Everyone, at one point in their lives, encounters problems or undesirable conditions that stop them from achieving their true potential.
Sometimes they may be so overwhelming that nothing else makes sense. You just want the problem gone, no matter what it takes or how much it costs.
These conditions may even be life-threatening, as they stand in the way of fulfilment and happiness.
All problems are effects that have causes, and knowing those causes can provide solutions to the problems.
Knowledge
Knowledge and mind control are the cure to many problems. If you knew everything you should know about yourself and life, you would fare much better.
And forget it—no one will cure your problems for you. The real cure comes from within because it’s all an iceberg. The upper part is what people see; the lower part is huge and known only to you.
Don’t dwell in the uncomfortable valley. Instead, get all the knowledge you can. You’ll realise that the more you know about a subject, the less mysterious it becomes. Eventually, this gives you the confidence and power to knock it out.
I don’t really subscribe to various tactics designed to resolve your issues. Just flow, but do all the dirty work while alone by waging war against unwanted thoughts.
Everything starts with thoughts.
Stop using avoidance tactics because they give your problems power over you.
Don’t constantly think about your problems. That simply means you are meditating on them and magnifying them. Most problems are largely a result of behaviour. It is what you do. It is learned, and therefore it can be unlearned.
What you want to do is boost your confidence.
Emphasise your successes. This builds confidence.
Stop being overly emotional about the issue because it is largely a scientific process. Emotions often make things worse because thought mixed with emotion is a sure way to make something feel real.
There is a law of cause and effect, and problems will not break this rule because of you. Understand that no arbitrary condition can exist for a second without an underlying cause.
Everything is under the law.
Understand the problem and use it to your advantage.
Most importantly, if you believe you have a problem in your mind, it becomes your reality. But if you believe, without doubt, that you can overcome it, the battle is already halfway won.
Control the Amygdala Through Meditation
The breath is a magical tool for meditation and mind control.
It can help reduce addictions, anger, high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, and undesirable habits.
If you focus your mind on your breathing, it will not wander into unwanted thoughts.
Better still, feel the breath coming out of your nostrils every time you breathe out and count: 1, 2, 3, and so on.
In a few days, you will begin to feel more confident.
Just keep breathing and counting.
Your spirit needs to see your confident self in the mirror daily.
Speak confidently to yourself in the mirror every single day.
This is food for the soul. It helps you stay balanced and in control.
The Japanese regarded the mirror as the most powerful and important of their three sacred treasures.
You also need to know that the average person doesn’t fully understand what your issue is about.
To them, you may simply appear to be experiencing “something” or perhaps even playing a trick.
It is your responsibility to make people around you feel comfortable, and they will cooperate. Not the other way around.
If you keep playing the victim, you reinforce the very condition you are trying to avoid.
The Power of Habit
The effects of your thoughts are automatic processes that don’t require your permission to begin.
The good news is that the brain automates repeated actions into habits.
Anything you do consistently becomes easier and more natural over time.
Use this to your advantage.
Quit thinking about your issues every minute.
Instead, feed your brain positive images, even if only for twenty minutes each day.
Think positively, clearly, and loudly in your mind’s eye.
Before long, your outward world will begin to correspond with your inner world.
That’s science.
It may not be easy, but the results are worth it.
Have you ever seen a child who has just started walking suffer from overwhelming fear?
Probably not.
Many of the issues we experience are direct results of fear and forcing things.
If you can learn to act deliberately rather than react emotionally, you will move from helplessness to control.
Perspective Matters
You need to understand that your experience is not, and never will be, the worst thing that has happened to anyone.
Some of your friends may have passed away even though they never experienced the same mental struggles you did.
Every single person has issues—known or unknown.
So appreciate yourself and enjoy your life.
Life is too short to spend it thinking about an issue that largely exists in your mind.
The mind is a powerful tool.
If you believe you will fail because you’ve always failed, you probably will.
If you believe you have authority over your body and mind—and you truly do—and command them to take shape, they often will.
The mind is the master.
No matter what.
Start Small
You can do almost anything.
If a goal seems too large, start with the small parts.
That alone proves you have some control.
The remaining task is simply to stay consistent.
If you struggle to believe you can make $100,000, first prove to yourself that you can make $1,000.
Then prove you can make $10,000.
Each step becomes evidence that what once seemed impossible may actually be achievable.
Focus on What Works
Work on your condition daily using the 80/20 principle.
Find the two or three things that produce the biggest improvements and focus heavily on them.
Those few actions will often deliver most of your results.
When progress starts to appear, be careful.
Relapse may be waiting around the corner because of negligence or overconfidence.
Stay true to your plan.
Some people may laugh at you because they feel there must be something you can do to improve your situation.
In a way, they are right.
Progress and decline both happen naturally.
By repeatedly doing negative things—sometimes without even realising it—you can make your problems worse.
Conversely, by repeatedly doing positive things, you can improve without even trying too hard.
So focus on the latter.
Face Your Fears
Deliberately facing an undesirable condition can help you regain a sense of control.
If you fear doing something, being unexpectedly called upon to do it can increase anxiety.
However, if you voluntarily stand up and choose to do it, you often feel more in control.
The process of facing fears is called exposure.
Exposure involves gradually and repeatedly entering feared situations until the fear loses much of its power.
Just do it.
When it comes to taking action regarding unwanted conditions, there will never be a perfect time.
Get up and make a difference for yourself and others.
Drive out the beast of fear.
It is your worst enemy.
Progress Is Not Linear
Achieving progress is not a straight line.
It is cyclical.
Periods of progress followed by setbacks still produce forward movement.
Many cycles of progress and relapse eventually create significant improvement.
So don’t become discouraged if it feels like you’re back where you started.
That is often part of the process.
Keep repeating the right actions without overthinking them—just as you automatically brush your teeth every morning.
After a few weeks or months, you’ll be surprised by how far you’ve come.
Do not allow your amygdala to replay negative images from your past.
Cut them off.
Rule over them.
That small organ can cause enormous pain if left unchecked.
Reducing sensitivity to unwanted conditions is one side of the coin.
Building hope, faith, and confidence is the other.
And remember to loosen up.
You are not the centre of everyone’s life, just as everyone else is not the centre of yours.
As surely as you feed your body, you must also feed your soul.
You would never deliberately feed your body rotten food, so why feed your mind rotten thoughts?
Renew your mind every single day.
Most problems grow in the mind.
Most solutions begin there too.