We tell ourselves stories from the past that can be detrimental to our success. Reprogramming our brain through mediation can help us make better progress towards our goals. At some point you’ve said the following to yourself or even out loud to someone else:
“I can’t do this because…” “I have kids so I can’t…”“I’m not smart enough to…” “I just don’t have enough time to…” etc.
These are all stories we tell ourselves and repeat in our subconscious.
Stories we tell ourselves
The narrative our subconscious creates for us defines our emotional state. Whether it’s unhappiness, gratefulness, disappointments or fulfillment; the stories we tell ourselves builds our reality. This results in the actions or inactions we take.
If you’re unhappy about your job because your boss expects you to stay late when you’d rather be home watching Netflix, then that is your reality. Someone in the same position might respond with excitement for that opportunity. Neither is right or wrong, they’re the chosen perspectives of the same situations; often a culmination of our past experiences.
While the chosen outlook might not be right or wrong, it is easy to see which perspective would result in a happier, more fulfilling life.
Choose to take a different perspective and it will lead to a more positive outlook. Much harder said than done, of course.
Our response to things thrown at us is built into our subconscious which has been molded over time since birth and to some extent built into the genes we inherited.
How to Reprogram your Brain
So how do you reprogram the stories of self in your head?
Step 1 – Recognize
Recognize that a mind shift is necessary to achieve overall ‘happiness’ or fulfillment. First step is always acknowledgement of the problem.
Step 2 – Define
Clearly define the state you’d like to be in. Do you want to be less stressed? Do you want to stop comparing your life to others? Do you want to be more mindful of saying hurtful things to others? Whatever it is, you should know the endgame.
Step 3 – Meditate
Final step is to meditate. That’s right. Meditate. Hey, wait! Don’t stop reading just yet! I know it sounds woo woo, but it’s not the meditation you’re thinking of. You know the kind with you sitting still in a criss-cross applesauce position for hours on end. What I’m talking about is just sitting still for 5 minutes to start with and just taking deep breaths.
The goal is to get in a state where you start observing your thoughts. Not judging them or stopping them, just knowing that they’re there. This gives your conscious mind limited access to your subconscious. Once that door is open and you’re able to do this consistently, you will catch your thoughts as they drift to the old way of thinking. You can then simply acknowledge these unwanted thoughts and ask them to move on.
Self Help Goldmine
The steps seem easy enough, but there wouldn’t be a huge market for self-help books and classes if these steps were easy to implement.
Tim Ferriss of “The 4-hour work week” fame found that more than 80% of world class performers he has interviewed on his podcast and for his most recent book “Tools of Titans” have a meditation practice of some sort.
If people like Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul McCartney give meditation credit for helping them achieve their success, then we should pay attention.
Final Thoughts
What type of meditation you decide to implement is up to you, but the easiest place to start is with a guided mindfulness practice using apps like Headspace or Calm. Headspace has a free 10 day meditation trial which is a great way to start. Like any new habit, it will take time for you to get used to it and a little longer before you see positive results. Like most things in life, consistency is key.
Rick Rubin, the famous music producer behind a lot of the popular songs you know from the late 80s, 90s and today, has been meditating since he was 14 years old. He explained in a Rolling Stone interview that he stopped practicing in college and when he started the practice up again, it took him months to get back in. You should expect it to take some time for you too.
Now that you know the basic three steps of what you have to do, take the next 5 to 10 minutes to reprogram your mind.