Personal Growth: Give Your Mind Jobs To Do

There is a duality in this realm where we live. There’s a beginning and an ending. There’s light and dark, female and male, joy and sorrow… positive and negative.

There is a duality in your mind or ego as well. There’s a positive force and a negative force. I don’t mean negative as in “bad.” (Ah, there’s that duality concept again… good and bad!) It’s the negative side of the mind/ego which has truly enabled humankind to survive. This was especially important when we were less civilized and, therefore, hung out further down the food chain on a regular basis. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be stalked by a saber-toothed tiger?!

If not for fear, we would fall into danger constantly. And when in physical danger, you bet I would prefer to have that prickling sensation of fear sending impulses of alert energy all over my body. Thank goodness for the fight or flight response!

So fear has it’s role – and it’s a very important one. But what happens when it crosses over into your life in other ways? Like when the positive side of your mind/ego is pulling you to grow and expand?

The duality of the mind/ego might go like this…
Positive: I’m eager to go for it and attain that over there. It’s my calling!

Negative: But that’s dangerous because it requires leaving the safety of the pack. What I’ve always done has kept me out of danger so far.

Positive: True, but don’t you feel the pull to grow and move in that direction over there? It’s so exciting – that’s destiny over there.

Negative: Yes, I do, and that’s what scares me. I’m afraid of leaving here. Some others who have left the pack have been persecuted and even killed! I want to be loved. I want to belong. I’m afraid of being unfairly judged… and maybe even dying. What if…?

Positive: Fear is strong. But these are stories made up. It’s not reality – only the imagination of illusion. I want to be courageous, and I know I am loved by Source. I am of Source, and so I trust the calling.

Negative: Well, I don’t. And how do you know there is even such a thing as a “Source”? If you can’t touch it, see it, hear it, feel it, how do you know it exists?

Which one wins?

As you can see, the negative side helps humankind survive, the positive side helps humankind thrive. Can’t do this human thing without both sides, but you can’t progress if you stay at a stalemate either.

How do you move forward?
I’ve learned that it’s best to acknowledge what the negative side of my mind/ego is telling me. Doesn’t mean I have to always obey it – just pay attention to it. In fact, when I acknowledge this part of me, I calm down. Being calm allows me to consciously channel the energy of that fear into a more constructive response… such as planning a more comfortable and less risky approach to reaching my goal.

Use your mind/ego for the tool it is, and direct it toward more helpful tasks. Give it jobs to do like:

• Imagining what it will be like once you’ve expanded your options.
• Watching for the signs that what you’re doing is working.
• Analyzing and researching resources needed.

David Schwartz says in his book, The Magic of Thinking Big: “Success isn’t determined by the size of one’s brain, it’s determined by the size of one’s thinking.”

Guess what? This is how you increase the size of your thinking… by exercising it.

___________________________________________________

Angela Loëb helps people rediscover and use their gifts so they can bring who they are to what they do. To learn more, please visit: www.insyncresources.com
___________________________________________________