“Will is our internal power, which can never be affected by the outside world.” — Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way
People let everything get to them nowadays.
No, I don’t mean people get upset over everything. Getting upset or a little bit frustrated is natural. I mean people have a bad habit of letting every minor inconvenience cut to the bone and make them break down. They let external forces lay waste to the stronghold within their mind, and it rots out the rest of their life. It’s a sad truth. It’s unfortunate that it happens, but it does.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everybody is too sensitive now. I’m saying that people are under the impression that everything has the power to shake them when this simply isn’t the case. How do we change this?
Well, in order to seize control of our minds, we have to seize control of our thoughts. It’s important to realize that your thoughts and your mind are on two sides of the same scale, not different steps on a ladder. You don’t need complete control over your mind in order to control your thoughts, and you don’t need complete control over your thoughts to take back your mind. That being said, control over one makes it easier to seize control over the other. What does this mean?
This means that it’s important to begin disciplining both your mind and the thoughts that spew from it. This means that it’s important for you to understand that words are just sounds from someone’s mouth, and sounds can’t make you change unless you let them. This means that it’s important for you to understand that you can always mentally separate yourself from whatever intense situation is in front of you and remind yourself that it’s going to be olay, and you’ll be able to come up with a plan to get out of whatever mud you’re stuck in.
Still don’t think it’s possible? I don’t blame you. It’s difficult to say the least, I won’t pretend like it’s easy.
What I WILL say though, is that you’ve probably mentally distanced yourself before and didn’t even realize it. Think about what would happen if a five year old kid came up to you, kicked your leg, and called you every name under the sun. Would you lose it? Or would you tell the kid to go away and go throughout your day? Most of us would choose the latter, but if you think you would lose it then honestly, I recommend seeking help from a professional — most people wouldn’t lose it on a five year old.
So what’s my point here? Why am I telling you all this? Well, because as simple as it may seem, most people don’t realize they already know the things you’ve just read. Most people don’t remember to mentally distance themselves when things get intense and go inside their mental fortress. Most people lash out when they get too stressed, and that results in much more harm than good. I’m reminding you that you know these things in order to help you break away from what others do — lose their temper in the heat of the moment. You have it in you to rise above the feelings that others try to project onto you through their words and expressions of emotion. Everybody does. Be the example.
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What do you do when you get upset? Do you go for a walk? Do you begin counting? I’d love to hear alternative methods to cooling down and regaining mental control, because there’s many different ways to go about doing so. Feel free to comment your thoughts underneath this post — let’s start a conversation! I also encourage you to follow this blog, like it, and share it with your friends. They might thank you for sharing this information! Also, stay tuned for future blog posts every Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and try to be the reason someone smiles today 🙂
— Chris