Why Are Invisible Thought Patterns Powerful Than We Assume?
Every Decision and Action We Undertake or Left Untaken is Influenced by our Invisible Thoughts.
To pay close attention to the powerfulness of invisibility is one significant life lessons, this phase is reminding us, out of many other lessons, without hesitation. The visible effects demonstrated through the invisible coronavirus have become immensely painful to process, witness, and experience; by snatching innumerable lives across the globe, halting our travel plans and positioning our lives and livelihoods at risk. This phase of life is zooming uncertainty for moments within our present and future.
Social distancing, wearing masks, using gloves, washing our hands thoroughly with hand sanitizers, and staying home (if you are not a front-line worker) has become the global necessity of this season. While these rules are meant to keep us physically safe from the virus and slow down its effects, these can also be utilized to maintain healthy thought patterns responsibly despite our irritations.
The reflections, that can be derived whether small or big from the COVID-19 rules, on how each of us can translate them to maintain healthy thought patterns, as far as possible with conscious practice, will be the focus of this article.
Here are my reflective thoughts combined with the principles of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, social work theories, and spiritual practices.
Social Distancing with Recurring Negative Thought Patterns
Our invisible thoughts are influential in determining every decision and action we undertake or left untaken. With our thought patterns, the opportunities to stimulate its fruits lie in our hands, mostly.
- This begins with our awareness to identify them as either constructive, destructive, or perhaps its mixture.
- And then lies our ability to channelize them appropriately.
- When constructive and positive, it becomes manifest through our words, motives, intentions, and energy that we radiate towards our self and the people around us. This becomes visible when we choose to settle our being above the torrents of negativity, (caused by external aspects happening around us or perhaps our negative self-talk) when we actively practice gratitude amidst uncertainty and consciously adhering responsibility to maneuver our energy into aspects that can be controlled.
- And when destructive and negative effects, without doubt, are toxic. We tend to perceive everything around us as hopeless, let ourselves be steered away by self-defeating narratives gradually losing our ability to separate our identity from the variety of circumstances we encounter in life.
While it is healthy to acknowledge and express our frustrations (in ways that do not affect the people around us) it is equally significant to apply the rules of social distancing to recurring unhealthy thought patterns to preserve the sanity of our minds. This will also enable us to build emotional intelligence.
This leads us to the next question. What could be the possible reasons for recurring unhealthy thought patterns?
- To be aware of our invisible thoughts, it is important to discern the type of content we let our minds consume knowingly (conscious habit) or unknowingly (mindless habit). For it can either elevate or enslave us. What we consume can determine our motivation to move one step closer to our purpose on earth thereby energizing us; Or derailing us away from active participation, in creating our destiny, through dismantling our enthusiasm one stride at a time.
- Knowing who or what our triggers will enable us to apply and follow the rules of social distancing to our minds smoothly. While it is important to be updated on the aspects happening around the world, especially given the current situations of COVID-19, it is important to consider these aspects while consuming news.
A) The time and the duration spent on it
Having a ritual that prioritizes practicing gratitude, praying, meditation, and journaling before I expose my senses to external outlets of information or entertainment has helped my mind to stay grounded, especially these days. Maintaining this practice since the last 2 years until now is helping me discern the degree up to which the external events (strengthening or disquieting) be magnified, overlooked, and how far I should let it influence my mind. Further, this simple act is developing another trait within me. Delaying my need for instant gratification. In it lies the potent seeds of patience, perseverance, and self-awareness to not control the process. We had needed them. But now we need them more.
Getting up in the morning and checking mobile phones, right at the start of our days, in our beds might feel easier and convenient at the moment. Only to reap its effects later or even throughout the day, depending upon what we might have exposed our minds in the morning. If the news included something distressing (which seems to be the essence, mostly, these days), then chances are, it can inflict pain and anxiety, throughout the day, depending upon the level of our sensitivity. Hence, the amount of time we spent on it as well as the time of the day (moments right after we get up and before we sleep are at suggestible mental states for external aspects to be consumed without conscious analyzing) we use needs to be monitored. These days, thankfully, we can also utilize a wide range of digital applications that can track the time we spent on different media outlets, whether it is social media platforms or news outlets.
B) The different formats of media
Understanding our preference, our sensitivity, as well as our personality can help us figure out the type of media (visual, text, or audio) that is most suited to us, to receive the news, in ways that will not overwhelm us. This will enable us to preserve what is precious to us without dismantling our mental well-being.
For instance, author (of one of my favourite books Big Magic) Elizabeth Gilbert mentioned her preferred type of media she uses to be updated on the events around the world. As a person with a sensitive mind who deeply values creativity as precious to her soul, she prefers to spend around forty minutes reading the news instead of watching it. ‘I don’t watch it because I know how sensitive my mind is and I know that there are certain images and ideas that if they get into my mind are not gonna leave’. For consuming updates, without a limit, denies the possibilities of making her a good citizen, function well as a human being, as well as a creative, she asserted.
Hence, maintaining social distancing with recurring narratives that are hopeless, negative, toxic, and self-defeating in nature to embrace possibilities that hopeful, positive, inspiring, and self-affirmative thoughts.
Staying Home
When we are living in our home for a long time we become familiar with every nooks and corner of it. Similarly, our thoughts too have a pattern that runs in familiar lanes within our mind. The familiar lanes can be either a fixed-mind-set or growth mindset narratives. If it goes along the line of ‘I might not have the necessary strengths to complete the intended task then your thinking has become a stumbling block to even start the process. A typical point of view emerging from a fixed mindset. However, if you are thinking ‘I can develop the capabilities that are required for the task because there is no harm in trying’ then you have groomed your mind into a growth mindset. Whether we realize it or not our actions are governed by these mindsets. When they play out, recognize them as they are, forgive yourself if you have let your mind run within the fixed mindset lane, and take efforts one at a time to shift your mind to a growth mindset lane. For it is vital to keep in mind that the strengths we need now and/or develop in this season might look and feel different from the strengths in the past.
Hence, until our mind becomes a familiar place for affirmative thought patterns to emerge, generate, and overflow, our motivation to try must not stop.
Not Masking Our Emotions and Sanitizing Our Minds
Once, we become aware of our thoughts, emotions, and feelings, masking them will not help. Instead, expressing them through methods that suit our uniqueness will help us survive better through these challenging times. Some of the methods include journaling, talking to a trusted friend or family member, or venting through creative ways such as abstract painting, playing music, or even creating a collage of your feelings.
Hence it is essential to sanitize our minds the moment we become aware that our minds have derailed to a plethora of toxic unhealthy thought patterns. More than ever, we need to glove our minds consciously with thoughts and aspirations of hope, positivity, courage, and love.
Often, as we might have experienced, applying the Covid-19 rules to keep us physically safe has been challenging in different ways. And attempting to do that to our minds can be even trickier. Yet, every time, when we sanitize our hands, we can check with ourselves if our mind is also with this conscious intention asserted by Mahatma Gandhi “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet” until it becomes an unconscious habit. Hence, with every COVID-19 rules that we try to follow (for keeping us physically safe), think about the small practical ways we can also apply them according to our individuality to preserve the soundness of our minds. It might not be easy at first, but not impossible.
And as we learn to condition our mind in ways that strengthen our being we tend to develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence, resilience, patience, and endurance. These invisible traits have become the need of the hour to survive the uncertain times and to thrive in the times to come.
