove our brain and replace it with a new one. The above options of retill or resod will not work, so then what options are available to us?
The approach that I suggest is “overseeding” the lawn that is your mind with positive affirming thoughts, and to selectively “weed out” those really negative thoughts.
Shun negativity. Stop listening to talk radio as it is all confrontational in nature regardless if it is conservative or liberal. Stop hanging out with people who gossip, and if you gossip stop. Stop watching negatively focused TV where the characters back bite and make every interaction dramatic. If you are judgemental and critical of others, let this habit go.
Embrace positivity. Listen to inspirational music with positive hopeful lyrics. Listen to inspirational podcasts, CD’s or audiobooks as you travel from place to place. Be considerate and cheerful with all people you interact with whether they are a CEO or a clerk at the supermarket. Pay sincere compliments to those people closest to you. Practice “reverse paranoia” where you live your life like the whole world is out to love you.
Regardless of the question the answer is love. Reseed your lawn and start today.