MANAGING YOUR MENTAL ENVIRONMENT
According to neuro surgeons your mind is an amazing multifaceted mechanism. It has been found out that as your mind works in a brilliant, optimistic and inspiring manner,it can undoubtedly carry you to such a dazzling, sparkling, splendid and outstanding pinnacle of success. There is no wonder that there is this saying that enjoins that "we should learn to convert our opposing energy into propelling energy." In much the same way that as we operate the mind in a pessimistic, unproductive and defeatist manner, it can produce a total failure and abysmal disappointments. Bear in mind that even the goodbook says in Proverbs 23:7 "as a man think in his heart so is he". Dont forget you were created in the image of the creator to be a creator yourself, therefore your goodness or destruction depends on what you are processing in your mental faculty.
The mind is the most delicate and the most sensitive instrument in the face of all other faculties. Studies reveal that its a paramountly important organ in the human body that by the age of six a child's brain is almost completed in its development due to its indispensable and pivotal operation in the human body. Let's make a rudimentry and fundamental studies as to what makes the mind thinks the way it does. Millions of people, particularly those in the western world are so diet conscious that they are very meticulous as to what they eat. Why do they eat that?. This is because through nutritional research, we are told that the body reflects the diet fed into the body. Even there is a popular program on one of the european countries' TV that " you are what you eat". It cannot be gainsaid that one's physical stamina, resistence to diseases, body size and even how long we live are all closely related to what we eat.
It is by the same token that the mind is what the mind is fed. Nevertheless, mind food admittedly cannot come in packages and cannot be purchased from store. As a matter of fact, mind food is your environment, all the countless and numerous things which influences our conscious and subconscious thoughts. As the kind of food we eat determines the type of your body, it stands to reason the kind of mental food we consume determines our habits, attitudes, personality etc. Each of us inherited a certain capacity to develop, but how much of the capacity we have developed and the way we have developed it depends on the kind of mind food we have been fed. The mind reflects what the environment feeds it just as surely as the body reflects the food you feed with it. As a Ghanaian born and raised in Ghanaian culture, the kind of food you eat, dressing you prefer, entertainment you enjoy, the work you do etc all reflect the Ghanaian environment you were born and raised, but if you had been born and raised in a different country chances are that your ways wóuld have been influenced by that environment. Certainly, environment shape us, makes us think the way we do. There is therefore no wonder that psychologists make us to understand that we are the product of our environment.
More importantly,the size of our thinking, goals, attitudes and our very personality is formed by our environment. Its an incontestible fact that our prolonged association with negative and mediocre-minded people makes us think negatively . Our close contact and adherence with petty and average-mind individuals develop the same habits in us. On the bright side, our association and companion with people big ideas raises the level of our thinking. Having a close walk with ambitious and inspiring people puts you in the same category. The "goodbook" in Proverbs 13:20 underscore and underpin this that" He that walks with wise shall be wise but a companion of a fool shall be destroyed". Experts are of the firm belief that the person you are today, your personality, ambitions, present status in life are largely due to the results of your psychological environment. In much the same way that the person you will be one, five ten twenty years from now depends almost entirely on your future environment.
Now let's look at what we can do to make our future environment pay off in satisfaction and prosperity. We should bear in mind that the number one obstacle on the road to high level success is the feeling that major accomplishments is beyond reach. This attitude stem from the plethora of suppressive forces that direts our thinking toward mediocre level. The bible calls this the little foxes that spoil the vine. Songs of Solomon 2:15.To understand these suppressive forces lets go back to the time we were children. As children all of us set escalating and skyrocketing goals. At a surprisingly young age we made plans to conquer the unknown, to be distinquishable leaders with immeasurable attainments to reach the pinnacle of great importance, to do the exciting and stimulating things and simply put, to be the first, biggest and the best. And in our blessed and innocent childish ignorance we saw our way and our path so clear to accomplish these goal that no wall of gilbrator or sea of turbulence could be a hindrance. But what happens? Long before we reach the age when we could assidously and trenchantly begin to work towards our gigantic objectives, multitudes and cornucopia of suppressive forces and influence went to work against us. Here I am not trying to justify and give credence to what the false prophets are polluting the spiritual atmosphere with, that your grand mother or a certain witch is chasing so you need a gallon oil for midnight consecration. Not at all. Iam talking about the junk,jerk and punk environmental food your mind is being fed with.
From all sides we were bombarded,harangued and besieged with suppressive and dream-killing ammunitions like "its foolish to be a dreamer" and that our ideas were "impraticable, naive and unattainable". And sometimes there were discouraging words from "wet blankets" like "it takes money to accomplish this or you need to get close to rich and important people to accomplish this, or you are too young or too old to think about this". In the face of all these floods and barrage of pressure from these average and little minds, it brings into mind the three kinds of people that these environmental food produce. They are completely surrended, partially surrended and never surrended people.
Those who surrender completely are those who are convinced deep down inside that they haven't got what it takes and therefore, real success and real accomplishments is for others who are lucky or fortune in some special respect. You can easily locate these elements because they go to greater length to rationalise their status quo and try desperately to convince people how happy and content they are in their mediocre situation.
The next category of peolpe are those who surrender partially. These enters into adult life with considerable hope of success. They prepare themselves, they work, and plan but somewhere along the line as the race, competition and the struggles in life become tough, hectic and overbearing; instead of them to embrace the common aphorism that " when it becomes touigh, then the tough people gets going", these group sadly and regrettably decides that great success is not worth struggling for and then throws in the towel. These are the kinds of people who tends to console themselves " we are earning more than the average and live better than the average, so why should we knock ourselves so hard. But unfortunately these are words of average-minds and not the superior-minds.
The last category of people are those who never surrender. This group never allow pessimism to dictate to them at all. They dont believe in surrendering to suppressive force and dont kowtow to stumbling blocks. As a mtter of fact,they see opportunities in difficulties and not other way round.. These people live and breath success and is the happiest group because in spite of struggles and trenchant and incessant difficulties, they end up as fruitful and admirable winners. These people find life stimulating, rewarding, worthwhile and they wake to see each day as a tremendous opportunity to be part of hilarious and glorious winners. Above all, they see difficulties and struggles as a stepping stones and bridges to greater attainments and achievements. There is no wonder that these group is made up of great leaders, with convincing achievements like inventors, explorers, presidents, scholars business tycoons, outstanding sportsmen and women, admirable and respectable statesmen and women and other distinquished personalities. How are you managing your mental environment? God bless you and lift you to the pinnacle of success.
EKOW WILSON-BAIDOO
(Crusader without violence)
Development / Accra / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com