THE POWER OF THE MIND
Modern societies are developing so fast that we forget the importance of the mind in our daily lives. Anxiety took a major place in our routine, impacting workers as well as students. A lot of programs have been put in place to help deal with those stressful moments driven by the tasks we need to complete in a certain time for a certain purpose or situations we can’t ultimately control. Understanding what the mind is and its powers is the first step to finally find peace in any situation anywhere and anytime. It is not absolute because we’re all unique and apprehend things differently, but I hope this post will help you grow personally, spiritually, and professionally.
Going to school from a really young age, we like to think that being smart only happens in the brain and that the mind is strongly influenced by our intellectual capacities. This is not completely wrong but know that the brain is connected to a complexity of cells circulating in your entire body. This means that without the other parts of your body, your brain would not function properly.
To really understand the power of our mind I’d like to talk about a notion that we’re all familiar with which is intelligence. We’ve all heard about the different types of intelligence such as Logical-mathematical intelligence, Linguistic intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Musical Intelligence and many more. Indeed, I believe that to expand our mind it is important to be aware of which type of intelligence is used in a specific situation. Knowing that is then going to help us explore other dimensions of intelligence without having to worry about how much data you can store in your brain. As human beings, we can’t store unlimited data in our brain because we forget things, we overthink sometimes, and we get old, but our memories are carried all along our body in many different forms that we avoid discovering by using only one part of it which makes us more stressed.
In fact, “if the mind is a combination of memory and intelligence, your whole body is called mind. This is the reason why in certain societies, the physical body is separated from the mental body, etheric body etc.…” (Sadhguru). Therefore, to be more efficient and less anxious in your personal and professional life, you must let your body grow in a way that makes you happy and wiser. In other words, don’t restrict your mind to what you thought was being smart or successful and always seek for expansion by challenging yourself in the fields you love and get out of your comfort zone by trying new things without fear. Let your creativity and imagination shape your reality in a way that makes you develop yourself and your surroundings to make the world a better place to live in.
I applied this mindset to my life a few years ago and a lot of opportunities came to me naturally. Plus, my anxiety completely left, and I became way more open minded which helped me connect with people all around the world. Matter of fact, embarking on my journey into adulthood and the unknown at the age of 18 led to an opening of my mind and perspectives while trying to adapt to a new culture and habits. I came to the US with the dream of playing college soccer which is totally different from European football but playing the sport I love within a totally different culture helped me understand who I was, where I was going and why I was passionate by this sport. I realized overtime that soccer wasn’t just a sport but also a life changing experience where you need to grow as a human to aspire succeeding. In fact, my freshman year, the barrier of language prevented me from communicating with my teammates and coaches which penalized me from playing because the game is communication heavy. I had to learn new expressions, new thoughts, new communication skills and while learning those things, I felt myself becoming more mature overall. I also lost the anxiety that I had because I was seeing that as impossible as it could look for me to adapt, I was making it step by step. Believing that I could adapt “stretched my mind” (David Goggins) and made me succeed in this quest. This is where I truly understood the power of the mind which is to stop thinking that something is not possible and prove yourself that you can do whatever you want with some faith and hard work.
Nothing will happen overnight. Patience is key in any long-term project you have and the obstacles along the way are here to help you emancipate your mind to become stronger, open minded and then successful. Start your day with individual goals or tasks to complete and follow with discipline to reach your long-term goals. This is the reason why we like to say “trust the process” because it is a whole journey and at the end of it, you’ll meet the new you, shaped by all the adventures you encountered throughout your own path.
Arthur DJENGUE BILLE