Put Yourself In Charge Of Your Mind’s Programming

Over the past week, I have been taking note of the increased speed and intensity in the news cycles. In addition to health and economic uncertainty, the election coverage is picking up. Many new outlets are going to get quite aggressive to get us to pay attention to their “programming.” 

Programming Definition:
To cause (a person or animal) to behave in a predetermined way.

Headlines are designed to be overly negative to grab your attention, they are designed to suck you in. Think about that in context of the definition of programming.

In light of recent news coverage, which is overwhelmingly negative, I want to remind you of four things today:

1. It is important to stand guard at the doorway to our minds. 

Although news programming is meant to literally program how we think and feel, the knowledge of this objective gives us power over how we perceive negative news cycles. We have the power to decide what information matters to us and how we allow it to influence us and our thought patterns. Regardless, we should be careful about what we let into our minds, as everything we let in has the power to influence us. In addition, anything we let in will take up space in our mind, that space is limited, we don’t want to be storing useless junk.

2. There is only so much space inside our heads.

Although our brains are supercomputers, at a certain point, we run out of storage and old files have to be erased to make room for new material. This means we need to regularly declutter our brains like we declutter our homes. Negative emotions that tie us to past events should be the first things we let go, as they take up enormous space in our minds without providing any benefit or value. Instead of holding on to negative emotions, we must realize the past is the past. The past is not happening to us now. In fact, the past will never happen again. It is okay to let go of the emotions that tie us to past memories in order to free up space in our minds for something better.

3. There is enormous power, benefit and value from untethering ourselves from the emotions that tie us to our past.

When we let go of negative emotions, it puts us in a unique state in which we can look back with a greater level of consciousness and awareness, with the realization that the past is the past, and the past happened for our own personal benefit. Without negative emotions cluttering our minds and memories, we can look back with love, gratitude and compassion, and we can learn the lessons from our experiences. Pulling wisdom from the past empowers us to take advantage of the present and create our new futures.

4. Routines provide power.

Our routines help us foster stronger inter-company communications. These communications build deeper connections. Our connections foster more creativity. Our creativity leads to growth. When we commit to our routines, they become positive habits and they grow more powerful over time.

I live to learn and grow. When I share my learnings, it helps me grow more. This circular pattern is enormously empowering for me.