Are you your mind?
Cogito, ergo sum. It’s a Greek proposition by Rene Descartes that means “I think, therefore I am”. In other words, because I can think so I do exist. But it shouldn’t be confused that the mind and conscious self is the same. Human intelligence is a combination of consciousness and thinking mind. Consciousness relates to awareness in the present while thinking mind is a combination of past conditioning and experiences. Mind is an important part of the physical body but not much different from a hand or a leg or any other essential body part. Its primary function is protecting us in difficult times. But mostly life happens in between difficult times. During normal situations, mind power creates more harm then benefit.
The mind lives in the past and future but not present: Mind always take references of the past and try to relate that to an event expected to happen in the future. The past is gone while the future is unknown but life is in the present. The actions we take in the present define our future. So it doesn’t make sense to be bothered about the future. Rather it’s a smart choice to be your best in the present. Also, mantra of success is to act rather think. Action is possible only in the present. As we start acting, we start understanding our goals better and probably start re-defining based on steps taken. But if we keep on thinking then the virtual action happens in your mind and the past experiences link the virtual actions to fictional consequences which ultimately will demotivate or stop acting in present.
Mind creates a version of reality: Everything in the world is neutral. Our mind associates a meaning to it. Then that becomes our reality of that thing. Our reality could be motivating but can also be depressing or just neutral. For example, you will love a shinny summer afternoon in Europe if you had been in a dull snowy cold place throughout the year while you may act normal if you spent your whole time in hot and humid climate. So the shinny summer afternoon just exists while the perception of it being good, bad, or normal exist in our mind linking to past experiences. Another example is the love for toys in our childhood which just fade away when we grow up. Toys were just the same earlier and now. It’s just our perception about toys changed in our mind in due course. It’s not a bad thing to associate different values at different times for different things. But have the realization of this attribute of mind may help to solve lot of conflicts or evaluate every life situation differently. It may also help us calmly accept other people viewpoints.
Mind elevate fears or introduce new: We are born with a clean slate. But as we grow, our conditioned mind grows based on our surroundings. This conditioned mind generates fear and start defining what we can do or what we can’t. Whenever we are out of our comfort zone, it starts evaluating it based on those fears. The result is generally demotivating and escalation of the fear about the situation. Consider you are about to give a public speech. The countdown starts in your head which increases tension with every passing second. Your conditioned mind will start referencing any mistake you did in previous presentations or start looking around the number of people or anything else which elevates your fear and will make it a tense situation. If this fear remains with the same strength then it will surely impact your performance. Even the most successful people have fear whenever they are out of their comfort zone. But they recognize it is not in their best of interest and so make a conscious choice to act against it. This choice gives them the strength to outperform.
Mind is a source of distraction and so cause under-performance: Success in anything depends on actions in the present and complete focus on those actions. Mind chitter-chatter deviates our focus and thus stops us from trying our level best. If you can’t give your 100% then the chances of success fade away. As lack of focus causes procrastination which intern results in reduced motivation and reduced belief in your capabilities. For example, you are giving a speech in front of a large audience. But your mind start thinking about how people are absorbing your content. If you see somebody laughing then quickly relates it to your presentation and so mind starts distracting you and deviate your focus from the story you want to share.
According to Confucius, “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior”. Our reality of the world exists within. Our pain and sorrow are also not outside. The mind is extremely powerful and can deceive us in every possible situation. Transformation depends on recognizing that the mind and you(conscious self) is not the same. Also whatever your mind thinks not necessarily be good for you always. Mind is a great disaster manager but not every situation is a disaster and most of life happens in between.
