About a year ago, I read the book "Switch on Your Brain," by Dr. Caroline Leaf. In a world full of ever-present distraction, I sought this book out to learn more about the brain and identify new ways to aid in continuously staying more present and aligned in developing my goals and character. Staying consistent in achieving lifelong monumental goals and good character are no easy feats. These are daily choices we must make and we can all attest to this. The ability to take control of our thoughts rather than letting our thought life control us is imperative.
Throughout the course of any one day, we encounter countless interactions and distractions and cycle through an immeasurable amount of thoughts. These thoughts are either contributing to your highest potential or taking away from it. Consistent focus on toxic thoughts and memories lead to stages of stress that impact health for the worse, both mentally and physically.
Let no thought enter your mind unchecked. As we go through the stream of our daily lives, it's easy to allow our environment to influence our thoughts, sometimes without even realizing it. If left unchecked, this impacts our mood and may ultimately affect our decision making.
You have the ability to reject or accept every thought that flows into your mind. This is critical, if a toxic thought enters your mind and you do not actively choose to let it go, this information, and the attitude you feel with it, will be converted to your permanent memory storage. These thoughts then literally move to the front of the brain. Consistent focus on toxic thoughts and memories lead to stages of stress that impact health for the worse, both mentally and physically.
The beauty of it is, we have the ability to change our thoughts and the attitude behind it at any point. Our thoughts constantly have the ability to change. We can either choose to reinforce the thought as is or choose to change some or all of it. We have a responsibility for our thought life. Free will is real and the choice is yours. The deeper we think, the more change we can make. Research confirms you can choose with your free will to interfere with genetic expression, changing your "I cant's" and "I wont's" to "I can" and "I will."
Taking this step changes the physical structure of the brain and begins to renew the mind. The goal is to aim for deep, intellectual and nontoxic thought. No one is exempt from mind issues and thinking toxic thoughts. We all have them. These toxic thoughts can be anything and are different for everyone, from constantly thinking judgmental thoughts; feeling consistently envious, bitter, angry, anxious or depressed; constantly ruminating on a past situation or scenario you wish had played out differently; feelings of inadequacy, loneliness or despair; feeling limited in any way, etc. The list is endless and depending on the gravity of the thought and our attitude behind it determines how much of an impact this will make in our lives. With that said, the point is we are able to turn our thoughts, and the attitude with it, around.
The design of our body and brain is truly incredible with its ability to constantly renew and break through any and all perceived limitations, thereby improving our thought life, mental health and physical health. Begin taking action today on one toxic thought that may be plaguing your life. Do the work to turn this thought and your attitude behind it around. I would highly recommend reading "Switch on Your Brain," as Dr. Leaf lays out a proven, straightforward and efficient strategy on how to take control of your thoughts, one thought at a time.