“Things like music, books you read, pictures you see, to the conversations you have with people all sum up what you are feeding your mind…”
Many people do not know that their minds need to be fed. Albert Einstein once said, “If you feed your mind as often as you feed your stomach, you’ll never have to worry about feeding your stomach or a roof over your head or clothes on your back.”
So what does feeding your mind mean?
Feeding your mind simply means things that you let into your head. Things like music, books you read, pictures you see, to the conversations you have with people all sum up what you are feeding your mind.
The way your body needs to be fed so as for it to perform the way you want is the way you need to feed your mind with the right things because it is what you feed your mind with that helps shape your reality.
So ask yourself “what do I feed my mind?” Is it books that do not add to your store of knowledge? Or conversations that affect you negatively? Does the music you listen to so often preach positivity?
As little and harmless as some things we see, hear and read might seem, they affect our mindset towards a life without even realizing it. Children act like the cartoons they watch. Why? It is because that is what their mind has visualized.
You know that for you to become something your mind should have been able to visualize it or even for you to do something your mind must visualize it. So imagine if all you feed your mind is hate, violence, and insults eventually you become a violent person.
So how do you feed your mind with positive things?
Listen To A Podcast
Lagos traffic or any traffic at all can be crazy at times especially if you make use of your vehicle. Road users will frustrate you. However, you can make use of this period to listen to your favourite podcast, especially the ones that are inspirational.
Starting your day with a positive and motivated mind can help make the rest of your day less frustrating.
Spend Time With Like-Minded People
Jim Rohn, a legendary motivational speaker said ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’. This is why if you are looking to grow and feed your mind, you should hang out with people who have the same mindset as you.
You could join a book club, attend seminars and workshops and connect with like-minded people online. By doing this, you would allow yourself to learn from these individuals and also be motivated to keep working on your goal.
Surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook on life and will add to your store of knowledge over time you will realize that their mentality will begin to rub off on you.
Read Physical Books
Is your reading limited to tweets, celebrity gossip, Facebook posts, or people’s comments online? If the answer is yes then it is time you change that.
Instead of wasting your mornings and evenings on social media, you could pick up a book and spend at least 30 minutes each day reading a physical book.
Reading every day has been said to result in a lot of benefits like stress reduction, mental stimulation, and memory improvement.
Ask Yourself Challenging Questions
How often do you challenge your perspective on certain topics or on certain beliefs you grew up with?
Do you take out time to question your beliefs and things you were taught as a child? If the answer is no, then you should try to change it. By asking yourself questions that challenge your current belief you begin to grow and feed your mind.
Curiosity forces your mind to search for information from books or other sources which in turn leads to continuous learning.
The one key point that I would like us to note is the point about ‘reading physical books. If you can read the right set of books you would realize that there is so much your mind can gain, and so many worlds you can visit without even leaving the comfort of your home.
It has been said that a good book could take you to new places that you have never been before if only you would sit down and read. In the words of Rick Holland, “The world belongs to those who read,”
In summary, positivity is key when trying to feed your mind. There is so much negativity out there that if we start letting our minds feed on the world would be worse than it already is today.
