It is 2021 and we are constantly bogged down by newsfeeds, work, bills, all of life’s many distractions, plus so many other things. Our brains are overstimulated and misdirected, all day long. How do you know how to choose what to focus on when it feels like a waterfall of information is coming at you, in a steady, heavy pace? Niagara falls stops for no-one, nor do our thoughts. It is a continuous movement of energy that we don’t know what to do with. So we feed into it. We allow the thoughts to control us.

Thoughts controlling a strong human being? That doesn’t seem right, does it?

Adjustments need to be made. thought patterns need to change. This Niagara falls will stop and change direction for anyone who sees their ability to change this unnecessary habit, or it will take them under and drown them, over and over again. Yes, thought patterns are a habit. Thinking in a certain way is a learned habit. Overtime, we fall into cycles. Our brain catches on and replays it like a broken record. Habits are how our brain takes stress away, by creating an easy autopilot for us. Yet, not all of these habits are good for us. They can be damaging for us and mess with how we need to be able to grow and change.

Take, for example, anxiety; fearing what is not here yet, or may never be. This could be good for some things. It is great to try to be prepared for some things, like saving money for upcoming bills. It was also good for when we used to live in the wild. Though, if we continue to get stuck in its undercurrents, we can be stuck, in that mental fetal position (our mind’s prison) all day, everyday, for the rest of our lives, unless we make a change in the patterns of thoughts we allow ourselves to continuously focus on.

Force the change. You can do it!

If you want some help with this, there are many ways to get out of your bad habit thought patterns. This is where meditation, exercise, creating art, and critical thinking all come into play.

Meditation helps you focus on seeing your thoughts pass by without giving too much attention to them. You just acknowledge them and let them go. Or you can focus on your breath, an object, a sound, or listen to a guided meditation that is directing your focus away from your thoughts (for the most part). This creates a more peaceful mind. An easier mental flow and it even reduces stress and pressure off of your heart. I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to give it a try.

Meditation thinking example: “I hear water flowing, oh wait, I need to go to the grocery store, oh wait, I am meditating… This water flowing music is really nice… shoot, I’m not supposed to be thinking about anything. Okay, starting now… Hmm, I wonder if I could get away with buying some cookies, oh shoot, just listen to the water… okay… ohhh, so peaceful…” Thoughts come and go, but you just redirect your focus to whatever meditation you are doing. It is normal and natural to do this. Even after years of meditation, I still do this, getting distracted by thoughts. We just, eventually, learn to let go and go with the flow.

We are not supposed to be perfect. Practice and being easy on yourself is how you become better at many things, meditation included.

Exercise gets your body moving, sends brain waves to better places, helps you work through thoughts and process new ones (and old ones), while giving you a happy boost. We are supposed to be moving all day. So when we don’t move enough, we automatically fall into dark thinking territories, more easily. This is how depression really plants itself into us and tries to bring us down from a better, more emotionally stable place of thinking and feeling. If you practice finding ways to move more will help you change your thought patterns, too.

When sitting, you can move your upper body, doing twists. If at a standing desk (I just turned my desk into a standing desk, so much better!), or cooking, move your legs, march in place, do squats. Get creative with it. Try going outside and walking, as often as your schedule allows. Run, lift weights, do things to help yourself become physically stronger, so you can also become more mentally stronger.

Creating art is a wonderful way to create better thought patterns. There is even something called art therapy, which is a helpful way to bring new direction to your thoughts, and gives you a self-confidence boost. Then you can see that you are capable of more than you knew.

Not everyone is artistic, but even writing is a form of art. Write down your thoughts, your day, plans, dreams… Write a gratitude list. Doodling, painting, building something, there are so many forms of creating art. Way back when… before there were machines, we made everything that we needed or wanted. Taking ourselves away from this creates a feeling of uselessness and a lack of using our creative minds. We are smart, ingenuitive, resourceful and we can change our thought patterns when we allow ourselves to see how smart and creative we are! “Oh yes, this rock can be useful for so many things; a hammer, an herb grinder, a wrist rest for my hand while I use my computer mouse.” True story, I have a heart shaped rock that I use as a wrist rest, if I need it. Though, I have not tried to use it for those other two options, but now I know I can!

Don’t be shy, get creative!

Critical thinking is when you take a step back and look at what is going on, with a different mindset. You aren’t judging, you are researching, you are figuring out what, why, how and if it is necessary or important. Are these thoughts useful? Where are they directing you? Are they leading you to danger or are they guiding you to peace and good things. ” I am preparing for the end of the world, so I am going to buy a whole bunch of canned foods, beans and rice, so I can hide away in my dungeon and eat said food, while their is a plethora of available recourses outside, if the world does come to an end. Well, actually, maybe I don’t need canned food. maybe I should use my time on earth to live and experience the present moment. If the world ends, then how could I even eat all of the beans, rice, and canned foods? We would all be gone. Okay, I will put the Chef Boyardee down and walk over towards the produce. My fears will no longer control me, at least not right now.”

By the way, living foods are also very helpful for your brain as well as your mental and emotional health. These bodies are of nature and need nature to thrive. Try eating more whole foods and see how much it changes you, for the better.

You only have one mind. You only have this one life (unless you’re awake and know that you are a soul who is here to learn and grow and experience this and many lives, but we are really just focusing on this one life, at the present moment). You have the potential to make it better, if you allow yourself to find the ways out of your own, self-created, lions dungeon.

Although, sometimes the thoughts aren’t just about danger or fear. They can be self-defeating. We an be extremely hard on ourselves and put ourselves down for no reason. Why? Because we live in 2021.

We think we need to be constantly happy.

We are shown that we need to be perfect.

We believe we need to be comfortable all day and all night. Why be uncomfortable when we have heaters and air conditioning, soft beds, comfort foods, many layers of clothes to protect us from the elements. We weren’t made for comfort. We were made for survival, adaption and growth. We evolve, yet we have evolved into soft, squishy comfortable robots that are controlled by our minds which like to lie to us. Where is this leading us? “Please no,. I don’t want to be a soft, squishy robot anymore!”

Your thoughts guide you, though, you can guide them first. You are a strong human being with a very capable and strong mind. Letting your thoughts lead you and direct you is dangerous territory, unless you are in charge of their focus. Change that Niagara falls flow into something that forces you to wonderous places, not to your drowning death, in a mess of fear, dislike and far away from all of your dreams and aspirations.

Connect to your higher self. Find your smart mind. Learn how to choose your thoughts. This will greatly affect how you live your life and how you view and approach the current world that we live in.

Have a great day and choose your thoughts wisely. – M.