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Are You A Prisoner of Your Own Mind?

Are You A Prisoner of Your Own Mind?

Everyone deserves to be free. We live in a time where everything is possible. There are so many opportunities and choices that we have everyday, yet we still feel that we are not free. When we feel we are not free, we tend to lock ourselves up into a prison - a prison that is made in our own mind.

This prison is now our comfort zone and where we feel safe. We have a deep inner desire for freedom but we tend to have many fears that stop us... not to mention that the human mind is also afraid of the unknown.

We tend to have that little voice in our head that holds us back from being or living our true selves. The thought of being not good enough, unworthy, failure, the fear of not being loved, afraid of being rejected by others, not having security, etc...

Your thoughts manifest your reality. The thoughts you have that are holding you back from your desire will always keep you stuck in the same spot of your comfort zone. But know that you can force yourself to change them to positive ones and use them to unlock the doors of your prison cell. Many people like to play the victim and when you play the victim you will always end up getting negative results. But when we break the habit of thinking victim thoughts, you tend to have more control of your mind and breaking free from your prison.

We create a lot of emotional suffering with our thoughts:

— Something is wrong with me

— I’m ugly

— I’m not smart enough

— I’m flawed and no one will ever love me

— I’m a loser, I’ll never amount to anything

— What if I get fired? Sick? Or in an accident?

— What if a natural disaster happens?

— I’m not good enough

— (insert your own self judgement and worry here)

Worrying about the terrible things doesn’t help you cope if it does happen. All it does is make your current moment miserable, which makes you a prisoner.

So what can we do to help change your negative thought patterns?

1. Recognize and identify the negative thought. When we learn to see the thoughts, we start to see them as just that - thoughts, not reality. Listen to them and decide if we find them valuable or helpful. We have a choice in how we choose to respond to them.

It’s normal to have negative thoughts, there is nothing wrong with you if you do! We all have minds that are constantly on the lookout for problems and dangers, so most of us prone to have many negative thoughts. Problem is not the negative thoughts, it comes when we believe that our thoughts are true.

2. Notice that negative thoughts come from two directions - dwelling on the past and worrying about the future. When lost in negative thinking, we lose touch with what’s happening in the present moment of our lives. We miss the pleasures of living each day.

To become more present, you must ‘come to your senses.’ Redirect your attention out of the thoughts in your head and focus on your sense perceptions. Don’t get into a mental dialogue of the things you see, just be aware of what you’re experiencing in this moment. The sounds, the smell, the touch of the air on your skin, etc. This is a form of mindful practice. Use this to ground and center you in a greater awareness when you find yourself caught up in negative thinking.

3. Mindfulness is the practice of waking up to that wellspring of wholeness and peace. Through mindfulness we build our capacity to live from that deeper awareness and tame the mind. Regular mindfulness meditation can decrease stress, depression, and anxiety as well as improving immune function.

Each time you let go of the thought stream and come back into the present moment, you are kind and gentle with yourself instead of criticizing yourself, you are strengthening your self-compassion for challenging moments in the rest of your daily life.

Your thoughts control your life, so don’t be a prisoner of thinking you can’t break free! Change your thoughts - change your life. It’s not going to be easy as it sounds, it’s just going to take a lot of practice to break the pattern to break free.

And it’s like they say, rather you believe this or not, it’s going to happen anyways... think positive and stay strong!

Are You A Prisoner of Your Own Mind?
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