The power of a positive mindset is nothing new, from the spiritual teachers of the ancient world, to the philosophers and poets of the enlightenment, to the pop culture gurus of today. It would seem that since the dawn of time the benefits of cultivating a healthy mindset have been well noted. Unfortunately, in today's volatile world many people neglect to understand how their mind is affected by the world around them; moreover many do not seem to realize the extent to which their mind can influence the occurrences and the world that they perceive around them.
Today’s society is clearly plighted by a plethora of problems: escalating racial and ideological tensions, seemingly escalating societal woes such as increased rates of suicide and addiction among young adults, meanwhile it is becoming increasingly obvious that corruption and greed dominate the top of institutional hierarchies. In my mind all of these issues are interrelated, they are manifestations of the manner in which we think- of ourselves, of others, and of the world around us.
While it may seem nebulous to solve such deep seeded structural and perhaps even spiritual issues, I truly believe that corrective action begins on the individual level. Those who are willing to cultivate themselves, work to help cultivate others, and those who work to make a positive impact in the world truly shape the destiny of mankind.
Over the course of the next few posts I would like to introduce a few core concepts that have greatly impacted my quality of life, allowed me to gain greater insights into the world around me, and allowed me to develop more meaningful relationships with those that I care about. These concepts will give us the fundamental building blocks that we can use to improve ourselves, our understanding, and hopefully the world around us. Many of these concepts are rooted in German idealism as well as western and eastern theological thought; so those who are familiar with these fields should recognize the influence; please note I am writing this in a candid manner and do not want to overwhelm people with jargon and citations, so do not expect an academic quality of writing; however I feel it is important to give credit when credit is due.
The first area I would like to discuss is structuring. This involves the way that we structure our thoughts and minds, which has an immense impact on the way we view ourselves as well as the way we view the world around us.
Structuring:
We should imagine our mind as a mirror that reflects our past experiences likewise our perception of future experience is a reflection of our mindset; for those familiar with philosophy think about Kant’s transcendental idealism. In other words: think of the relationship between your mind and external reality like a feedback loop- negative input and reinforcement will lead to negative experience and vice versa. The type of input that we put into our minds is paramount in dictating the manner in which we think moving forward.
Think about it this way- if you continuously beat yourself up over failures then you will only prime yourself for further failure; rather, it would be better to try and focus on your successes and try to cultivate further success; another example- if you assume that someone of a different political or cultural background has bad intentions you will likely subconsciously give that person ques which indicate your negative beliefs- leading to a festering mutual distrust in the relationship (this is something that will be covered in more detail later). To simplify: the manner in which we think often becomes self fulfilling prophecy; moreover, what we experience structures the way we think; so in a very real manner a single negative thought or anxiety can lead a person to abbadon. This is one reason that it is very important for us to deal with negative thoughts, anxieties, and unresolved emotions head on; if we don't, these negative thoughts can fester and manifest themselves profound and unexpected ways.
With this in mind we can begin to understand that the media and information that we consume greatly affects our mindset and understanding of the world around us. If we continuously consume fear-mongering, socially divisive media (such as most network news), we should expect our patterns of thought to follow suit and we are likely to find ourselves becoming more fear-full and agitated. On the other hand, if we consume media that cultivates positivity, curiosity, and tolerance we will find ourselves experiencing these feelings more often.
Related to the consumption of media, one should pay very close attention to the language that they use when interacting with the world around them and thinking. As an adherent of Wittgenstein I believe that the world is structured by language; or at the least, the manner in which we perceive the world is structured by language. If we use caustic, negative, or abusive language with ourselves and others then we should expect that our thoughts will follow suit; on the other hand using positive, caring, and understanding language help cultivate a positive mindset. One can put this into action by taking a few minutes each day for positive self talk or the repetition of a positive mantra, something that had been proven to lead to a more positive mindset and worldview.
Finally, the actions we take clearly affects the state of our mind. If we are disorganized in our activities, we will soon find that our minds are equally disorganized, likewise if we are disorganized in our thinking then we will soon find our activities are also disorganized. Taking goal oriented actions can restructure the ways we think about our future goals and activities. Furthermore, taking positive steps towards goals can help build confidence and sincerity towards the pursuit of those goals (think, faking it until you make it).
In my opinion the way that we structure our thoughts is the most fundamental building block to having positive experience, cultivating a positive world view, and positive interactions with those around us. One could go into great detail about each of the concepts covered here (I will likely try to elaborate on some of these concepts further in the future); and those who are interested can find a surplus of books and academic papers that cover them in much greater detail. I wanted to present these in a concise and relatively easy to understand manner as a means to introduce the uninitiated, I hope that you can gain some insight and are able put some of these ideas into practice to begin your own path to mastery. The next building block to be covered is the avoidance of dogma and how it can improve our understanding of ourselves, the world around us, and our relationships with others.
